Are you or aren't you?

Are you a die-hard hat fan, who can confidently pull on your cherished chapeau and enjoy the admiring looks?

Or... do you often announce "I'm not a hat person," all the while wishing you really were?

I've relapsed to black.

No matter how hard I try, my closet is awash in dark clothing, shades of gray and maybe a little blue for good measure. Practical, yes – but far from lively.

Take one look at L.L. Bean's fashion magazine endorsements and you get the picture: Maine's classic look is anything but dated:

And the list goes on...

Pull out your pearls, girls. It’s time to give preppy a try ... again.

It’s been nearly three decades since Love Story’s Jenny Cavilleri chided blueblood Oliver Barrett IV for his preppy ways. Ten years later, Lisa Birnbaum published The Official Preppy Handbook and we embraced – or ridiculed – that privileged look: Boat shoes without socks, turned-up collars on polo shirts, madras and seersucker.

True confessions: My friend M. and I each admit to playing dress up. No doubt you've done it too - hopefully not always in a last-minute, bad-clothes-day moment before work.

Dress-up is our code for much-dreaded closet cleaning. It means trying on clothes (and discovering what does and doesn’t fit), feeling guilty for overspending the clothing budget and making some hard decisions on what to keep, what to toss and what to sell or donate.

OK ladies... Here’s something to ponder as you pack away your woolens: Our future is shades of black.

The June fashion mags, already trumpeting next season’s styles, say black is back. But this time it’s black with texture – glossy fabrics, laminated tweed, beading and ruffles to name a few.

If your closet already is brimming with black, updating your look for fall may be simple – just add a splash of bright jewel-toned accessories– red, vivid blues and neon brights like lime and fuchsia. (Remember the ‘80s? Sans shoulder pads, of course.) Colored tights will be an alternative for ladies who’d rather forget last winter’s leggings frenzy.