40th high school reunion coming up in a week and oh...what to wear! Casual is what the invitation said. Talk about a catch-all. Formal, and we all know what is expected. But, casual can run the gamut of jeans and a t-shirt to...well anything up to formal. That leaves a lot of leeway.

I lean towards dressing down, always. I start out with good intentions but they get dulled down. I go to comfy and comfy usually means casual, very casual and not the kind of casual called for in the invite. I just can't seem to pump it up, get more hip, get out of my box.

Which leads to another question. Can 58 year old women be hip? I say yes but how? Just what is hip for middle age females? And wouldn't you think the personal shopper at Bloomies would perhaps have an inkling? It bodes badly when a 22 year old tells me that she's too old for hip.

"Our tastes in clothes are parallel," she said. "Finding something for you will be a snap." Yikes! Well, unless I'm missing something Bloomies has some pretty dull clothes.

Where does the 58 year old with a longing to be hip find clothes? I am not chunky. I look pretty good for my age. Is it perhaps that we are forgetten? That designers don't think of us? We don't show up in Vogue or Bazaar. Help!

Are we worthless at 58? No longer viable? Are we expendible? Let's face it, in an overloaded lifeboat, who would they throw overboard first? The 58 year old woman, too old to row, takes up space, no loss. Unless of course she's really spunky and smart.

Are we 58 year olds doomed to loose drapey blouses and large scarves that hide roll after roll? Dark bottoms and brightly colored tops that take the eye away from our droopy rear ends? Doomed forever to stodgy.

So I guess I won't be wearing a mini skirt with a multilayered cami and boots. Sorry, it won't fly. But I will bravely quest on for the perfect middle aged party outfit. Sigh...it's got to be there, right? Right?