If you've taken a close look around in the last few days, you may have noticed the new women on Grounds. No, not just the anxious high school seniors pulling a rather nervous looking set of parents toward Days on the Lawn tables.
No, I'm talking about a group of women you haven't seen since last April. Women who make their first, brief appearance post-Spring Break as we are just trading in our bottle of suntan oil for a bottle of aloe vera.
A few years ago, a band called LFO brought you the concept of "Summer Girls." Today, I introduce to you the Spring Girls.
Though I am tempted to take credit for the observation, I must admit the idea was not my own. A male friend brought it to my attention over the weekend that the Spring Girls were finally out and about. He explained that the more beautiful side of college women appears sometime in mid-April, as they shed their North Face jackets for halter tops and lose the Casper-like pallor of winter for the first evidence of a tan.
Though, technically, these are the very same women you've attended lecture with since January, they are a new breed altogether once spring arrives in Charlottesville.
A simple experiment should be sufficient to make you a believer.
The girl sitting next to you right now in your 10 a.m. discussion section will prove my point.
Just last week, she came to class in a gray fleece with a baseball cap pulled down over her pale forehead and dull brown bangs.
Today, there are a few blonde streaks running in all directions from her scalp, and she's abandoned the fleece in favor of a tank top that shows the faintest blush of sunburn on the tops of her shoulders.
A faded Jansport backpack no longer sits beside her boot-encompassed feet on the floor of the classroom. Rather, a light green tote-bag with a pink flamingo rests next to her bare ankle and Reef flip-flops.
It's a bird, it's a plane. No, it's a Spring Girl. The Clark Kent of winter style is gone without a trace, leaving behind a Spring Superwoman.
It's not, however, simply a wardrobe change that sends Spring Girls pouring onto the Lawn, sitting beneath the Big White Tent and studying on the steps of the Amphitheater. As Jimmy Buffett said, it takes changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes.
The first indication that a Spring Girl is ready to come out of hibernation is a ticket to an exotic locale for Spring Break. She must be headed somewhere tropical to begin her metamorphosis. Virginia Beach does not count. Panama Beach is acceptable, Key West preferable. A cruise to the Bahamas cinches the deal.
But as Madonna reminded us, "ladies with an attitude" are truly the ones in vogue. A Spring Girl smiles often and laughs even more. Though you may not be able to see behind her Oakley sunglasses, she's even batting her eyes at you. (Well, no, not you. But the guy behind you anyway).
The debutante ball of Spring Girls is none other than our very own Foxfield Races. A long day in the hot sun applies the final artful stroke of suntan and brings out any remaining blonde highlights in her hair.
As the day approaches, the talk is nothing but Pulitzers. No, not the coveted journalistic award. We're talking Lilly here - Lilly Pulitzer. If you haven't noticed her designs painting the University's students with pink, lemon-lime and palm tree capris, you haven't been paying attention to the Spring Girls enough. In case you have somehow remained in the dark to the Lilly invasion, Foxfield is your chance to redeem yourself. If you can manage to go from one plot to another without spotting a Lilly in the crowd, you may be at the wrong horserace.
If the transformation from Winter Woman to Spring Girl seems a bit rough in these early stages, be patient. It takes time and warm weather before a tan sets in and the smiles become a permanent fixture. There's a long list of sundress shopping, pedicures and picnics to be completed before Spring Girl reaches her peak.
In the meantime, pull out a lawn chair, open your book and a bottle of Snapple and wait for a Spring Girl to walk by.
And you might want to roll up your shorts a little - those pale legs could use some work.
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