Oh, the memories: prom night is one of those teenage memories many women wouldn’t mind reliving.  Dancing, dressing up, spending time for possibly one of the last special occasions with the people you grew up with - prom is a reminiscence of things past and a look into the future at once.    Isaac Mizrahi seems to understand this; his latest collection plays on all of the best aspects of prom night style and none of the worst.  Lovely updos and red lipstick complement pretty pastel minis and gowns, most in a-line shapes that hark back to the 1950s, that golden decade of teenage iconography.

Mizrahi’s collection is not all nostalgia, however; these looks are modernized by metallic fabrics and elegant cuts that are just too chic for high school.  His color scheme is rich but airy, striking the perfect balance for springtime.  Color-coordinated footwear only adds to the appeal; this motif at once gives into Spring dressing cliches and conceptualizes them as something sweet and quaint, a relic of a bygone era.

Create your own take on prom night chic with light-as-a-feather looks from ABS, Isaac Mizrahi for Target, and Nicole Miller.

Leopard prints quietly crept up from last Fall’s runways, appearing sparingly in collections and on celebs from Gwen Stefani to Lindsay Lohan.  This Spring, however, animal prints will be out in full force.  John Galliano at Dior featured them on Palm-Beach-chic ensembles in his resort collection, and dedicated an entire show segment to the look in his Spring show (above).  Derek Lam featured it on secretary blouses and sportswear.  And Roberto Cavalli’s H&M capsule collection used leopard prints as its main motif, putting across a striking image in the line’s instantly recognizable ad campaign .

It wasn’t just leopard though - Galliano also featured other animal prints on his sexed-up slip dresses and suits, and many a collection featured brown and khaki safari looks that gave the appearance of being straight out of the wild.

One should be wary of animal prints, however; there is a fine line here between glamorous and trashy.  These prints should never be paired with one another, and are best when worn with very few (and preferably neutral) colors. 

For the less wild at heart, leopard print pumps (like these by Anne Klein) or chic scarves are easy ways to test the waters with this look.  For the more daring?  A Calvin Klein coat or a dress by Milly is sure to turn heads.

Many a media outlet is quick to point out the “dark side” of the fashion industry; even the fashion glossies themselves are often rife with tales of scandal, infighting, peer pressure, and general cattiness.  But what about the feel-good fashion stories, the ones that captivate us and keep us watching?  That is where Natalia Vodianova comes in.

Vodianova was born in Russia, where she lived a bare-bones existence and helped support her family by selling fruit.  By her mid-teens, though, she was off the New York, Paris, and Milan to walk in all the biggest shows.  Soon, she married a British aristocrat, started a family, and became the longtime face of Calvin Klein - a true fashion fairytale.

The supermodel’s fantastic backstory and fragile beauty have gained her so much attention that it is easy to forget another of her best attributes: her ultra-chic fashion sense.  In recent years it seemed like she’d worn all Calvin, all the time, but now that her contract with the venerable house is over she’s been branching out in designers from Valentino (above) to Dior (below) and expressing a new, more feminine side to her style personality.

Follow Natalia’s lead and build a glamorous, whimsical, and very modern wardrobe for 2008.  Update a classic white Calvin Klein sheath with a girlish silver trim or try a sparkling Betsey Johnson aubergine v-neck.  For daytime, go for a demure violet blouse by Tibi.

 1. Zooey Deschanel in Zac Posen

Need a look-at-me party dress?  Red will always garner you plenty of attention.  Quirky Zooey Deschanel turns the color’s femme-fatale image on its head by opting for a more demure look - bangs, a short bubble hem, and matching pumps.  Velvet’s red frock offers a similar look.

2. Siri Tollerod in Nina Ricci

A monochrome blue silk dress by Nina Ricci offsets model Siri’s fair coloring, but this versatile shade flatters most complexions.  Better yet, this dress’s dainty shape is appropriate for most ages, sizes, and occasions.  Calvin Klein’s belted silk dress shares Siri’s look’s universal appeal.

 3. Lauren Davis in Dolce and Gabbana

Make dressing up fun again, like social star Lauren Davis did when she wore this frothy Dolce and Gabbana creation.  Betsey Johnson’s pink corseted party dress has “fun” in spades.

4. Blake Lively in Chloe 

Gossip Girl star Blake Lively is proving to be just as chic as her onscreen alter ego!  The dazzling detailing and asymmetrical neckline on this Chloe sheath turned heads at a recent event.  You too can turn heads in a crisp white belted dress by Generra.

5. Riley Keough in Dior

Animal prints were a big hit last season, and the momentum isn’t slowing down for Spring.  Riley Keough is perfectly on-trend in a leopard-print cocktail dress - as would be any woman who wears this richly embellished look by Blumarine.

How to stir up buzz for a hundred-year-old brand?  First, collaborate with artist Richard Prince for a series of stunning limited-edition handbags.  Then, assemble a group of six in-demand supermodels to pose atop a vintage sportscar in said brand’s candy-colored Spring ad campaign.  This formula is certainly working for Louis Vuitton, garnering plenty of attention for the fashion house’s current line of clothes and accessories.

The use of old-school supers Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Eva Herzigova, and Claudia Schiffer alongside relatively new stars Angela Lindvall and Natalia Vodianova lends an air of glossy 80s glamor to the ads, which will begin appearing in magazines this month.  The overall tone is something in between that of a Whitesnake video and that of a Helmut Newton editorial - flashy but not quite trashy, glamorous but just shy of garish.

