COLOR:

Precious metals. A lighter, brighter take on last season's gray. Silver and gold threads were woven into everything from silk to denim lending clothing a subtle gleam. The metallic look found its way into all categories including swimwear, shoes and accessories.

Nolita Pocket goes for gold.

A dip in the ocean. A full spectrum of blues in clean Mediterranean shades, mysterious inky navy and dusty or vibrant jade, mixed it up in boys' and girls' lines.

A range of vibrant blues at Zef.

At Maan, cool tones are hot.

Oceanic hues shimmer on CKS's silks.

Apple tart. Soft and sweet, saturated or so vivid it hurt: apple and other yellowed tones of green lighten, brighten and freshen collections. The color is often teamed with a bluer green for contrast.

I Pinco Pallino's green market.

Sparkling or tap? Soft aqua was often paired with white and silver.

Lilica Ripilica's cool blue green.

Waving the flag: Red, white and blue is going strong in boys' and girls' collections at all price points. For a twist, designers swapped navy for a dusty royal.

In black and white: The combo looks fresh and crisp. On the conservative side, the duo teamed up in solids or simple stripes, funkier collections paired the team with polka dots, stripes and tiny prints.

Jottum gets playful.

On the dot for boys at Jottum.

That stings! Yellow is back and it's hot. Some collections showed the hue soft and warm. Others featured the color tinged with green. The funkier the line, the sharper the color.

Softened with gray at Ciunga.

An "only-with-sunglasses" hue from Essentiel Girls.

Two days on the beach. One day soft, weathered tones of dusty peach, aqua, silver and white take the heat. The next day the palette brightens with rich, peachy coral, dusty jade, soft gray and white.

Missoni's favorite palette of the season.

A whiff of lavender. The tone starts light with a tincture of gray, goes brighter and cleaner and then revs up to a true purple.

Maan hits both ends of the spectrum.

Lilica Ripilica's just picked lilacs.

Get a charge. Electric blue gives a jolt to the softer blue palette and does wonders for brightening neutrals.

Cherry picking-cherry reds and scarlets are most often teamed with white. Some lines paired the hue with soft pink. Smaller collections used hot saturated tones to pop groups, and others paired it with bright electric blue or vibrant orange.

In neutral. Cocoa is fading. For girls, the tone appeared softened with cream and given a rosy cast. It's most often teamed with beige, dusty pink and lilac, rosy gray and white. Deep tones of the hue were seen in boys' active and sportswear lines in combination with dark red, navy and leaf green.

Peach is the new pink. Pink is still around, but the cast is peachier. The flattering hue is pretty coupled with pink-tinged lavender. True peach found its way into infant, girls' and boys' lines.

Dolled up peach from the Barbie collection.

Just peachy at Lilica Ripilica.

TEXTILES:

-New high-tech fabrications like paper-thin rubberized cotton, textured cottons, elasticized pique, Elastan blended goods for stretch

-Cotton woven with metallic threads for sheen

Nolita Pocket

-Silvered linen

-Cotton laser-cut to look like eyelet then dyed rich shades, usually inky navy

-Laser-cut goods used for interesting borders or cut and sewn into decorative ruffles

-Crisp voiles for skirts, dresses and boys' shirts

-All weights of Jersey from nearly sheer to much heavier

-Lightweight China silk for dresses, blouses and the hems of skirts

Light and sweet at Hartford.

-Ultra soft, tissue thin leather in metallic, pastel and opalescent

-Tulle was used as decorative ruching on dresses and peeked from beneath hems

-Ultra-soft, lightweight denim with a washed surface, sometimes woven with silver or gold threads

-Sequins were sprinkled on sweaters and sometimes scattered over dresses

-Soft lace overprinted with gold

Gold is the icing on the cake at I Pinco Pallino.

PATTERNS:

Many designers choose to blend textured fabrics to form layers of visual interest. When they worked with pattern, it was often basic: small polka dots, ticking or menswear stripes, tiny anchors and stars. Flowers made a comeback with small, monochromatic Provençal prints, Liberty florals or vintage wallpaper designs. The freshest trend though, is Indonesian patterns or designs inspired by tiles.

-Ticking stripes in red and white, black and white, navy and white combinations

-Ginghams for girls' separates and dresses as well as boys' shirts and even jackets

Boys' jackets? Check! At Maan.

-Polka dots:

Monnalisa breaks out in dots.

Simonetta takes spots to the extreme.

-Indonesian batiks, small prints and embroidery

Antic Batik works three trends: red and white, Indonesian inspired embroidery and the boxy, ticking stripe jacket.

-Tile inspired prints

Sophisticated silks at Ciunga.

Jottum's tile designs.

-Tiny Provençal prints

-Swirls, raw-edged cloth forming "flowers" on dresses and jackets

-Wide stripes

-Small Liberty florals.

-Wallpaper and tiny antique flowers

I Pinco Pallino gets flower happy.

-Wreath-shaped embroidery

A winning look at I Pinco Pallino.

-Jungle prints in swimwear

ACCESSORIES:

-Tulle layers and vintage roses on purses

Grevi's tiers of joy.

It's only natural at I Pinco Pallino.

-Shoes are festooned with roses, sequins and glitter

Supple leather ballerina flats from Prosperine.

-Flats, beaded sandals with ankle ties or straps

Lilica Ripilica's strap happy footwear.

-Metallic sandals

-Ribbon and floral adornments

DETAILS:

-Grosgrain ribbons lacing through necklines. Grosgrain bows at the shoulder.

I Pinco Pallino takes a bow.

-Puckers adding detail at the neckline

-U-shaped bodices on tees and smocks

-Sequins

-Crocheted flowers, fabric rosettes

-Buttons at the knees of Capri pants

-Silver logos, sequined ornaments on clothing as well as footwear

Originally published July 19, 2007