But if the light and playful way that gray was employed was not sufficient enough to elevate your spirits, all the bold-and oftentimes neon-colors from Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Iceberg, Versace, and Thakoon, among the many, would certainly catapult your emotional barometer into the stratosphere.  There were smatterings of vivid prints, too, especially with animal motifs emblazoned on the clothing canvases, at Dolce & Gabbana, Blumarine, Oscar de la Renta, and Dries Van Noten, also among the many.

As we've seen the past few seasons, glittery metallics were muscular and omnipresent-in everything from dresses, pants, vests, shrugs, jackets, and coats, which by the way, made quite a sensational statement themselves; more often than not, they were oversize, cocoon-style wraps.  But there were also coats in unusual cuts with interesting lines-for example, fitted to the body, but with huge sleeves, or some other element that startled.  Regardless of the silhouettes, they all auger a toasty winter.  And if they do not keep you warm enough, body-enveloping fur will, and it was assuredly flying everywhere at the shows-in adorable bracelet-like cuffs of real fur at Tibi, to faux-fur half-sleeves (like arm warmers) at Donna Karan.  There were collars galore, like those at Prada, and hem, neck, waist, and wrist trims at Dior.  Fur was used to adorn everything, from hats to boots.

This coming season, you may well need fur to keep you warm, because your shoulders-or at least one shoulder-are likely to be bare. Asymmetric sleeves and wacky necklines were everywhere-but shown in their most sedate expression, the motif was played out with a simple one-shoulder effect, in almost every line, from Jil Sander to Derek Lam to Isaac Mizrahi.