Five for Fall

Academia: How do you fix a day that starts with a bad doctor's appointment? You get an iced chai on the way to work, giggle with your girlfriends when you're supposed to be listening to a presentation, go out to dinner with your husband and good friend, and end the day on the couch watching reruns of Friends and Will and Grace. At least, that's how I did it yesterday. Clapping along with "I'll Be There For You" makes me happy every time.

Sartorial: Today's Friend Friday assignment is to list the five fall trends that we're looking forward to trying out. I'm horrible at noticing trends before they're so ubiquitous that Cary's fifth graders are wearing them, but this year I bought the gargantuan September issue of In Style, so I've done my research. Here they are, my top five favorite fall trends:

1. Ladylike. In Style says this is happening, and I'm psyched. As someone who wore only dresses and multiple plastic necklaces at once as a child and a tiara to her wedding as an adult, I can't get enough of girly ruffles, Mad Men-esque full skirts, and demure necklines.
2. Maxi skirts. This trend is still going on, which is great for me because I just now got on board and bought a maxi skirt. A skirt that keeps me warm in the winter and doesn't require me to shave my legs? Yes, please.
3. Midi skirts. This length is so ladylike (see Trend 1) and glamorous. Midi skirts are also timeless. They feel something both my mother and grandmother would have worn in their youth. I have an early 80s-ish one now, and I love it.
4. Wide leg pants. Way more comfortable and universally flattering than skinnies, and I caught on to this one early, so I actually already have a pair.
5. Bright colors. Take a look at my pictures, y'all. See that tan? That's right, you don't. We fair-skinned folks have suffered through the Year of the Neutral, trying to pull off beige-on-white and looking like a bowl of oatmeal every time. Bright colors are where it's at for the pigmentally challenged. They catch the tiny bit of color that our skin manages to produce and amplify it so we look less like the Cullens and more like people who go outside occasionally and don't even know who the Cullens are.