What's Hot at Fashion Week? Nudes and Sexy Shoes

After a week of fashion shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, there are few trends that stand out, among them: pale tones and sexy shoes.

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After four seasons of subdued shopping by luxury buyers, looks for spring were dominated by white, nude and other neutral colors, which gave the clothes on the runway a softer, lighter look.

It was a real shift from recent shows, where designers had picked darker colors that seemed to reflect the gloomy mood of the economy.

This trend even extended to the fingertips with a peachy-nude-putty-colored nail polishworn by models in the Marc Jacob show and a manicure of beige polish, with a thin coralarc applied by celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi at Prabal Gurung's runway show.

Overall, many of the looks for spring were uncomplicated and versatile, which should help these clothes make the transition from the runway to the stores as retail buyers remain selective in their purchases.

What was wild? The shoes—both on and off the runway. (You have to see for yourself. Look at our slideshow.)

It stands to reason. Consumers can only shop their closets for so long. Eventually, they have to start buying again, but they will look for pieces that will work with what they already own (hence the neutrals) and that will make a fresh new statement (cue the shoes.)

And with fashion designers continuing to strike deals with merchants like Target

, H&M and Collective Brands' Payless ShoeSource, fashion is becoming not only more accessible, but more affordable.

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