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With snow on the ground and temperatures below freezing, spring clothing is probably the last thing on shoppers’ minds. Yet local retailers have been thinking about the season even before the first snow last fall and signs of that thinking are popping up in the clothes starting to hit store racks.

K.Renee Inc. in West Des Moines received its pre-spring, or “resort,” clothing shipments in December and already has begun adding spring lines. Ready-made clothing and fabric swatches for custom-made suits began arriving at Berardi Bros. in West Glen Town Center a couple of weeks ago, and Natalie Morrow, owner of Notting Hill in West Glen, is just starting to get her spring shipments.

But Morrow’s spring lines are coming in a couple weeks later than last year after she found that warm-weather items didn’t sell well last January. “People were still recovering from the holidays,” she said, “and if they were going to buy something, they were concentrating more on finding a bargain.”

This kind of strategic thinking is new for Morrow, who opened her store in November 2006. She had to guess on styles and the amount of clothes to order last year (which was partially based on an informal focus group of about 100 women), but a year of experience led her to drop some brands and scale back on sizes.

Like most retailers, Morrow goes to market about six months ahead of a season. She prefers Los Angeles to find the feminine and contemporary styles her boutique features, and has good relationships with clothing representatives there, who help her get appointments and give her insight into new brands and trends. Most of her three- to four-day trips are spent in showrooms among the four buildings of the city’s fashion district.

Morrow’s first trip “was a bit nerve-racking,” she said, “but it’s fun. I have to say my favorite part of owning my own boutique is going to market. I’m a die-hard shopper anyway, and I really get my fix when I go.” Now she usually goes about four times a year, taking an employee along if possible.

Morrow often sticks with staple brands, such as Freedom of Choice, Billy Blues, which she says is “renowned for its fit,” and LA Made, known for its basic T-shirts and casual dresses. This season she’s also bringing in lines from American Retro as well as Odd Molly, which has a bohemian look with casual fun prints and unique detailing. Dresses are also in, she said.

After overbuying on her first trip to market, Morrow now will test a new line first and then order more if it takes off. “I really want to keep with limited quantities,” she said, “so that the customer does feel like she’s buying something special.”

Kelly Schulz, owner of K.Renee, goes to market in New York City from six to nine times a year, said Megan McLallen Aronson, manager, who usually goes with her. Not only are there two major markets in the spring and fall, but European designers tend to introduce their lines earlier and designers have a separate market for items such as shoes and baby clothes.

For the biannual Fashion Coterie Tradeshow, McLallen Aronson said Enk International Inc. will rent out two to three Hudson Bay piers and feature more than 1,000 vendors. “It’s a very intense experience because you’re soaking in all of this information and making decisions at the drop of a hat,” she said.

The K.Renee crew also will visit showrooms in Midtown or SoHo, which is “a little more calm,” McLallen Aronson said, and is often where they preview lines for K. Renee’s core brands, such as Elli Tahari.

The trend for this spring is bold colors and prints, McLallen Aronson said, which K.Renee, as a neutral-color clothing store, will highlight with a few items. “We’re really not trend-driven,” McLallen Aronson said. “We’re more about innovation, such as a designer using pleats in a cool new way.”

The boutique has had recent success with new lines from Canadian designers, such as Pink Tartan. They also are bringing in clothes from Charles Nolan, which has a “charming spring collection that is sportswear-driven,” said McLallen Aronson.

“[Schultz’s] philosophy of buying is really cool: ‘If I like it, I buy it,'” she added. “It works because she has such an amazing eye for style and innovation and what the customer will be looking for to keep their style moving forward.”

Anthony Berardi and his son, John, head to Chicago twice a year and to Las Vegas for the MAGIC fashion show once a year to preview new clothing for their store.

The owners tend to stick with their core lines, especially in fabrics for custom-made suits, which come from companies in England and Italy. However, they sometimes find a new item, such as European scarves they carried last fall. Occasionally, a salesman will call on the owners at the store, Anthony Berardi said, but not as often as in the past.

This season, the owners are bringing in some brighter neckties and colorful spring sweaters, and the custom-suit fabrics feature an updated plaid from the 1970s.

“They’re showing more interesting color combinations,” Berardi said, with sports jackets especially being a place where “men express their wild side.”

The styles they feature are in line with the rest of the nation – and internationally, too. “I’ve been in Milan, Italy,” Berardi said, “and seen the same fabric swatch books that we have.”

But despite 36 years in the business for Anthony and 12 years for John, they admit they can still guess wrong on what customers will buy. “You just have to let your instincts take you,” Berardi said.

Though holiday sales remained fairly strong for these boutiques, bucking the national trend, some may cut inventory in upcoming seasons. When buying in October, Morrow predicted sales would slow in 2008, so she scaled back a little on inventory; her decision was confirmed by a slightly slower holiday season than the past year. Berardi said he might do the same for the upcoming season.

McLallen Aronson said sales continue to be strong at K.Renee and they haven’t put items on sale. To prepare for the new season, Morrow had a one-day blowout sale with an additional 50 percent off winter clearance items, which she said moved a lot of merchandise out. Berardi Bros. put its seasonal items on sale.

“We carry lot of the same basics, though,” Berardi said, “and those we just fill in and carry more of them.”