Despite earlier rants and lingering misgivings, I am going to my high school reunion. In an effort to stop myself from dwelling on the depressing absurdity of this, I turned my attention to what I might wear. I could opt for the archetypical reunion dress with ruffles and/or sequins, but the truth is, this style makes me, with my long jaw and broad shoulders, look like a rangy version of Nathan Lane in La Cage Aux Folles. In fact, I rarely wear dresses, especially in the winter, because I categorically despise stockings. I was starting to panic when serendipitously, the J. Crew catalog arrived.

            Forget the glitz and the froufrou. True, I might be too spineless to exercise my honest social inclination, but I still had my credit card. I ordered a pair of charcoal pants and an ivory cashmere sweater, which made me suddenly much feel better, and much worse, about the whole thing.