Uniqlo x Lemaire: The Complete Guide to Shopping the Minimalist's Dream Collab

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Next up in fall's designer collab circuit is Uniqlo and Lemaire, out this Friday, October 2nd. The Japanese super retailer, which has stores here in the States on the East and West Coasts in addition to US e-commerce, worked with former Hermès designer Christophe Lemaire on an apparel collection with pieces for both men and women. This is the first capsule from the duo, who have just announced it isn't the last.

Like much of what both Uniqlo and Lemaire favor, the silhouettes are refined but versatile. The palette is equally restrained, with most pieces in cream, black, charcoal or navy (though there are a few items in teal and red). The minimalist aesthetic gets a boost from premium materials like lambswool and cashmere, making this a designer collab we're actually really, really excited for.

There are a total of 30 women's and 25 men's items, priced from $25 to $200 (see the entire lookbook, including price details, here). Below, we break down what to hone in on, how to be sure you'll score what you want, and what to do if you have buyer's remorse.

1.) Figure out what you want

Take a look at the entire collection, including colors and pricing, for women here and men here and determine what you want in advance of Friday's launch. Outerwear is a must-see, with cashmere-blend robe coats ($170 — $190) for women and sleek duffle coats for men ($170 — $200). Knits are another killer category to check out; most in warm lambswool and cashmere blends.

2.) Decide where and when you're going to shop

In stores:

The full collection will be available in two New York City stores, Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, as well as the Magnificent Mile store in Chicago when that location opens in late October. Not every item will be in stores, so to be safe check the women's and men's item lineups.

Online:

All of the pieces will be shoppable online. Uniqlo PR has confirmed to Racked that the items will go live right at 12am on Friday, October 2nd.

Usually, Uniqlo offers free shipping on orders of $99 and up, but they're currently running a promotion for free shipping over $50. Full details on shipping options, times and costs are here.

3.) Save your shipping and billing info in advance

To streamline the buying process, create an account on Uniqlo.com in advance and enter in your shipping and billing info. That way, when it comes time for checkout you won't hit any snags that cause items that are selling out to disappear from your cart, page timeouts while you hunt for your credit card, or other unfortunate tech glitches.

4.) Familiarize yourself with Uniqlo's return policy

Here's the full return policy, and here's the TL;DR

• Returns are accepted within 30 days for full refund in your original form of payment
• Online returns aren't free
• Obviously keep tags on and don't lose the receipt