Styles are short, swingy at Fashion Week

Monique Lhuillier: Los Angeles-based Monique Lhuillier had the gold, linen, sand colors and bubble hems that have emerged as trends for spring, but she made everything a little trimmer and a little more tailored. The result: wearable, sophisticated clothes.

“This season’s woman is strong and confident,” Lhuillier said in her notes for Tuesday’s show. For daytime, that means a modified military jacket with an embellished waist and slim trousers or a cropped, double-breasted swing coat with a pencil skirt. For evening, the designer created airy chiffon gowns with “illusion necklines” — crystals and other beads on sheer fabrics that create the look of a necklace.

Lhuillier first made a name for herself in bridal gowns, so the dressiest items were her best, including a violet-and-white floral chiffon V-neck gown that breezed down the runway despite multiple layers of fabric. A beige linen gown with a pouffy tufted bottom still had shape, thanks to a pleated bodice and an embellished waist, proving that clothes don’t have to be too tight or too loose to make a lasting impression.

Marchesa: Marchesa is a relatively new player on the runways after cutting its fashion teeth on Hollywood’s red carpets. (Felicity Huffman won her Golden Globe Award earlier this year in a gown by duo Georgina Chapman and Kerin Craig.)

The designers still have a bit to learn about staging fashion shows: Their front-row celebrities Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mischa Barton, who arrived fashionable late, didn’t have anywhere to sit on the bleachers. Barton squished in, but Gellar headed toward the door as the lights dimmed.

Once the show got started, things fell into place with a delicate, feminine and sexy blush-colored strapless minidress made of layers of organza that had a row of rosettes at the bust. The next look also was a winner — a white organza minidress with full, sculpted sleeves.

The cream-colored strapless top with three tiers of organza paired with cream-colored superskinny pants would be a good outfit for any starlet ready to show off her legs — and wear a huge trend for spring.

But there were misses, too, usually when the designers used too much fabric that overwhelmed what essentially were skimpy dresses.

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