Far down on an empty stretch of Chinatown, two men in Royal Guard outfits stood post at the door. Inside, hay littered the floor as a live band wearing bonnets twiddled away on the fiddle. We weren't sure if we'd just landed in a bizarre 18th-Century costume party or at the Libertine fall '09 presentation, but as we spun around the corner and saw the clothes, we knew we were in the right place. Johnson Hartig and Cindy Greene, the lad and lass behind Libertine's devil-may-care charm, spun out another collection that was as free-spirited, yet carefully crafted, as their last go-around many seasons ago. There were the badass-gone-to-prep-school elements we've come to expect from the duo, like cream sweaters embossed with Queen Elizabeth II's head, layered over plaid button-ups and finished off with a striped school girl blazer littered with Ivy League crests. Skirts were either big and puffy or ladylike in tweed, and almost all the looks were paired with colored tights and sky-high (sometimes glittery) pastel platforms. On the men's side were cool cartoon tees and long gray coats, as well as a heroic black cape that our photographer claimed he would wear with zeal every day. "No, you wouldn't," we countered. "Yes, yes I would."
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