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.

Purse envy

I first saw this A.P.C. purse with plastic chain-link strap online. I remember liking it. The remember thinking about buying it (the blue version). I remember picking it up in the store and trying it on. And I remember the exact moment when I wanted to buy it: standing at the till, watching the very last one (the display model, actually), being sold before my very eyes.

Prada satchelus

Bergdorf blonde no. 1: Do you like this bag better or that other one?

Bergdorf blonde no. 2: Oh, you can't compare them. They're two entirely different species.

Neverland

My skinny jean about-face reminds me of the time I was standing in line at the movies and overheard a lady tell her gentleman-friend that she could never wear short dresses or skirts because she didn't have the knees for it.

I, too, have my share of "nevers." Let's see, I'm never going to wear shorts (except for during sports). I'm never going to wear cap sleeves. And I'm never going to wear square-toed shoes.

I call it going to Neverland. We all have our reasons for going. It's a safe place, and once you're there, it's hard to leave.

The skinny

Sometime between the fall shows and the first snow fall, I decided never to wear skinny jeans. The mutton-chop pant-leg look was not, after all, a look I wanted to go for, and so I sat on the sidelines as the leggings look trickled down from the catwalk to the sidewalk. I held out as A-, B-, then C-list celebs wore them, and even lasted through the first, second, third blast of merch in stores.

But weak from a "I'm going to L.A. and have nothing to wear" dilemma, I took to impulse shopping and bought a pair of black skinny-leg pants. The purchase sat in a bag for two weeks before I built enough courage to wear them out (aided by a long tunic top, of course). That was in December.

A month later, I actually contemplated wearing skinny jeans all week. So what about my thighs--nothing that a long top or oversized cardi can't cover. The pants are perfect for tucking into boots and are a no brainer with a foot of snow on the ground.

Sure, Lindsay Lohan puts up with a lot of slack for wearing leggings/skinny jeans all the time. But, really, who can blame her?

Tall drink of water

I've seen Sigg aluminum bottles around, at kitchen stores, grocery stores and even bike stores. Officially, though, I'd say the yogis had it first, having spotted a few at a recent Bikram class and on the street, usually carried together with a rolled-up mat.

Perhaps there's something to the average yoga consumer that naturally gravitates toward the practical, organic and chic (Lululemon, anyone?), and as a wannabe yogi in need of a good, resuable bottle, I was all for their latest approved product. Sigg, a Swiss company better known in Europe, offers a wide range of sizes and styles. There's the large, plain ones, favored by yoga enthusiasts, the kid-friendly small, cartoony ones, and a perfectly purse-sized, classic black one for me.