SPRING FASHIONS Come on, get happy in colorful, casual clothes

Mix-and-match separates and pastel colors are making a comeback.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Women of the world, rejoice!
The fashion world has heard your pleas, your worries, your concerns, and has finally answered your prayers with designs for spring that are full of color, femininity and definite wearability.
When spring 2004 Fashion Week wrapped up in the Big Apple, both retailers and consumers were saying amen to the positive shift in clothing styles.
Going, going, gone are the micro-miniskirts, '80s punk looks and drab hues of seasons past. Making a comeback are easy mix-and-match separates, flattering full skirts and pretty pastel colors in pinks, yellows, blues and greens.
It's time to get happy.
"I think the overriding trend of the week is ultra-femininity," says Hayley Hill, fashion director for US Weekly. "Even if the designer is outrageous like Betsey Johnson or elegant like Oscar de la Renta, the collections are all pretty. It's such a great time to be a woman."
Vibrant collections
The clothes were cited in publications around the world as the most vibrant, energetic collections since the terrorist attacks shut down Fashion Week on Sept. 11, 2001. Media, buyers and celebrities were all singing the praises of the spring shows.
"I loved it," Brooke Shields said after the showing of the wonderfully luxurious Michael Kors collection. "It was amazing. Beautiful." She was sitting in the front row for the first time, rather than striding the catwalk.
Kors, who took a trip to Capri with his citrus-toned stripes, lush cashmere pullovers and a mink beach towel, was just one designer who appeared to be ready to win back the female consumer.
Ready to party
Oscar de la Renta pleased the party set with full-skirted cocktail dresses, Cynthia Steffe had the audience cooing over her comely, flirty frocks, Marc Jacobs forgot about mod and brought back flower prints, and Zac Posen, at just 23, wowed the crowd with jewel-toned gowns and clever details.
"The growth and visibility and energy of Fashion Week just keeps getting bigger and bigger," says Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth, the organization responsible for setting up the collections.
"People have been saying for years that because of video and the Internet, there's not going to be a need for runway shows, that the spectacle is over. But more and more people want to attend every year."
And with wearable spring collections, designers are hoping those people will open their pocketbooks and buy big next season.