I was taking the 6 uptown yesterday when the chicest girl stepped on. She was wearing what I can only describe as a short-sleeved trench coat dress (it was not this cute Doo.Ri one that we found, but that’s your basic idea), with flats and an orange scarf. I was cursing myself for not having a camera with me, when a totally different thought struck me - isn’t she overheated wearing that?

We keep hearing about, and seeing, girls wearing tights this summer. And we’re even really digging the ones that Vogue UK wrote about today. A trench and a scarf in the middle of a New York summer, especially underground, seems even crazier.

One of the things you’ll often hear a designer complain about is the number of seasons for which they have to design - Spring and Fall are the standards, but then there’s Pre-Spring, Pre-Fall, Resort, Holiday, sometimes even Summer, and then those random capsule collections they might do that are probably driving each of them slowly insane, something Jane Mayle once touched upon when announcing the end of Mayle.

But Stefano Pilati isn’t fazed - he’s just announced a new, annual collection he’ll produce, Edition Soir, a 26-look evening wear collection topped off with matching accessories and shoes to be sold worldwide alongside the normal YSL Fall 08 range.

He’s even borrowed from Isaac Mizrahi, who once launched a made-to-alter collection a few years back, and designed each look to have interchangeable color/fabric/embroidery choices from which his customers can choose.

It sounds like semi-couture, except it’ll never see the runway and sounds entirely based on what the customer wants as opposed to the designer’s potentially irrelevant vision. So, a boring line that might end up on pageant stages nationwide? Or a democratic line for the people, (kind of) by the people?

Either way, we’re sure Pilati’s design assistants are working major overtime these days.