Would You Like to Swing on a Star?

Yup, that title has NOTHING to do with this blog, but that song has been stuck in my head for some reason.

Anyhow, lets talk January and February. They are well known as the boring black hole of the fashion world. The fall colors have faded. The holiday hype is over. That cardigan with beaded trim that looked adorable in December? Well if you wear it now, face it, you're going to look like an ass. And, thus, we're left in a fashion rut. Its too ordinary a time for fancy sweaters and cute red dresses with tights; its too damn cold for the spring items that you suddenly long for the minute January first hits. Is that just me?

Pre-spring fever. I know it well.

It was the winter of 1992. For some bizarre reason, my friend Jen and I were unreasonably obsessed with Olympic figure skating, and all things Olympics that year. We even dragged her dad to Nassau Coliseum to see the Tour of Champions... but I digress.

Late that winter, perhaps in February, I was perusing Marshalls (yes, even as a 14 year old I was a huge fan) and I came upon a white pair of tennis shorts (no I didn't play tennis). These were not your ordinary tennis shorts. They were embroidered, in gold, with "USA" and the Olympic rings. Oh, how I had to have these shorts! I happily dipped into my babysitting money and plunked down $9.99 plus tax for these wonderful shorts.

Naturally, I wasn't allowed to wear them until it was "warm enough."

Then, one day it was a beautiful sunny winter morning... You know the sort of morning I'm talking about; you can smell that spring is around the corner; you want to will the crocuses out of the ground because it will confirm your belief that Spring is, indeed, on a short time away.

It was probably about 50 degrees.

Dammit, I was going to wear those shorts come Hell or high water. After much argument, fruitless on the part of my mother, she finally threw her hands in the air and told me to do whatever (the hell) I wanted to do.

And, I probably froze my ass off that day... but the fact of the matter was that those special shorts were my little bit of spring in the winter. My little bit of inspiration that the dreary gray days would seen be replaced by lush greens and yellows and pinks and blues. And maybe a new purse.

Now that I'm an adult, I probably won't be wearing Olympic themed tennis shorts to work anytime soon, and so I turn to shells and camisoles to brighten my winter days and remind me that spring, is indeed, on its way.


This bright yellow shell from Old Navy is a shot of sunshine beneath a gray suit.

I'd throw on this camisole, from Patterson J. Kincaid, with dark skinny jeans, boots, and a cream colored sweater.


This white shell, from Trina Turk, is so much more special than the typical white shell.

I like this camisole, from Gap, however, I do not like the model's head in this photo. She looks like a sleepy gazelle.

This aqua color is my favorite spring staple, by Ella Moses.

This shell, from Milly Louisa, is great under a suit now, and great with bare arms and a pencil skirt in May.

Oh Loft, how I love ye, and how I also love this pale blue shell.

I wouldn't feel like spring, to me, without some stripes. From Loft.

Ok Heather, we get the point. You love Loft.

A satiny tie dyed sorta looking thing, from the Limited.

If I were to put on this tank, from Express, I'd feel like Gretel frolicking around the forest looking for breadcrumbs.

This shell, from Banana Republic, feels like a warm weather vacation to me.

This shell is from Banana and it is also the color of a banana. Coincidence? Well, probably.

This is the shell I would wear if I was a funky abstract artist living in Soho. From. Anthropologie.

If I were to guest star on Star Trek, and they told me to wear a shell, I'd pick out this little number, from Anthropologie, because its called the Andromeda shell. Obviously this reminds me of the Andromeda galaxy, Duh.