It’s the week of the boot here at Fashionista. So while we’re on the topic…

Of all the super chunky, kind-of-ugly boots that have been conceived over the years, Uggs seem to be the lone survivor. They’ve been around forever and, much to the chagrin of many, are still in fairly high demand.

Another super chunky, kind-of-ugly boot that once had a moment is the Moon Boot. I totally forgot about them until I saw this.

And then I had a laugh remembering how silly my friends looked as they tried to stomp around in them. Once I stopped the giggling I thought, “Are Moon Boots making a comeback?” To which I briskly answered myself, “No, of course not.”

We almost forgot about fall given the SS10 hysteria.

Now that it’s freezing outside, we’re digging to the bottom of our closets to find the ball of tights that gets us through every winter, but plain black tights are significantly less satisfying than usual.

For FW09 designers showed a range of patterned and embellished tights that left us longing for something more exciting. From Marc Jacobs 80’s neon paisley to McQueen’s optical houndstooth, tights stopped being just something to keep warm, and started being a crucial accessory with which to liven your outfit.

Wouldn’t you rather brighten your fall wardrobe with some sparkle tights a la Anna Sui or some bejeweled Miu Mius? And if you still feel for black, try the sheer dotted tights seen at Balenciaga, which are perfect for adding a detail to a simple outfit.

We say ditch the black tights and start walking in technicolor!

Remember that episode of I Love Lucy in which Lucy and Ethel are desperate for dresses from a specific designer?

They’re heading to a horse race and insist upon these fancy dresses so Ricky and Fred cut head and arm holes in potato sacks and sew the designer label into the burlap and convince the girls the dresses came straight from his atelier. They end up at the racetrack with their heads held high, acting like snooty brats in their major outfits.

They might’ve preferred these. We’ve been lamenting the loss of ’08s tent dresses and welcome the sack with open arms. It does, of course, take a lot of work to make one look like Tomas Maier’s at Bottega Veneta as opposed to a sheet. Laces, like at Celine, help, as does a delicate sleeve (though we’d prefer one on both arm) from Calvin Klein. As for actual burlap at Charles Anastase? At least Fred and Ricky would approve.

You already know how much we love the schoolgirl braids and pigtails that made their way down the runways for SS10. But the girly trend didn’t stop there. From flowers at Chanel, bows at Luella and Vuitton, sweet barrettes at Phillip Lim, and pretty headpieces at Peter Som, sweet hair accessories are definitely having a moment too.

We love a low-maintenance way to do a little something extra with the hair. And none of these are too precious or sugar-coated that a grown lady can’t pull them off. Phew.

This season’s all about the leather pants - a wonderful change from last season’s wannabe leather liquid leggings - but it looks like next season’ll welcome the leather top.

In New York, Phillip Lim showed leather tanks and tees over slouchy pants and tucked into little skirts. In Paris, Phoebe Philo showed more structured leather tees in both black and brown and Daria Werbowy poured herself into Christophe Decarnin’s studded leather top at Balmain.

I squeezed Frankie’s Alexander Wang look into that graphic because, though there is leather on top, it fits the trend of turning a total basic - t-shirt, sweatshirt, legging - into a luxury item; a successful runway idea that always earns the “comfortable chic” label. But practically speaking, leather tops sound miserably uncomfortable and unflattering unless made out of the absolute best leather.

We’re praying to the high street gods to leave this one alone.

Tired of doodling on paper or the soles of your Converse? How about your arm? Your thigh? Your chest?

Rodarte kicked off the body art trend in New York, covering their models with Sharpied tribal shapes to complement their primitive, deconstructed collection. James Kaliardos pulled from a variety of inspirations to come up with the black curvilinear designs that ended up the perfect armor for Rodarte’s futuristic warrior girls.

Talk about statement hair. From Dame Viv to Yohji Yamamoto, dyed and powdered hairstyles have definitely captured the attention of the front row and beyond this season.

The boys behind Proenza Schouler said that they were inspired by “surfing and skating” for their most recent collection. But this apparent Nineties grunge revival in fashion has influenced more than just clothes. At their S/S show, the purple and teal hair dye made the models look like Kurt Cobain-influenced mermaids. Natural elements surfaced in Europe as well. Vivienne Westwood’s fiery orange and red hair reinforced her always eco-concious message, while the bright, earthy green hair at Comme des Garçons was just another playful feature in a generally satirical collection. And at Yohji Yamamoto, the airy powder blue dye was the crowning feature for his minimalistic designs.

One question remains: will this wild hair trend have you rethinking the color of your coiffure come Spring?

Wearing socks with sandals is usually listed near the top of any fashion don’t list.

Last fall, everyone welcomed tights with open toes. But it looks like spring’s headed in an even less practical direction pairing socks, whether ankle or knee high, with your favorite sandals. You can do it with platform wedges a la Topshop or Burberry, flats like Marni, shoe booties like Wang and Charles Anastase or studded party shoes like Louise Goldin.

Marc’s fall 06 show was the last time we even considered trying this (though alas, we aren’t Karen Elson), but we’re still not sure about its resurgence for spring.

Last season, one couldn’t squeeze into a show without being knocked around by a pair of expensive shoulders. Though the Balmain or Margiela or any shoulder interpretation of the two have stuck around here and there, SS10’s featured a healthy crop of anti-shoulders so far.

