And then, as the first models came down the runway in shades of grey and black, in perfectly wearable silhouettes, one after another Girlawhirl felt a sense of calm, because she, and everyone she knew, could wear these clothes! Slim fitting jackets, with defined waists—her favorite—an olive leather belted pea coat cut just to the top of the hip, slim skirts, and even a chunky turtleneck or two. Olive, rusty browns, and a touch of ochre rounded out all the shades of grey. There were a couple of wonderful belted velvet dresses that Girlawhirl hopes will be part of her holiday 2006 party wardrobe.

It was all about red, red dresses to be exact, at the Heart Truth Red Dress Collection show Friday afternoon. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women in the United States, and with Lindsay Lohan opening the show wearing a long sleeved, full skirted dress designed by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, Girlawhirl thinks it's safe to say that the public has been notified. Celebrity models from the stage and screen, ranging from Sheryl Crow (in Ralph Lauren), Debbie Harry (in Donna Karan), LeAnn Rimes (in Zac Posen), and Patti Hansen (in Oscar de la Renta), were joined by legendary performers like Eartha Kitt (in Kai Milla) and Elaine Stritch (in Charles Nolan), who sang, very appropriately at the end of the show, a rousing rendition of You've Gotta Have Heart.

Pretty and feminine clothes reigned at Diane von Furstenberg, with floaty skirts and coats, and plenty of her beautiful and always wearable outfits. A gorgeous emerald green color popped throughout the show, Girlawhirl was thinking that it was becoming her new favorite color, and couldn't help but laugh when the designer herself stepped out on the runway wearing it.

As the weekend progressed, and the shows continued, Girlawhirl noticed a few trends starting to emerge: Most importantly, from a color perspective, black and cream were everywhere! Dragana Ognjenovic, Alice Roi, Anait Bain, Sass & Bide, and even Oakley and Baby Phat all showed groups in clean and graphic black and cream. Of course there were other colors, the whole spectrum of browns was well represented, along with olive and the previously mentioned greys, but what really struck Girlawhirl was the simplicity of the black and cream combinations. Lacoste was in fact opposite, and quite colorful, with strong pinks, oranges, and lots of color layering, but, so far, it was the only show that Girlawhirl saw where color was so prominent.

Waists seem to be the focal point, with nipped in silhouettes, fitted jackets and specific definition provided by belts (both thick and thin) and bows. And the waistline is heading north. Empires were everywhere! And belts worn even just a little above the natural waistline were shown as well. Collars were also points of interest, with cowls at Kenneth Cole, and chunky rib necks on cardigans, and shawl collars on jackets. Chunky sweaters are starting to appear, not really a surprise, since its all about Fall, but, Girlawhirl, always looking for that one great sweater, was amazed by Tracey Reece's enviable ability to make a chunky sweater look feminine.

Girlawhirl can't wait to get back to the tents to see what's coming up this week!

 Additional information from Fashion Wire Daily was used for this article.