Back-to-School Shopping Envy

By Heather Summerville

When I was still in school, I looked forward to the two weeks before classes started all summer because it meant hours-long trips to the mall with my grandmother for new clothes. We'd rummage through the new fall magazines, tearing out pictures of shoes we liked or pants we wanted. Then we'd hit every store in Atlanta looking for cheaper versions of what we'd found. (Clearly, this is where I inherited my shopping habit!)

While I'm way beyond the age of being able to use a new school year as an excuse for a shopping spree, I want to reinstate the tradition anyway--though sadly my grandmother is no longer around to partake in the fun. It's fitting that I've decided to do this now, since my style inspiration for fall has a little bit of a prep-school-rebel feel to it.

I'll start with a pair of deep red lace-up boots. These remind me of the Dr. Martens I wore every day in 9th grade, but they're a bit more polished. And this gorgeous messenger bag from L.A.M.B. is exactly what I would have wanted to carry my books in, only now it'll hold my laptop instead.

There's something about a cropped, quilted jacket that keeps catching my eye. The little flowers on this one are so pretty and contrast beautifully with the tiny stripes on this blouse. I'd belt the jacket with something thin and worn-in to toughen it up a bit.

Now I know I've sworn off front pleats numerous times before, but I have to give these cropped pants a shot. They sit really low on the waist, so there's no chance of unflattering bulkiness around my hips, and they stop just below the top of my lace-up boots, so you get a quick shot of color at my feet.

If I were still in school, this undoubtedly would have been my first-day-back ensemble. Since I'm not, I guess I'll just have to wait for the first crisp New York day to try it out.

Heather Summerville is the senior editor at