A laundry list of salable trends on the New York runways for spring gave retailers' visions of cash registers going ka-ching.

A Pantone wheel of colors and a variety of prints from ikats to florals will drive sales, they predicted, as will longer day dresses to replace shorter ones in consumers' closets and cropped or long jackets.

But some store executives bemoaned they saw little on the runways to move fashion forward. It's the old argument of fashion with a capital F versus a more commercial form. Not surprisingly, the collections that injected some of the former into the latter were the most popular.

Even if watching many of the shows brought a sense of déjà vu to some, most agreed fall trends translated into lighter fabrics looked fresh. "It's not a huge shift in direction from fall," said Jennifer Wheeler, vice president of designer apparel at Nordstrom. "But [customers] haven't seen this in lighter fabrics and spring iterations."

Here's what retailers had to say about New York Fashion Week, which closed Wednesday.

Stephanie Solomon, vice president of fashion direction at Bloomingdale's

Rate the week: It was an excellent week of fresh and trend-right collections, punctuated by strong, happy colors, bold prints and stripes.

Favorite collections: Ralph Lauren still rules American sportswear — his bright yellow trenchcoat is a standout — and Donna Karan had a magnificent return to her roots with great silhouettes. [Marc Jacobs] raises the bar. I loved his color palette, his sensual printed dresses and his football jerseys. Also, Michael Kors' striped dresses, tunics and beaded shirtdress; Zac Posen's evening dresses with ruffles and organza gowns in brilliant colors, and Chris Benz for celebrating color, along with Diane von Furstenberg's bold florals, maxi- and shirtdresses, and Lyn Devon's sleek and sophisticated sensibility.

Linda Fargo, senior vice president and fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman

Rate the week: The American collections looked quintessentially...American!

What's new?: Far-flung travels, Green Movement, great ethnic prints on natural fabrics and safari wear. Boho luxe, painterly patterns and sensuous minimalism emerged, as well. The appeal of dresses holds on, although the line has dropped to the all-important waist, though the longer skirt and blouse look newer.