Pretty and ladylike are synonymous with hip and cool

NEW YORK -- Grunge is gone and even boho is behind us, thankfully, says designer Carolina Herrera.

Instead, both for this season and the upcoming spring, pretty and ladylike clothes are in fashion.

"I like to see women look polished. My collections have always been polished. I didn't go with the minimalist or grunge trends. I want to make women look more beautiful," says Herrera.

In fact, she adds, it's much easier to look neat and feminine than to be a "Mod Squader," a bohemian or a rock 'n' roll rebel -- all recent trends.

Herrera practices what she preaches: She wore a crisp white shirt, classic black pants and pearl earrings to direct her most recent runway show. "I call it 'effortless chic,"' she says.

"To put on a blouse and a pair of trousers -- it's so easy in the morning. And you can mix and match. You can wear a lovely chiffon top with jeans, or you can wear jeans with a tailored shirt," she says.

Herrera's fall line, and others done at all price points in the same spirit, features a lot of satin, bows, trim-waist jackets and knee-length skirts. Looking ahead, gentle ruffles and soft fabrics in easy, breezy fabrics will be offered in the spring.

"There's the acceptance by women of all colors, shapes and sizes that they can be pretty and feminine, and they adapt the look to work for them. Other 'looks' have a very specific image that not everyone can fit into," says Tom Julian, a fashion trend analyst for Fallon Worldwide.

He adds: "There also is an inner beauty and an outer confidence that comes with wearing pretty clothes."

Julian predicts skirts will be the biggest sellers because there is such a variety -- pleated, scalloped hems, handkerchief bottoms -- that all fall into the category. Plus, he notes, skirts are pretty new to the closet because they hadn't been very popular for a few years.

For a while, ladylike clothes were at risk of being called "old-fashioned," but now that younger women -- and especially Hollywood stars -- are embracing the look, pretty and polished is very modern.

Renee Zellweger, for instance, wore an all-white satin gown with a fishtail train by Herrera to the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards that she accessorized with long satin gloves.

"Go into your grandmother's closet and pull out the beaded bags, the shawls," says Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's editor at large.

He notes how Gwyneth Paltrow wore opera-length gloves with tweed coat for a casual, daytime look during a photo shoot for the magazine. "It's a way of reinventing a classic. It says you can wear it in a sporty way. She looks like an English girl who found her mother's gloves in a drawer," Talley observes.

It's exciting to see something as dignified as long gloves -- not mittens that keep you warm during a snowstorm -- as the touch that makes an outfit stylish, he says.

"A pair of Prada gloves in crocodile or alligator just conveys luxury. It shows you're paying attention to your wardrobe, and it puts the exclamation point on glamour," Talley says.

After Sept. 11, 2001, many would-be shoppers felt guilty about going into stores and splurging on themselves, so instead they focused on home and cocooning, he says, but the pendulum has swung again, ushering in an era of optimism and elegance.

Talley singles out recent collections by Herrera and Ralph Lauren as great examples of "soft, not forced, sophistication."

But ladylike garments don't have to come from top designers, feminine accessories such as waist-enhancing belts, delicate handbags, pillbox or straw hats, and bows can come from vintage shops or mall stores.

The return to "pretty" might be part of a retail strategy, Talley says, since it's probably easier to sell beautiful colors, soft fabrics and clothes that generally make women feel good than harsher or minimal looks.

"Seeing a pretty woman is inspiring. No, it's life enhancing!" he says.