By Samantha Critchell
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Whether you're a fan of fancy florals, kitschy candy or bold stripes, there is a printed fabric out there for you - and they're all in stores now.

This spring, designers are using novelty prints to make the new class of clothes different from those of previous seasons.

After all, only so much can be done design-wise to make a garment look "fresh": Really, a skirt is a skirt and a blouse is a blouse.

When it comes to prints, though, the possibilities are limitless.

Cynthia Rowley's spring-summer collection was inspired by "candyland" panoramas painted by her artist friend Will Cotton.

"After I had the theme, then I got carried away," she says with a laugh. "I wanted wedding cakes and chocolate kisses - I love kisses. It's a fun thing. It's taking sweet, girly prints to an extreme."

In fact, the gumdrop and jellybean prints came first, then the keyhole dress, tiny bikini bottom and "Sugar Mama" T-shirts. "You can do really sexy clothes in sweet prints ... You can get away with more risque looks," Rowley says. "This is real eye candy."

Developing the prints meant surrounding herself with sugar.

Rowley took photos of real cakes and then scanned them into a computer so she could create a repeat pattern. For the candy, she actually flattened out confections and stuck those in the scanner, too.

Not for the serious

She adds, "These clothes are meant to be pretty casual. It would be hard to dress up in a cake dress. We don't want this to be taken too seriously."

Meanwhile, Jimmy Choo's Tamara Mellon says cheerful patterns are having their day because retro prints are the rage. She suggests printed accessories as a way of wearing the trend without running the risk of looking unsophisticated or making an expensive investment in very memorable - as in "you can only wear it a few times" - outfit.

With a collection of floral, dotted and swirl-pattern Jimmy Choos, Mellon says there are no rules when it comes to printed shoes, bags, scarves and the like. "Anything can work. Just mix it up and have fun with your dressing," she says.

Michelle Smith, designer of the label Milly, likes seeing eye-catching prints against skin - another reason this is a warm-weather look.

'Look at me!'

The best print for you depends on your attitude and message, according to Smith; a graphic or medallion pattern is a more serious, office-appropriate print, while something cutesy - Milly's lollypop trench coat, perhaps - says "Look at me!" and is better for a party or weekends.

The prints in the current Milly collection might best be described as romantic, since they were inspired by Smith's honeymoon almost a year ago in Italy.

The lemon and nautical chain-link prints conjure up the seaside, while a pastel group of florals is a nod to Capri and Florence, which Smith describes as a little more cosmopolitan and feminine.