I know this is shocking, but I always LOVED shopping for back-to-school clothes. It’s really the only time of the year that I remember going and being able to get a lot of new things at once, instead of just a piece here and there. And I always had to have something new for the first day of school. In sixth grade, I somehow managed to make it to the day before school started without something new to wear the first day (probably because I basically stopped growing in fifth grade)… so my mom and I made an evening run to Dillard’s and I got a sapphire blue Esprit babydoll dress with black dots on it. I’m pretty sure I wore it with black leggings. If I still had it (and I was still that skinny), I could wear it again this year!

Of course, it’s always kind of weird to try on sweaters and tweeds and wool when it’s 95 degrees outside. And in Phoenix, there was really no need to buy most of that stuff until October or so. But it’s still fun to look — and to flip through all 9 trillion pages of the September issues.

This year, I’m seeing a lot of dresses that look like the kind I was buying at Contempo Casuals, Wet Seal and Charlotte Russe in 1995 — flowy floral babydolls and slip dresses that I associate Drew Barrymore and Angela from “My So-Called Life.” Of course, now the dresses cost $150 instead of $19.99.

I love the red jeans that are seemingly everywhere. They remind me of my mother, who rocked colored denim like nobody’s business and was on a first-name basis with all the salesgirls at Guess. You do have to be careful how you style them, but I think they’re very wearable and versatile.

I also like the mid-length/below-the-knee skirts that are big for fall, but I think anyone shorter than 5’6″ runs a high risk of looking like a member of a hyper-conservative religious cult unless they wear the exact right shoes, top and accessories.

A trend that’s a little easier to wear for the non-supermodels among us is the early 1960s/Mad Men-style dresses and coats that can be super flattering as long as the hemlines are the right length and the fit is right. Banana Republic has a Mad Men collection, but you can find the style just about anywhere.

Oxfords, boots and moccasins are back and just as cute as last year. And I’m still obsessed with capes. I am definitely getting one this year — probably at the Irish store in downtown Annapolis. But I’m waiting until the temperature dips below 80. What are you guys looking forward to for fall?

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