Inside area stores, spring has begun to bloom. “We’re already bringing it out now,” Softlines Manager Vickie Farmer said of Kmart’s spring line of clothing. Customers strolling through local stores find the same is true elsewhere.

The colors of beach vacations greet patrons coming in from the cold. Colors are getting lighter and brighter, with orange-pinks, soft turquoise blues and sherbet shades of yellow and green popping up in stores.

Brenda Martin, store manager of Belk at Mercer Mall, said Belk started to get spring clothes in December. Blues and corals appear to be the colors of the season, she said, with crocheted and lace pieces topping the in-fashion styles. Crocheted items seem to be the most popular among customers so far, Martin said.

At Kmart, “we’re getting the tanks with the cardigans that go over them,” Farmer said. The store offers “cotton shells that are selling extremely well.”

Long, flowing dresses are back, she said, and “cardigans were our big thing last year, so they probably will be this year, too.”

Other familiar styles have returned for another season, getting the warm-weather treatment with lighter fabrics and cooler cuts. Tanks and camisoles of various lengths, shrugs and T-shirts show no signs of disappearing from stores’ racks.

Martin said embellished jeans are another popular item that will continue to appear in stores.

And while the desire to keep up with fashion trends tends to be associated with women, clothing for the younger set will continue to mimic adults’ when it comes to spring style.

Trends really begin “with the junior customer,” Martin said.

Girls’ dark, velvet frocks have take their places on clearance racks to make room for short-sleeved dresses that conjure images of playing outside in the sunshine.

“Right now we’re getting girls’ dresses that are basically like the ladies,” Kmart’s Farmer said, adding that women’s trends are “carrying over into girls’.”

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As customers combed through clearance items and stores began to display the pastels and bright clothes of spring, the National Retail Federation released its 2006 forecast.

On Jan. 16, the world's largest retail trade association announced its prediction that retail industry sales — which exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants — will increase 4.7 percent from last year. Retail sales increased 6.1 percent, slightly higher than the 5.6 percent gain NRF had been forecasting, in a stronger-than-expected 2005, according to the NRF.

The group expects first quarter retail sales for 2006 to increase 5.0 percent, compared to gains of 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005.

While NRF is more cautious about the 2006 outlook, several categories of specialty retailing should continue to see some solid sales growth, according to the group. These include clothing and accessory stores, which include shoe stores and jewelry stores; food and beverage retailers; and health and personal care retailers.

How much money do people actually spend on clothing each year?

According to a recent Consumer Expenditure Survey, each consumer unit — which includes, on average, more than two people — spent $1,816 for apparel and services in 2004, the most recent year for which numbers are available. This was a 10.7 percent increase over the previous year’s rate of $1,640.

The survey, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor on November 29, 2005, looks at how consumers spend their money.

— Contact Melissa Cuppett at mcuppett@bdtonline.com