NEW YORK

This spring, fashion goes back in time -- again.

During the liberated fashion of the 1920s, blouses and silhouettes were more relaxed with draping sleeves and tiered fringe dresses with feminine or glitzy embellishments. This spring, tunics are getting a touch of the romantic era's butterfly influences in dresses and tops that feature dolman and flounce forms. The animal prints of the past season get an abstract treatment with a more watercolor effect that could be interpreted as tribal. The same goes for floral patterns that get bigger and more impressionistic in appearance.

Many of the colors you will find have a subdued tone to them. At Fashion Week in New York last month, Michael Kors took his line down a few hundred notches from neon sweaters in the fall. Bubble skirts have given way to cocoon dresses like that from Prada, but you can also find them in interpretations by Ports 1961. The T-shirt dress could also be interpreted as the kid sister of this waist-less style. Likewise, light sweaters that resemble a cross between a cape and a dolman top were on the runway at Twinkle by Wenlan and in a version by BCBGMaxazria.

Boutiques such as the newly reopened Ona in Mt. Lebanon have played it safe this shopping season with colors and separates versatile for fall and spring. Black, white or gray patterned dresses with light cardigan drapes or knitted boleros are safe investments for the transitional seasons. The line Bailey 44 and For Joseph, found at Footloose in the Galleria, Mt. Lebanon, use dark and subdued colors in light jersey tunics and dresses.

However, color is not lost in lines from Diane von Furstenberg, Trina Turk and Nicole Miller that pull the sunlight from a palette of pale and muted tones. Twisting and tacking fabric at waistlines and at necklines give blouses and dresses a vintage accent that would even be hard to find in thrift stores. Sheath dresses with tailored waistlines such as those from Nanette Lapore are also simple and classic investment garments that shine from season to season.

On the ultra-urban side of the fashion spectrum, you will find cut-out or tattered designs. The modernization of the gladiator sandal is getting an up-do with caged and cuffed designs like those at Nordstrom. As with spring apparel, many of the colors are more neutral with camel tones or worn metallic tints that cuff the ankle.

Design houses have learned from recent seasons and are producing attire that is timeless and not overtly trendy. For those looking to freshen up wardrobes without reinventing them, this season is for you. The exception might be the red shoe. If you don't have at least one pair, you are way overdue for the Dorothy treatment.