All this talk about fashion reminded me of a picture I saw a few days ago: two little girls, probably six or younger, dressed "to the nines", if that expression can be applied to play clothes. That is, each had on a matching top and bottom, with socks, barrettes, etc. coordinated--and it was obvious that this was perfectly natural to them. They wanted to be in fashion, these little girls.

A friend brought up in conversation this afternoon the idea that males and females are "hardwired" differently (which the president of Harvard got himself in hot water for saying, if I'm not mistaken). A lot of guys do care about fashion, yes, but the percentages are way lower than for females. When I saw these two little girls, I could see that they knew that looking good was important, but I wondered what they thought the reason was. I have never come across a little boy who cared one whit what he looked like.

Being "in" a lot of groups, esp. in schools, strongly involves fashion. That is, if you don't wear what's in--and wear it the right way--you can forget being in. Attitude has a lot to do with it, too: even if everything you have on is "right", you have to behave as though this is the right look for you. A well-dressed nerd is still a nerd. I have never tried to achieve what I privately call the "East End look" (that's the part of Louisville where a great many wealthy people live): "preppy" clothes (if that term is still in!), perfect make-up, and that special, smooth, haircut where even when you toss your head, every hair falls right back into place. I knew I could never even get the look right, let alone the attitude to go with it. But I know it when I see it--and oddly enough, have to specially remember that any particular one might be an individual; I find that I have a tendency to see them as one of the herd...