The past returns: that old adage, "fashions past often inspire fashions future," certainly holds true today, so far as the new European collections go. In a nutshell, the Spring/Summer 2006 designer showings in Paris and Milan most notably prove without a doubt that the unpredictability of fashion is that it never follows a single direction.(Paris/Milan S/S 06 Fashion)

JQ, March, 2006 by Weinfeld-Berg, Adrienne

Sure, the look of the moment is soft, beautiful, ladylike and lovely, but those words conjure up a whole, new meaning this season. There's the revival of the dress. Interesting to note that so many across-the-pond designers hearkened back to designs conjured up by the old-world fashion maestros of the past, such as Balenciaga (circa 1957-1967), Givenchy (1958), Yves Saint Laurent and the like.

So, what that means on the current runways translates into everything from girly-girl looks to monastic silhouettes, inspired by old master and Japanese paintings, to formal, long gowns, to light-as-cloud, frothed-up and bubblicious varietals.

In yet another viewpoint of style, many European houses (big, small and everything in between) looked to bringing back...