Ombre is normally something reserved for flowing silk chiffon dresses in vibrant colors (see Badgley Mischka’s Resort 09 for some current examples). And our love for Lacroix’s ombre leggings made us start dip-dying everything we own.

So we were pleasantly surprised to see an abundance of ombre effects in menswear for Spring 09, and with slightly more creative techniques.

Givenchy played up their simple black and white ombre by adding a pattern to the dressed up oxford shirt and shorts. And Alexander Mcqueen’s collection featured a vertical ombre stripe on men’s suits (and women’s dresses) that have a surprisingly slimming effect (hey, guys think about that, too).

The best part? Not only has the look successfully snuck onto the men’s runways, but the look’s infiltrated the mass market for Fall, too. We’ve seen belts for guys and skirts for girls popping up everywhere from H&M to JCrew. Should we pun that it’s faded down?

—KYLE HAYES