Fall 2013 fashions go back to black and white

If several years of riotous color and digital prints in fashion has you seeing spots, and punk rock is not your thing, going back to black (and white) could be a welcome palette cleanser.

What started last season on the spring runways with Marc Jacobs’ graphic black-and-white nod to Mod has exploded into a full-blown craze for fall. New takes on this neat and tidy look include black-and-white ear cuffs from Roberto Cavalli, fur booties from Isabel Marant and even jeans from 3x1.

But nobody did it better than Alexander Wang with his debut collection for Balenciaga, where he cast everyday wardrobe staples in the two most basic of hues — a black pencil skirt with silver clasps at the waist, a crisp white shirt with vent details at the shoulders and a pair of black boots with silver hardware, for example — and elevated them to classics, proving that some things do look better in black and white.