Fashion Trends Revisited

My trips to the nearby mall usually occur mid-morning on a weekday, and involve strapping my two small children into their stroller so we can efficiently get in, pick up whatever incredibly necessary thing brought us to the mall in the first place, and get out before my 3-year-old remembers there is an indoor play area (aka The Hot Zone of Highly Contagious Viruses). There is no window shopping; no loitering in the shoe department; no browsing the new releases in Barnes & Noble. It's as if my kids can sense when I really want to look at something and use this time as their cue to begin their Socially Unacceptable Behavior display, so I usually just don't even bother to try.

A few weeks ago, however, I had the whole afternoon to myself to do some kid-free, serious shopping. For the first time in months, I actually paid attention to window displays and mannequins, and then I got depressed, because here is what I saw marketed to women my age:
-Skinny jeans
-Leather jackets in unnatural colors
-Geometric patterns
-Bright, almost jewel-tone colors
-Ankle boots
-Large hoop earrings
-Tight black leggings under over sized shirts or sweaters with big belts ("First you belt it, then you cinch it!" tm the Gap Girls on SNL)

So, if you are in your mid-thirties like myself, all of this "trendiness" should be sounding quite familiar because IT'S THE SAME CRAP WE WORE IN HIGH SCHOOL! I saw a shirt at Macy's that was almost exactly like one that I wore for my senior pictures!

I am now officially old enough to have old fashion trends revisited upon me. How depressing. When the acid-washed jeans start showing up, it will surely send me over the edge.