Wear the pants, girls

Beg, borrow and steal from your boyfriend to be on trend.

Fashionable women would do well to raid their boyfriends’ closets come fall, judging from the looks being shown at New York Fashion Week.

Menswear influences were everywhere during the week of previews, from the trendsetting runway of Alexander Wang to the typically ultra-feminine Victoria Beckham, who included trenches in her fall collection, shown to a handful of reporters in a flower-filled uptown townhouse.

DKNY showed boyfriend jackets and Rag & Bone had a collection rooted in tailored suits. Oddly enough, the look melded seamlessly with school girl styles also popular in the fourth day of fall runway previews.

Diane von Furstenberg confessed to the crowd she has a more masculine side. “I always wanted to live a man’s life in a woman’s body,” she wrote in her notes left on the seats of editors, stylists and retailers at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Bryant Park.

She went on to explain that her theme of metamorphosis aimed to capture the yin and yang of strength and sex appeal. Menswear jackets were worn over flowery dresses; chainmail decorated soft knits.

A rose-printed velvet blazer over a stone-colored, soft-crepe dress captured von Furstenberg’s message in a single outfit, as did a chiffon, rosette-covered bolero worn over a gray felted wool blazer.

The cool girls will probably be wearing a lot of menswear styles in the fall. Rag & Bone, which has become a bellwether brand for downtown hipsters, debuted a collection Friday that was rooted in tailored suits but stayed quirky and feminine thanks to tweaks in proportion and styling.

The designers also confirmed some of the trends that seem to be emerging, including layers and menswear, but also military-inspired styles, heavily textured garments and a dominant palette of black and gray.