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Like with the "Smooth Criminal" suit, a black halter top embellished with two large silver keys hanging from the bodice strap, and a large chain lock dangling from the super-skimpy bottoms. Those are going to leave weird lines for sure. Or how about the "Stairway to Heaven," with its bodice top, complete with a riots of open-weave side lace and actual shoelaces going up the belly to the bodice line. The "Bed of Roses" suit, a triangle top embellished with rose appliqués shouldn't be too problematic, but wearing the tiny bottoms, made with a piece of lace, then a gap of skin, and then the rest of the suit below, will inevitably create a stripe of lighter skin just above the pubic bone.

Variations on that suit, like the "Livin' on a Prayer" model, with a metal cross placed at the same spot, or the "Cover Girl" with a bow there, present the same difficulty. Other designs were more sun-friendly, but dangerous for swimming – the "Lyin' Eyes" zebra one-piece is a halter with no back ties, for example. Perhaps that's why that style was shown with black patent dominatrix boots; maybe it is for inside sunning only?

Also included in the show that was disproportionately populated with men in the audience that packed into the tiny Lightbox Stage was an assortment of cover-ups: filmy, lacy robes or tiny rompers that again looked like bedroom wear, high-end lingerie rather than beach wear.

The big Beach Bunny winner for any woman who actually likes to swim while wearing a bathing suit was Chittenden's "Secret Garden," a colorful and pretty design pairing pink flowers with turquoise stems, used as interchangeable pieces on an underwire bra top, a tie-side bikini bottom, a triangle top, a little skirt, and a baby doll bubble dress. Otherwise, Beach Bunny's Spring 2008 line seems full of suits made for posing and looking fabulous, but definitely not for getting wet.

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Variations on that suit, like the "Livin' on a Prayer" model, with a metal cross placed at the same spot, or the "Cover Girl" with a bow there, present the same difficulty. Other designs were more sun-friendly, but dangerous for swimming – the "Lyin' Eyes" zebra one-piece is a halter with no back ties, for example. Perhaps that's why that style was shown with black patent dominatrix boots; maybe it is for inside sunning only?

Also included in the show that was disproportionately populated with men in the audience that packed into the tiny Lightbox Stage was an assortment of cover-ups: filmy, lacy robes or tiny rompers that again looked like bedroom wear, high-end lingerie rather than beach wear.

The big Beach Bunny winner for any woman who actually likes to swim while wearing a bathing suit was Chittenden's "Secret Garden," a colorful and pretty design pairing pink flowers with turquoise stems, used as interchangeable pieces on an underwire bra top, a tie-side bikini bottom, a triangle top, a little skirt, and a baby doll bubble dress. Otherwise, Beach Bunny's Spring 2008 line seems full of suits made for posing and looking fabulous, but definitely not for getting wet.

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But if lounging by the pool or hanging out on your yacht is part of your world, then her super sexy, super skimpy Beach Bunny designs may be just what it takes to turn the right heads. But wearers should be prepared to use a lot of sunscreen, or there's going to be some wicked tan lines that follow.

Like with the "Smooth Criminal" suit, a black halter top embellished with two large silver keys hanging from the bodice strap, and a large chain lock dangling from the super-skimpy bottoms. Those are going to leave weird lines for sure. Or how about the "Stairway to Heaven," with its bodice top, complete with a riots of open-weave side lace and actual shoelaces going up the belly to the bodice line. The "Bed of Roses" suit, a triangle top embellished with rose appliqués shouldn't be too problematic, but wearing the tiny bottoms, made with a piece of lace, then a gap of skin, and then the rest of the suit below, will inevitably create a stripe of lighter skin just above the pubic bone.

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Scott began with tan-hued looks covered in work-boot footprints, a silk caftan, then a frumpy housedress, a silk button down shirt dress, and another shapeless, below-the-knee granny dress, then followed with a male model embarrassingly clad in sheer black pants tied up in a big bow, with the same motif repeated on his on-display underwear. All the women wore large round hats that looked like manhole covers; the man had a hardhat to match his frou-frou pants.

Next up was a series of black-and-silver tire motifs, the pattern repeated on a short silk dress cinched with a wide leather belt; on a hoodies paired with sheer black shorts; on a one-piece, one-shoulder ruffled bathing suit; on a tiny romper; and on him, done in boxers with a matching vest and another hardhat.

Other motifs in the collection were giant handprints done in silver on black, in a variety of styles, including an evening gown; a bright yellow ruler look, with the inch marks printed in jet black, shown on super-skinny, super-tight jeans for both men and women; and the most fun of all, a riot of caution, stop, and other street signs combined into a pattern that adorned miniskirts, sweats, and even the designer himself, as he headed out to take his bow.

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Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. collection was the most highly stylized of the day. The clothes ranged from retro mod frocks to wearable-yet-sexy sheath dresses, all shooting out onto the runway against a black-and-white video backdrop on models wearing clunky heels.

The palette was almost entirely black and white.

A handful of the outfits were costumey — particularly a double-breasted coat that she called the Abingdon Road coat and a pair of matching short shorts. Stefani might be able to pull this off onstage, but the average woman would have trouble wearing it, no matter how cute it looked on the runway. Overall, though, Stefani, along with stylist Andrea Lieberman, offered several looks that were in step with her young, hip customer, including a military-inspired jacket with a peekaboo neckline worn with a plaid pleated dress and a houndstooth beaded shift dress with a pleated cape jacket.

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Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. collection offered both mod frocks and sexy sheaths. BCBG Max Azria showed sheer, flowy dresses, while Abaete turned to '40s-inspired sheaths and halters for the collections shown at Bryant Park.

New York Fashion Week lasts eight days, previewing the spring-summer looks of 60 designers for fashion editors, retail buyers and stylists. Highlights this season will include Ralph Lauren celebrating his 40 years in fashion with a black-tie dinner Saturday night.

Dresses have been a strong trend the past three fashion cycles, but what started with short, boxy shifts in the spring morphed into shirtdresses for fall. It seems next season's shape — at least in early shows — is a loose sheath, one that glides over an hourglass shape without sticking to it.

For men, Nautica showed shorter hemlines while Perry Ellis experimented with different textures, such as bamboo fiber.