In season

Women in sleeveless tops with scarves. Men in shorts with cardigans. Seems like I'm not the only one stuck between sartorial seasons. (Or perhaps everyone's just prepared for the outdoor/indoor highs and lows.)

The shape of things

Fashionable or not, there are some shapes that simply don't flatter a female body. Billowy fabrics in the form of sack dresses, tent dresses, trapeze dresses, you name it, have been particularly troublesome--and practically unavoidable--of late. One petite friend in a fashionably flowy top was even offered a seat on the bus by someone who mistakenly thought she was pregnant. At what price fashion indeed.

Changeroom chatter

Girl 1 (trying on dress): Can you see my thong?
Girl 2: Uh, I can see your cheeks. Maybe you should wear a slip.
Girl 1: Do people still wear slips? It's so like 1950s or something."

Casting call

I remember first coming across this comp card years ago. Helping to cast for a shoot, I flipped right past this model, who I thought looked too unusual in the otherworldly way. She did her share of editorial work, was popular among certain stylists, and went by her last name, Stam. What a difference a few years—i.e., going back to her natural hair color (blonde), not to mention numerous high-profile advertising deals—makes.

Fading beauty

I used to think I could get away with wearing the same foundation color year round. Wearing scarves and high necklines usually did the trick to get me through those handful of weeks when fading was most noticeable. Or so I thought.

"Did you know your neck is a different color than your face?" my sister remarked on a recent visit.

Busted.

Spring fling

Forget Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. The true telltale sign of spring in the city: girls without socks. Just today I spotted three pairs of sockless feet in flats. I'd say spring's just two weeks away...

Sweet talk

"In France we would never put macarons in a bag," said a French woman to me at the local bakery, as I was getting my macarons in a paper bag. "We put them in boxes with windows so that we can appreciate their beauty."

Ah, yet another reason why French women don't get fat.