Yes, it’s drizzly outside, but it still doesn’t feel right busting out the heavy woolen sweaters in early October. Lucky us, knitwear seems to be opening up this season with looser stitches, lightweight yarns, and crafty cutouts. We scoured our favorite retailers to find fall-ready sweaters, in cropped, cardigan, and oversized styles. Check out our top picks from Mink Pink, eryn brinié, Acne, and more in the slideshow ahead.

Jil Sander's second collection for Uniqlo doesn't drop until Thursday, but we scored an early look at some of the line's covetable outerwear. Somehow, Sander manages to make even bulky puffer coats look chic (though punky model Raquel Zimmermanndoesn't hurt either). From hooded swing coats to high-collared trenches, we predict the cold-weather offerings will be scooped up fast. And in line with the spring collection, prices are reasonable: Outerwear ranges from $69.90 to $229.90, dresses are $99 to $149.90, sweaters are $49.90 to $179.90, and bottoms are $59.90 to $69.90. Click ahead for a closer look.

The most significant show of the entire spring 2011 season is arguably Alexander McQueen's, which walked today in Paris. This is the first major runway show for the house since the designer took his own life in February, and his right-hand woman Sarah Burton stepped up to the creative director title. Burton assured the press she wouldn't present a show with McQueen's signature theatrics, which isn't her thing, but she still kept things plenty interesting, sending models down a runway consisting of wooden planks with grass poking through. The nature-inspired show opened with an all white look including pants and a multilayered frock coat. Mini dresses followed, and then out came the major dresses with giant full skirts made of what looked like fake hair. Show Studio tweets the dresses were made of pheasant feathers and golden wheat sheaths. The models' real hair, on the other hand, resembled basket weaving. The shoes were no Armadillos, but they retained McQueen's signature intricacy. Some came with butterflies, and others with what looks like plant fringe. Reactions are still trickling onto the Internet, but Style.com calls Burton "a very worthy successor." Show Studio found it "stunning."

Just because it feels like everyone showed hot orange and pink in their spring 2011 shows doesn't mean Karl Lagerfeld will. Cathy Horyn reports:

"I really don't think women want to go around looking like a Saint Laurent shopping bag," Mr. Lagerfeld said backstage, referring to the bright pink and orange of the vintage YSL bag.

Horyn seems to agree, enchanted by Lagerfeld's "beautiful" Chanel show in the Grand Palais in Paris this morning. She loved the light, floaty feel of the clothes, quite a contrast to the full faux fur suits Lagerfeld sent around an imported iceberg for the fall 2010 show. But that's not to say this show wasn't as spendy as it always is: The runway consisted of a black-and-white garden inspired by 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad, and extended in three directions, with an orchestra at the end of one.