By Julia Gall

The start of the new year in Boston also means the start of a winter season, freezing residents and streets blanketed with snow. However, within the warm interior of many retail stores, spring has begun.

As the cold-weather merchandise slowly starts to clear out after the post-holiday sale rush, clothing stores begin to fill their racks and shelves with the lightweight, light-colored frocks of the warmer season.

In the past, spring has showcased clothing that is floral, pastel and covered with frills.

It should be no different in 2006.

“Fashion needs a new simplicity,” said Margareta van den Bosch, head of design at H’M, in a press release. “Romantic influences continue in a softer, more restrained way. Tailored items have new proportions that work well when combined with romantic items. Colors are light and neutral. And the silhouette is a contrast of the voluminous and close-fitting.”

The January issue of Vogue magazine highlighted spring fashion with the best of the couture runway, featuring flowing dresses with ruffles, tailored pant-suits and the eye-catching color cobalt blue, in addition to other metallic shades.

The high-fashion styles from the runway come to the general public in a more functional, wearable and watered-down version of spring couture.

Wedge sandals are seen everywhere, as well as pumps with an equally chunky heel. Although larger heels were commonly found in the form of boots this past fall, they now take on warmer fashion, exposing the toe and using materials such as cork and espadrille for the heels rather than suede or wood.

Also, the tailored look is expressed through trouser-style shorts. This includes button cuffs at the bottom of the shorts, seen in an array of materials, ranging from tweed to satin to denim, and best worn with pumps or wedges. Both Jessica Simpson and Nicole Richie have been pictured sporting this style in various fashion magazines.

The fashion-savvy students of Northeastern are becoming more aware of what is hot for spring, although the Boston weather tends to contradict the trends.

Miles Klein, a freshman philosophy major, said he will “probably skip spring shopping altogether and be in California when it starts getting warm in Boston.”

Klein said he has taken note of the spring trends for girls and generally agreed with them, noting “Wedges [heels] are cool, I’m down for those,” but acknowledges the unpleasant with the prediction of “an increase in gauchos, even though I think they’re hideous.”

The summer and fall trend of the gaucho pant (a cropped pant with a wide leg, seen in both trouser and causal styles) exploded to such an extreme, people cannot imagine it entirely going away.

Mia Grotolla, a sophomore American Sign-Language major, agreed with Klein, commenting “gauchos are everywhere,” but is waiting for the new spring styles with anticipation.

“I’m going to start [shopping for spring] as soon as all the spring stuff comes all the way out,” she said. “All the spring stuff, not the just little dribbles but everything.”

Grottolla was also excited for the different trends for this coming season.

“I like those trouser-looking shorts with pumps, but it’s somewhat impractical,” she said.

Her must-have item for spring is a little more sensible and timeless, as Grotolla expressed her need for “a new pair of sunglasses.”

Another favorite aspect of spring is its color palette.

“I always like spring style because it’s full of bright colors,” said Lauren Aloma, a sophomore international business major.

Of Vogue’s pick of cobalt blue as spring’s hot color, Aloma was pleased since she said she was hoping to see more blue this season. “I like that color a lot, it’s really pretty,” Aloma said.

Vogue also listed the top four trends in accessories for spring: big bags, chunky heels, long-layered necklaces and wide belts.

These trends may seem familiar and that’s because they are. They were frequently seen on celebrities and the masses alike this past summer and fall, during the reign of “Boho-Chic” (short for “Bohemian-Chic”) with Brit It-Girl Sienna Miller sitting on the throne.

But now that Miller and the fashion world have declared the end of the worldwide fashion phenomenon that was “Boho-Chic,” these familiar trends will be added alongside a more “mod” look of the 1960s, one that emphasizes the tailored and clean-cut rather than loose and messy clothing.

Though the spring of 2006 looks to carry over styles from previous seasons, the essential elements of classic spring clothing have remained: clean-cut, tailored looks with a twist of the past.