2013, Today!

When I wrote this post (something like 4 weeks ago), everyone was in a tizzy (and by "everyone," I mean three of my unacquainted Facebook friends) over the face masks that apparently all the cool ladies are wearing over in China (and judging from the photos I've seen, mainly the "old" cool ladies) to protect their skin from the sun.

But why is everyone in a tizzy? Well, as your foremost authority on fashion, allow me to theorize. It might be because the masks are ugly as sin.

I am all for sun protection, but there are many better, more attractive ways to do it: A hat, a veil, sunscreen, or, my personal favorite, a parasol! As your foremost authority on fashion, allow me to make a bold prediction: these sun-protecting umbrellas are coming straight back from Victorian times! And I'm welcoming them with open arms!

I admit I was once a slave to the tanning mentality (although I never really thought tanned skin was attractive, per se, it was just ingrained in my head that tan was the ideal way to be). But sometime in college, I absorbed my doctor's adage that "pale is pretty," and I never looked back! I've been in the non-tanning minority for most of my adult life, but I think the tides of fashion may be finally beginning to shift my way. (It is rather interesting that in our culture, people go to great lengths to get tanned skin, whereas in most others, they go to great lengths to avoid it. But I'm not going to discuss that at length here, because anyway, the times they are a-changing!)

It may be just my imagination, but I feel like I'm beginning to see a backlash against tanning, which has driven our standards of beauty (at least among white Americans) since, I don't know...the fifties? The ad campaigns in favor of sunscreen are coming hot and SPF 60 (that is to say, heavy!), and I really have seen it—people walking the streets, without a cloud in the sky, carrying an umbrella!

OK, all right, so far it seems to have been mostly Hispanics and Asians rocking the parasols (in one case, an entire horde of them visiting campus where I work), but I think us Caucasians can't be far behind! I, for one, have already taken to carrying a folding umbrella in my purse on sunny days and whipping it out when I have to walk a significant distance away from the shade, but that's because I'm a trendsetter. And also because I really can't stand the feel and smell of sunscreen.

So who's with me? Unfashionistas unite! Let's get those parasols out of our childhood dress-up boxes and onto the streets!

Is this me next summer?

The outfit in this picture was chosen for our staff photo at work (to be worn with an off-white flowy shrug to hide the bright blue bra straps!). As you know, I normally go for monochromatic color schemes, but I really wanted to wear these brown shoes (I've only worn them once since I bought them), and I had several pieces of brown jewelry (Brown jewelry? Really? Who comes up with this stuff?) that I've also been hoping to finally wear, so...