While we were caught up in the runways and street style blogs preaching crisp whites and light hued palettes for the next season, we’re reminded by the gloomy weather that we need something warm to wear – right now.  We headed out shopping to survey the cozy and creative options for knits.

Altuzarra had a stellar fall collection, riffing on gypsy coin embellishments and rich orange and reds. Maintaining a wild persuasion but veering slightly from the center of the collection, a zebra inspired wool pull over caught our eye at Barneys. It seemed a welcome alternation from the usual leopard and animal skin prints that we see year round.

Trying her hand at knits, while using her signature digital prints, Mary Katrantzou incorporates a verdant Rorschach garden on to a knit dress. Fendi showed a textural masterpiece with a plush sweater that resembled an African mask.

Certainly knits are not limited to luxury retailers. Zara supplied more budget-friendly options with a certain emphasis on crystal embellishments and chunky fisherman inspired pieces. Club Monoco had a stylish poncho complete with fringe on hand as well as a cool blue Fair Isle sweater. J.Crew also took to crystal floral embellishments on a simple gray crew neck sweater. We made a stop in Uniqlo, only to be pleasantly surprised to find cashmere v-necks on sale, in a slew of colors at that. Simple indeed, but it is an extra pop of an unexpected color right when you need it.

Have favorite knits of your own to share? Snap your finds with REQOOP when you spot them.

Creating a sensation on the street style fashion week blogs is one thing, but also boasting great success at retail with those very same, very photogenic pieces is an even swifter coup. It should come as no surprise that the looks would come from none other that 3.1 Phillip Lim.

the label’s quick rise as a New York staple – balancing just the right amount of kitsch and edge with solid wearable design – has earned legions of fans uptown and down. We recently shopped the stores to scope out some of the highlights on offer from Lim’s Fall 2012 collection.

The Fall 2012 collection includes meditations on cool knits. One — a blazer edged in white — is deceptively simple at a quick glance. The construction is almost tailored with the detailed seaming and contrasting yarns and gauges.

Similarly, a classic navy and white sweater is the canvas for crisscrossing thread braids and silk inlays. The Lichtenstein pop art sweater has become a ubiquitous piece and instantly identifiable, a true win for any fashion designer.

Outerwear is also part of the strength of the collection. Lim works shearling into feminine shapes, fashioned in an autumn palate. A forest green motorcycle jacket in the trimmed sheepskin tilts towards the female shape with it slight peplum hem, but maintains its hard edged inspiration. A cropped shearling jacket in washed white looks chic it in a contained shape in such a creamy huge.

Never one to neglect a signature, the Phillip Lim “Pashli” handbag — already snowballing to it bag status last season — is now offered in shocking pink, giving the Celine Luggage a run for its money as a practical, structured bag.

See anything you love while you shop? Snap and share your finds with REQOOP to earn fabulous rewards.

Why limit your love of fashion to just Fashion’s Night Out or to Fashion Week? We’re celebrating our love of fashion all September long with our new Love Fashion reward.

Wherever you find yourself shopping this FNO and Fashion Week, snap and share your finds with REQOOP and you could earn yourself a spending spree to Net-a-Porter. We’ll be on the lookup for the top three finds from stores to award $300, $200 and $100 to three lucky shoppers.

As always, we’ll be looking for great finds showcased with great shots so make sure your snaps look amazing to catch the eye of our editors.

HOW: Download the REQOOP shopping app, head out shopping and snap anything on your wish list, from any retail store.  For complete rules, please see the Rewards section of our app.

WHEN: 9/5 – 9/30

WHERE: your favorite retail stores

WIN: one of THREE Net-a-Porter gift cards, $300, $200 and $100!

Fashion’s Night Out guides are great and all, but different strokes for different folks, right? We’ve taken a slightly different approach to sifting through all the FNO events, picking just four events for four different shopping missions. Now don’t forget to snap your finds with REQOOP while you’re out – you could be one of three to win a Net-a-Porter gift card!

Mission: Snap Limited Goods
As can be expected, many retailers and designers use FNO to launch their collections and whatnot. Master of the collab Target is launching a one-night only pop-up so you can shop collabs with Odin, Kirna Zabete and others BEFORE they launch nationwide and online. You have been forewarned: quantities limited to each guest so forget your eBay ambitions.
When & Where: 6-10p / 441 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Kill the Night comic book

Mission: Score a Discount
We get it – you’re not into the whole ‘scene’. You’ve got a mission for Fashion’s Night Out – and it involves either discounts, swag, or ideally both. Lucky for you 3.1 Phillip Lim knows the way to a girl’s heart. Shop in-store or online to score 15% off (coupon code for online: FNO2012).  And available during FNO – a signed copy of “Kill the Night” – Phillip Lim’s comic book.
When & Where: 6-9pm / 115 Mercer Street, New York / 631 North Robertson Blvd, West Hollywood

Mission: Sing Your Heart Out
Belt out Korean pop tunes and shop crazy cheap goods from other people’s closets! Only at Opening Ceremony’s Norebang Night, where yes everything-is-$10 from the “personal items from the closets and runways of Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Kitsuné, Lou Dalton, Pamela Love, Steve J & Yoni P, Olympia Le-Tan, Olivia, Humberto, and Carol.” Not at the store, but at the Ace Hotel. 
When & Where: 6-11p / Ace Hotel, 1190-92 Broadway

Mission: See a Spectacle, Endure a Crush
If food trucks and Cirque du Soleil sound like the way you want to spend FNO, then by all means head on over to Henri Bendel, where they expect nearly 1,000 people per hour. Yowza. Hope the free grub is worth it, and of course, there’ll be designer-meet-and-greets galore, all on four floors at Henri Bendel’s flagship. 
When & Where: 5-11p /  712 5th Ave

Cover image via Flickr, br1dotcom