The spring 2010 shows at New York Fashion Week were optimistic, upbeat and offered an ocean, and a rainbow, of color. In short, they sometimes looked more like Hawai'i than New York. That's good news for us.

Designers clearly want to lift our spirits above the recession. In a splash of color and prints inspired by rainforests and tropical flowers, we should feel right at home wearing garments from, or inspired by, the designers' spring collections. Here are five spring trends from the runways we think will work in Hawai'i.

1. ARTFUL PRINTS

The prints on the runways were abstract works of art. Cynthia Steffe offered up subtle watercolor flowers, while Derek Lam's strapless sarong sang a tropical siren song. Vivienne Tam produced a print reminiscent of the Nu'uanu rainforest. At BCBG Max Azria, a turquoise, black and white print looks like the inside of a shell.

2. GREEK GODDESS DRAPING

Designers as diverse as Monique Lhuillier, Michael Kors, Rachel Roy, Ports 1961 and Diane von Furstenberg all employed graceful draping techniques in their day and cocktail dresses, as well as evening gowns. We love the way they can flatter the figure when strategically placed.

3. STRIPES & PLAIDS

These are not your golf-course-preppy stripes and plaids. Marc Jacobs' stripes have an ethnic, Island-friendly vibe, in addition to a bright hot pink-on-tangerine combination. Duckie Brown's watercolor plaids for men look like they were painted wet on wet, right on the beach.

4. SHADES OF BLUE

Bold blues, and in particular turquoise, are the dominant hue for spring. Michael Kors showed blues for men from head to toe (fedora to shoes), while Charlotte Ronson rocked a deep blue shorts suit. Saturated turquoise tunics brightened up the runways at Baby Phat, Lacoste and Nanette Lepore.

5. RUFFLES

A mainstay of Hawai'i swimwear, aloha wear and resort designs, ruffles were also prevalent on the New York runways. Oscar de la Renta layered indigo lace ruffles on a flirty dress. Badgley Mischka did shoulder-to-hem ruffles, while Cynthia Steffe took her ruffles on the diagonal in a flattering cross-body drape. Christian Siriano's red ruffled gown would be right at home at a local prom. Baby Phat even added ruffles to a sexy one-piece suit, not a surf-friendly look but quite fetching.