Jill Stuart played to her girlish base for Spring with a collection of floaty dresses that jetéd straight from the world of the ballerina. Though Stuart has been known to get a little saccharine at times, there were, thankfully, no tutus here. Instead, the designer seemed inspired by a sort of ad hoc rehearsing-the-dancer look, with leggings worn under layered, fluttery chiffon dresses, and strips of tulle knotted around wrists and ankles. Garçon jackets worn over dresses also worked to ground the collection s dreamy quality and inject a bit of edge. Stuart pushed her theme with harem pants, the best worn casually with a drapey cardigan and jersey top. The look reminded some of Marc Jacobs a few seasons ago, but if ever there were a time to propose a tricky pant, it s now. It may be a silly cliché to think that every woman wanted to be a ballerina as a little girl, but we re guessing that Stuart will sell to a few who really did.