Designers ranging from Richard Nicoll to the team at Topshop, from Australian Josh Goot to the Brooklyn based Vena Cava girls, haven’t just ignored shoulder pads, they’ve actually cut out the shoulders of their tops and dresses. Julien Macdonald placed extra larges slits at the shoulders of his slashed dress and Osman Yousefzada cut the shoulders out of a handful of looks in his all-white collection.

Will it knock its opposite off the runways? All eyes on you Carine.

So far my two favorite runway hairstyles take their inspiration from little girls, as far as I can tell. And I mean that in a good way.

Braids and pigtails remind me fondly of my carefree days playing tag and tetherball, and doing penny drops off the monkey bars—with shorts underneath my skirt, of course. (None of us could let the boys peek. And now of course we’re giving up pants altogether. But that’s a whole other matter.)

From the much-beloved Alexander Wang braid to the pigtails yesterday at Prada, elementary school hair is making a comeback. And I like it. A lot.

This isn’t the properly combed look that your mother painstakingly did for every morning. The styles are a little more f***ed up, with teasing, flyaways, and that perfect version of messiness that editorial stylists are so genius at. And of course, a power glossy bright lip wasn’t really in the mix on the playground.

Stella McCartney sent pants-less looks down her runway as early as her Spring 2008 collection (September of 2007, when Gaga was still just a noise babies made). She carried the look through to last spring’s line-up of pants-less suits and rompers, but this season almost every designer jumped on the bandwagon.

Charles Anastase showed a killer nude and black playsuit; Marc layered pants-less options under military jackets; Miuccia showed hotpants in Milan last night; Brian Reyes’ opening look was nothing but a white bodysuit. As if a lack of pants wasn’t enough, Alex Wang sewed sheer panels into his and Jenni Kayne added a matching leather bandeau, conservatively draped with a grandpa cardigan, of course.

But, well, you know which question remains.

Makeup for spring is almost always lighter and dewier than its fall counterpart. But one of my favorite trends so far is the use of pastel and Easter egg shades, but in a totally non-precious way. I’m not usually one for light purples, pinks, blues, and greens in beauty. But I’m truly starting to think about them in a new light.

Hints of the purple hair streak trend had already popped up in editorials before Jack and Lazaro sent them (and green too) down the runway at Milk. The shimmery mix of shades at Derek Lam even feels slightly rock star, in a Jem and the Holograms kind of way. And the robin’s egg blue at Luella is simply cheeky and downright fun.

I’ve only just now switched into my dark and moody fall black and bordeaux phase (current obsession: MAC Resolutely Red) but I’m already excited to try something outside my normal comfort zone this spring.

Also, does this trend not have Drew Barrymore’s name written all over it?

Overall, New York Fashion Week kept to a very neutral palette, but when color was needed designers went straight for neon yellows and lime greens to brighten their quiet visions of spring.

We spotted it at Jonathan Saunders, Brian Reyes and Marc by Marc, of course. But Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen, Yigal Azrouel and Clare Waight Keller at Pringle all paired their bright yellows with dove grey for a pretty fresh look that even I (I never wear color) would consider working into spring.

Earlier this summer, Carolina Herrera waved aside any Elle Woods’ prejudices and gushed about the color orange, calling it “the new red” and using it prominently in her lovely Resort 2010 collection.

I love orange, and am totally willing to jump onto the trend, but unfortunately something about an orange dress - on me- is not quite right. I have yet to find an one that I can rock like Karlie or Sessilee did on the runway, instead I end up looking like an elementary school teacher dressing for Halloween.

Enter orange accessories. I’m particularly drawn to this clutch and these pointed flats that I saw on Net-a-Porter. Both are from Jil Sander, where Raf Simons also gave us some beautiful orange dresses for fall. Loving that clutch: great color, great design.

Barney’s has a ton of orange wallets and accessories, mostly by Valextra. And of course Hermes has gorgeous options. But the pickings are still a little slim at this point. Tell us, have you spotted any good jewelry or shoes in “the new red”?

—AMANDA JEAN BOYLE

There were a few feathers in February, mostly of the rock n’ roll variety.

Black and brown ones peppered Ann Sofie Back’s collection while William Rast decorated his punky cowboy jeans with white. They were used best in Ann Demeulemeester’s elaborate headdresses. Meanwhile, they’ve translated rather funny for fall.

We embrace feathers in general - they’re both sexy and we imagine comfortable. But the idea’s not being executed properly off the runway. Why, for example, is this Haute Hippie long vest made in bubble gum pink? The woman who will spend $695 on an over-sized boa doesn’t want it in pink. This Cavalli top, though just printed with feathers, looks like a pair of massive wings. And this beaded, feathered hair piece from Urban Outfitters would make Ann weep.

If we want to wear feathers this fall, and we do, should we be starting our most elaborate DIY yet, or have you seen some more promising feathered accessories?

We had a little thing in my family when I was younger that when someone was wrong, he/she had to repeat this sentence three times in rapid succession, “You were right and I was wrong.”

Now, I’m not willing to completely concede on the face paint front by any means, but I do have to admit that Drew Barrymore may have been on to a trend (albeit one I’m not necessarily into) with her painted cheeks and forehead at Bonnaroo.

This spread from a story in the newest issue of V Magazine (shot by Willy Vanderperre) shows Iris sporting the darker, edgier version, in comparision to Drew’s hippie fairy.

Regardless of my feelings on the matter, it seems that I may have to accept this as a trend for a bit longer than expected. But then again, it might just grow on me, in which case I’ll totally do the “You were right…” speech, even if you all can’t hear me.