J. Crew Bridal Spring 2011, Preppy Pet Styles

Hello-hello, welcome to an almost weekend here at the Prepatorium.

We have all manner of goodies today, beginning with something we do love to look at, wedding gowns. At last month’s Bridal Market J. Crew revealed styles for next spring.

We love the clutch with its oversized bow, above left.

More styles.

If determined to go strapless and short, the short dress above left is pretty.

As did most of the full-length gowns.

Our thanks to AisleDash for the photos.

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For those who do not receive the Lilly Pulitzer Holiday Gift Book, we also have a few shots to share from this year’s offerings.

Fab photographer Trevor Dixon has posted some of his stellar photos for the catalog on his blog; click here to see more.

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Next, a topic that has captivated Times readers:

Patrik Giardino/Getty Images via NY TImes

An essay asking “Why Can’t Middle-Aged Women Have Long Hair?” has generated hundreds (1256 as of today) of comments from readers.  Here is a bit of Dominique Browning’s original story:

“MY mother hates it. My sister worries about it. My agent thinks I’m hiding behind it. A concerned friend suggests that it undermines my professional credibility. But in the middle of my life, I’m happy with it. Which is saying a lot about anything happening to my 55-year-old body.”

The volume of comments was so high the paper devoted a special segment to the topic on its website; below, a sampling. From “Kate in London”:

“Mothers and hair, the eternal battle. After a great haircut in my 40s, what was my mother’s comment? “Darling, you look like a middle-age hippie.” Last summer, my sister, now in her 50s, was going out the door, and what were our mother’s parting words? “Brush that hair.” While we used to get upset about it, as middle-aged women, we’re just happy to have our mom around so she can tell us how bad our hair looks. Long may it last!”

Via Prevention.com

But then “RBenstein” in New York wrote:

“Weeellll…. truth be told, I really don’t think long gray hair does anything for any woman of a ‘certain’ age. It’s like women (or men) who dress younger than they are … in the end, it only ages them.”

A professional in the industry, “Skip Gue, Miami” notes:

“This is great! As a hairdresser for over 25 yrs (and a man). I get this all the time about women cutting their locks at a certain age.I ask them why? who made this rule?”

We ask our treasured readers – what do  you think? Is longer gray hair acceptable? Or should it simply be kept short after a “certain age”?

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Although not generally a fan of dressing one’s furry family members, we do want to share a few goofy images that we hope will put smiles on your faces heading into the weekend.  The first is what we’ll refer to as the preppy-styled cat:

United Bamboo via Racked

That is just one of the images in next year’s United Bamboo Cat Calendar, the 2011 calendar starts shipping Nov. 15.

The second shot showcases a rather stylish pooch in his shirt and madras tie.

Via Rover Dog

The snappy duds are from Rover Dog, a wonderful etsy shop featuring items in two of our favorite fabrics, seersucker and madras, among other styles.  We must admit to being tipped off to the shop by an image on Facebook or Twitter, but cannot remember who the eagle-eyed shopper was; if you know, do tell, so we might properly give credit to the appropriate party.

On that frivolous note, goodbye and happy weekend!