Retro and more at Nanette Lepore

You simply have to love Nanette Lepore, if not for the fact that she dedicated her show to her recently passed mom, or that Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and ex-Fugee John Forte performed a fabulous original score at the end of her runway show, or, how about just for the clothes, which are entirely covetable?

Lepore opened with a retro swimsuit topped by a matching cropped sweater in coral, and moved easily to color-soaked dresses in tangerine and rose, one a gigantic print.  The feeling (and we’ve seen this quite a bit) was a touch hippie girl – an airy maxi with a woodcut print and a darling white eyelet dress worn with lavender shoes sort of summed up the moment. The show closed with a series of embellished vintage looks – great – including the beaded handbags.

But hippie duds aside, a silky, sand-colored jacket and coat will be a spring must-have, at least according to the "Today Show’s" Natalie Morales, who picked it out of the lineup for us, and said, “I love Nanette Lepore and wear her all the time.”

Oh, and for the record, Lepore’s audience included some of the most interesting celebs of the week, including Stanley Tucci, Soprano gals Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Aida Turturro,  Kristin Chenoweth and Natasha Bedingfield.  

PHOTOS: See the Nanette Lepore 2011 spring collection | Celebs at fashion week