For fall, Richard Chai made a strong case for buttoned-up dressing. As The Smiths’ How Soon Is Now bellowed from the speakers, models filed out sporting readymade closet staples for the colder months. The men kept it rather simple with outerwear. But as for the women, there were sharply tailored blazers and pencil skirts in a moody red floral print, crisp white oxford shirts with horizontal-striped suiting—some in black and gray, others more colorful in cobalt and maroon—and extra-long funnel-neck sweaters, which may just prove to be a trend this season.

Those painterly florals also showed up on sheer blouses, long skirts and billowing palazzo pants, which two of the models nearly tripped over. Hiccups averted, Chai sent out winning looks of separates that are pretty much a no-brainer, especially for work, even though we were craving a curveball.