To co-opt a bit of supermodel style into your own look, try pairing a form-fitting jewel-toned dress (like this one by BCBG Max Azria) with dangerously high Pucci patent heels and (what else?) a Louis Vuitton bag.

Last season’s fall shows introduced an innovative new style of dress - a Japanese-inspired, very modern use of folds and pleats to create angular silhouettes.  At the fall shows of Giambatista Valli and Christian Dior, the look was lovely and abundant, merging the flowing and feminine with the sharp and geometric.

This spring, designers continued and expanded upon the new origami fashion.  Alessandro Dell’Acqua paired his pleats with obi belts, sakura prints, Chinoiserie-style closures and other details imported from the East (above).  The designs at Gucci were less drawn from Asian influences, but still prominently featured origami-style pleating.   And Rodarte’s collection mixed the old with the new, accessorizing their delicately pleated pieces with bright pink and blue eyeshadow and hair extensions worthy of an anime heroine.

Like many runway looks, this one is best when not interpreted literally.  Take inspiration from Rodarte’s high-contrast styling, or pick one Japanese-inspired detail to dress up with eclectic accessories.

The pleated trim on Corey Lynn Calter’s mini is thoroughly modern, while BCBG’s pink party dress tends more toward the classic.

Fashion at its best is a wearable form of fine art.  It makes perfect sense, then, that some of fashion design’s biggest names would also happen to be art afficionados.  In a season teeming with beautiful offerings, some designers blurred the line between studio art and fashion design.  For her Spring show, Miuccia Prada showed full skirts and form-fitting silk dresses overlayed with dreamy line-drawing prints and geometric patterns (above).  Dolce and Gabbana’s models trotted out in whimsical ball gowns covered in dainty paint splatters and blotches.  Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, paired his runway looks with limited-editon monogram bags co-designed by artist Richard Prince.

It would be easy to get carried away with a look so incredibly creative, lovely, and personalized.  However, artsy pieces should be brought back down to earth with subdued accessories and not-too-wild makeup.  For the faint of heart, colorblock prints can be a less out-there alternative to Spring’s painter’s-palette.

Rebecca Taylor’s impressionist-print gunmetal sheath, Abaete’s ruby satin skirt, and Blumarine’s floral brocade dress evoke the best new runway offerings from Dolce and Gabbana and Prada.

Every few years, usually following a few highly-sexualized seasons, fashion scribes tend to herald “the return of the lady” to the runways - an influx of demure, conservative or especially feminine fashions following a trend toward the exact opposite.  This season, however, might just mark the first time in recent memory that every major designer favored subtlety over sleaze.  Even the normally body-conscious and oversexed Versace (above), Roberto Cavalli, and Dolce and Gabbana collections skewed remarkably conservative, with higher necklines, lower hemlines, and looser silhouettes.

Why such a blatant turnaround now?  Perhaps, with the media focused on the latest crop of celebs-behaving-badly, the artists of the fashion world are looking to start a trend in the opposite direction.  The epitome of chic is always the unnatainable; and if the women of the world are currently leaning toward the sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle, what could be chicer than this prim, buttoned-up, more subtly alluring aesthetic?

Marc by Marc Jacobs’ tie-neck dress and Nanette Lepore’s sweet printed frock perfectly capture the mood of this Spring’s runways.

Depending upon how in touch with your inner child you are, kids can be the easiest or the hardest people on your list to shop for.  However, not all children’s gifts are created equal - age, gender, and individual tastes must be taken into consideration before you go out to buy whatever each year’s version of Tickle-Me-Elmo might be.

One gift idea is, of course, clothes.  While younger kids might not always be able to appreciate a cozy coat, older kids - especially girls - might love something new and trendy to add to their wardrobes.  Warm winter clothes are foolproof - every kid needs them, and many, like this Roxy puffer jacket and these Ralph Lauren shearling boots, are quite cute as well.

While preteen girls often ask for clothes and cosmetics for the holidays, boys of the same age tend to favor electronics.  The boys and girls on your list will likely adore Hasbro’s new iDog speaker system.

Let’s not forget the youngest kids though - this year, get them something that will provide them with effortless entertainment, like Fisher-Price’s talking Cookie Monster, or MGA’s interactive Shrek Puss in Boots.

There are many words one might use to describe Sweeney Todd’s lovestruck piemaker; misguided, twisted, and frightening are those that most easily come to mind.  One thing she is certainly not, however, is badly dressed.  As portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton’s just-released film version, Mrs. Lovett is wickedly stylish, using her clothes, hair, and makeup to haunting effect.  While her behavior should hardly be imitated, her show-stopping look is something we all can aspire to.

Drop that goth eye makeup though: a literal interpretation is not needed to capture Bonham Carter’s darkly whimsical look.  Instead, stick to subtle hair and makeup - artfully mussed curls or a smoky eye should be sufficient without looking costumey.

The drama should lie in the clothes - in the film, they referenced both the dark and light sides of Victorian culture, and should be modernized as such.  The Sweeney Todd look is all about a black and red color palette with whimsical details - feathers, brocade, sheer trim, polkadots, and lace.

For an up-to-date spin on what might be the year’s best movie costumes, try a ruffled black high-neck frock by Corey Lynn Calter, or an ethereal organza dress by Vera Wang.  Pair with Victorian-style ankle boots like these by Charles David.