The frill is gone, baby. Tailored and sophisticated styles will take over from flowery baby-doll looks in fashion next spring. And the pastels and bold prints that typically arrive with spring are also missing.

The serious tone of spring collections, shown this week in New York, reflect the mood of a nation facing such tasks as choosing its next President and resolving the conflict in Iraq, said experts who see hundreds of shows in the semi-annual fashion week, which came to a close on Wednesday.

Women's spring clothes are fitted and professional, a sign that the fashion world listens and responds to consumers' state of mind, said luxury consultant Robert Burke. A youthful look no longer suits the climate, he said.

"There's uncertainty and things are a bit more serious. The stock market's been all over the place and elections are coming up," Mr Burke said. "People want to look more serious and sophisticated as opposed to frivolous and girly."

So spring will bring cinched waists, fitted blouses, pleated skirts, shirtdresses and high-necked collars.

Designer Charles Nolan showed school blazers. Derek Lam and Tibi produced safari-style jackets, while swingy jackets with shortened sleeves emerged in shows by VPL by Victoria Bartlett, Lyn Devon, Tibi and Luca Luca.

Alexandre Herchcovitch deconstructed tuxedos into waistcoats and backless vests. Sleeveless sheathes and strapless cocktail dresses were abundant and Carolina Herrera brought out dressy cocktail shorts as well.

"It's much more ladylike and very classic, and that is often suggestive of a much more thoughtful time," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute. "It will be even more so next spring and summer because of the situation with the war and the national election."

Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is having no small impact on fashion, she said. "It puts us to thinking of women in a more powerful position. This is no time for girly stuff."

Politics influenced the collection by Zac Posen. "To me, with the elections coming, it's all about finding a way for the US to transition elegantly," he said.

The changing style is a matter of economics, said Patricia Pao, head of the Pao Principle retail consultants.

"The whole unstructured look has been a nightmare for all the designers because in six weeks, the exact same thing is copied," Ms Pao said. "More structured dressing is very hard to copy."

The baby-doll look wore out its welcome on catwalks, many say, after making women appear overly casual and sloppy. "I think everybody was afraid to show it because everyone was making fun of it," said Stan Herman, former head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

The sombre mood is also reflected in the colour palette, where neutral shades and earth tones predominate. Bursts of bright colours show up as small accents. In the collection by Generra, splashes of colour dubbed "lipstick" and "flame" lit up neutrals sand, lead and chalk. The Y-3 collection by Yohji Yamamoto was dark, heavy on black brightened by dashes of bold red and blue.

Grey, not a traditional colour for spring, was among the most popular. BCBGMAXARIA showed shades of gravel, charcoal, dove and heather, along with ivory, oatmeal and taupe rose. Jason Wu displayed grey chiffon gowns and nearly colourless nude and tan. Derek Lam mixed slate grey and brown in a two-tone dress enlivened by its satin shine and swingy cut.

Grey represents stability, Ms Eiseman said. "Charcoal grey, banker grey, grey flannel, those are always very serious colours we know we can depend on," she said.

Deep, woodsy tones flowed in Vera Wang's charcoal, moss, olive, grass and silver. And Canada's Jeremy Laing used an "Arctic palette" of whites and pale blues, with some yellow and green he linked to the environmental movement's influence.

The popularity of green, such as the muted tones by Nicole Miller, reflects environmental concern, said Stan Herman, former head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. "Certainly there's enough talk about Planet Earth these days that I would take it seriously if I were doing a collection," he said. Nevertheless, a sombre mood doesn't necessarily make for an entirely sombre season. Carolina Herrera's show featured cheerful florals, lavishly decorated with sequins, feathers, lace and embroidery. Michael Kors was sunny and upbeat with floral ruffles and rainbow stripes, and hot pink, orange, turquoise and cobalt blue blazed at Diane von Furstenberg. Tracy Reese used hues of mango and pineapple, and Lyn Devon's geometrically inspired collection was filled with muted fuchsia and burnished orange.

One of the highlights of the Fashion week was the celebration of Ralph Lauren's 40 years in fashion. His elegant show in Manhattan's Central Park, complete with champagne and caviar for guests, evoked images of My Fair Lady and an afternoon at Britain's Ascot Racecourse, with models wearing designs from racing silks and jodhpurs to floral party dresses and silk tuxedos.

The 67-year-old Lauren, who was born Ralph Lifshitz in New York and began selling neckties in 1967, has long fused traditional equestrian style with influences from the American West, society tea parties, old school plaids, the yachting set and the comfort of tweeds and cable-knit sweaters. His mesh shirt with the polo player logo is a staple in many wardrobes, and Mr Lauren has marketed lines of clothing, home decor and furnishings to appeal to the affluent and those who want to look that way. Mr Lauren is chairman and chief executive officer of Polo Ralph Lauren.

The fashion week was not short of controversy either - ethnic diversity was noticeably lacking among the models and some fashion industry insiders said discrimination was prevalent. The shows came just weeks after famed black model Naomi Campbell accused fashion magazines of passing over black beauty in favour of fair-skinned models.

And the first big shows since it tried to address the problem of stick-thin models, the US fashion industry seems to have cast the issue off like last season's styles and the models still looked emaciated. Before the autumn shows in February, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the US industry's trade group, issued guidelines teaching models about nutrition, banning those under 16 from runways and offering healthy food backstage, with no smoking or alcohol.

But the issue failed to generate much controversy beyond the catwalks, and consumers did not spurn designers who used ultra-thin models, experts say.

And the elaborate folds and puffy sleeves in many spring styles helped to keep the issue under wraps.

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