Although spring seems horribly far away, the new collections have started to appear on shop racks, providing a refreshing burst of color after what feels like an eternity of tweedy, ladylike looks.

The good news is that it promises to be one of the prettiest, most wearable, and practical seasons in years. The bad news is that you need to start saving, because there will be some incredibly covetable clothes around. Here is a guide to the key trends.

SAFARI

ON THE CATWALK Designers have plundered ideas from the tribes and plains of Africa. Stella McCartney, Dolce & Gabbana, and MaxMara have all updated the safari jacket. Diane von Furstenberg has included African-style beaded dresses and giraffe and banana-leaf prints in her collection, which is inspired by Ava Gardner on safari in the film “Mogambo.”

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT Pair a khaki jacket – as at the Stella McCartney show – with an African-inspired print skirt or, to streamline the look, wear it with a simple pencil skirt.

FOLK & HANDICRAFTS

ON THE CATWALK From full, appliqued skirts and crocheted tops to cotton, prairie-style skirts, there are folkloric looks galore. The ease of this season is best summed up by Chloe’s gauzy, silver embroidered smock tops and skirts, which are decorated with thousands of tiny, hand-cut slits.

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT Team a peasant skirt with flat sandals or suede boots. Pieces with intricate embellishment – such as Dries van Noten’s stunning embroidered skirts, which wrap in a bustle at the rear – work well with heels and a crisp, white shirt.

METALLICS

ON THE CATWALK Sparkling knits, rich brocades, and shimmering sequins will add glamour to day and evening. Vera Wang has used silver and mint-colored brocade for coats and jackets, while Roland Mouret has peppered his entire collection with silver brocades and pale gold silk tailoring.

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT Don’t save them for the evening – the new metallics should be worked with modern, sporty pieces and worn any time. During the day, wear a subtly shimmering silver or gold jacket with a white vest and slouchy trousers.

NEW PROPORTIONS

ON THE CATWALK The shrunken jacket is big news for spring and comes in all sorts of interesting variations. Phoebe Philo has designed clever, reversible, black and ivory satin cropped jackets for Chloe (they are destined to be sell-out pieces); Stella Mc-Cartney has come up with a similar shape in lightweight wool, and Olivier Theyskens has made the shrunken tailored jacket a signature look for Rochas.

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT Put a little jacket over an evening dress (on the catwalk, the Chloe jacket was shown over a little black dress), or over a longer, contrasting top for day.

WORLD TRAVELER

ON THE CAT WALK Designers have been globetrotting again. Clements Ribeiro, among others, stopped off in India, so expect saturated color, kaftans, and Raj-style prints. Meanwhile, Moroccan coins and beads jangle from dresses at Lanvin and Diane von Furstenberg, and Giorgio Armani and Benhaz Sarafpour both looked East. Greece provided inspiration for the draped goddess dresses at Sophia Kokosalaki, and Michael Kors’s inspiration is Jackie Onassis on a Greek island.

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT With subtlety. Decorative obi belts, colorful, embroidered tops, and other spangly pieces always look best played off against something simple.

FLORA & FAUNA

ON THE CATWALK The spring shows blossomed with floral prints, bird motifs, and appliques, which were at their prettiest at Marni and Prada. The best prints include the tropical flowers at Proenza Schouler and Missoni and the glorious, washed-out, wallpaper-style florals at Dries van Noten. Look out for anything with an empire line, which is one of the season’s key shapes.

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT Choose really easy shapes, rather than anything that is too fitted, and wear them with colorful, high heeled shoes – Carrie Bradshaw-style – or with flat Roman sandals. Accessorize sundresses with the season’s key shoes: wedge sandals.

SLOUCH & LAYERING

ON THE CATWALK Where Nicolas Ghesquiere roams, others follow. His naval-themed Balenciaga show included fluid sailor pants, while the equally influential Marc Jacobs focused on baggy trousers worn with high-heeled Mary Janes. Elsewhere, silhouettes were loose and free-flowing – such as Chloe’s billowing cream silk dresses – and colorful: at Marni, voluminous, 1950s-inspired jackets came in bold prints and checks.

HOW WE’LL WEAR IT Don’t create too much volume. Wear baggy trousers with heels (at Balenciaga, they were teamed with high heeled gladiator sandals), and keep billowing pieces as pared down as possible.