LONDON, September 19, 2006 – For some reason, there's a bit of an American preppy feeling rising in certain quarters of the English design community. Paul Smith, too, has caught a touch of the nostalgia vibe for clean, conservative, outdoorsy classics. In his hands, it was the perfect excuse to indulge his affection for putting fresh-faced girls in clothes meant for boys.

In essence, this was a collection of simple separates—seersucker shorts, navy brass-buttoned blazers, slim pants, and vivid V-neck knits—with the odd pair of Brooks Brothers–type boxers peeking out of the waistlines. Nodding to the trend for shirt-dressing, he showed crisp white cottons and borrowed-from-the-boys pajama checks. Color choices—lavender with raspberry, leaf green with beige—are always a strength in this collection, but there was a lack of Smith's characteristic prints on show. For evening—as evening as this essentially easy collection gets—he used parachute silks floating breezily away from the body. The best bit, though, was the not-quite-right English eccentricity of loafers made in slightly tattered washed silks in pretty pastels.

– Sarah Mower