This spring, when American fashion designers unveiled their Fall 2008 collections, the mood was conservative and somber. The US is on the brink of a recession, embroiled in an unpopular and seemingly unending war; the price of gas and bread and living is rising daily. The fashion industry felt all of this, not with cuts to the prices of couture pieces, but with a return to conservative, minimalist silhouettes, like the sheath dress for day and evening.