Double Rainbow, Double Dier

 Red Pompom Bow Barrette

 Red Rainbow Rose Necklace

 Snow Bright Bangle

Sweater: Macy's

Skirt: Dolls Kill

Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

 Ballerina Baby Earrings

 Mint Rainbow Rose Necklace

 Clara Cupcakes Charm Bracelet

Sweater: Macy's

Skirt: Macy's

Shoes: Worthington, JCPenney

Bag: City Streets, JCPenney

I've always been into rainbows.  There's a Christmas morning home movie of five-year-old me fiercely clutching a brand-new Rainbow Brite doll and setting up the Color Cottage with the focus of a hibachi grill chef.  My little sister toddles over to me to show me her new Cabbage Patch preemie Noreen Rhoda (the only thing weirder than those dolls' names were their Xavier Roberts butt tattoos).  And I scream for her to go away.  Obviously, I'm too busy seating the sprites at their wavy-edged, pink plastic table.  Does this behavior reveal that little me could be a tantrum-throwing Gremlin?  For sure.  But does it also show my love for the sacred spectrum?  Um, does the hibachi grill chef burn Big Bertha's perm when he's flipping the shrimp and singing happy birthday?

Spoiler alert.  He does.  Sometimes.

A few years ago, my sister gave me this Rainbow Brite Itty Bitty.  Which makes me feel like even more of a villain.  If only I could reciprocate with a bobble head Noreen Rhoda.  If you're listening, Xavier, get on it.

Anyway, they say that double rainbows are rare.  (They also say something else, but I won't go into that here.)  Which is why these twin rainbow sweaters are so awesome and cute and give me all the '90s feels.  (I refer, of course, to fashion feels, as most other feels from my teen years are locked in a mental drawer marked do no resuscitate).

Do you know what's almost as rare as a double rainbow?  Brett Dier's reign on Wednesday night TV.  I know that Brett Dier isn't a household name and that this announcement may be underwhelming.  Also, that it has nothing to do with anything else I've said.  But I'm okay with that.

What are the odds that Dier's new sitcom Schooled and his old dramedy Jane the Virgin would air on the same night on different networks, back to back?  And that it would all be so symbolically full circle?  Because Schooled is in its freshman year and Jane is sadly ending.  (Some) Jane fans fell in love with Dier's Michael five seasons ago and are still reeling from his return from the dead.  Not only was it super stirring and emotional, it put Jane (Gina Rodriguez) right back where she started, forced to choose between Michael -- her husband -- and Rafael (Justin Baldoni) -- the father of her child.  Never mind that she was accidentally artificially inseminated when she was still a virgin, before she'd even properly met Raf.  Because Jane is, as the narrator often and snarkily tells us, a telenovella.  As for Schooled, we're just getting to know Dier's C.B. as a slightly Michael-esque but also slightly annoying hey-kids-I'm-your-friend-not-just-your-teacher-and-I'm-wearing-the-jeans-and-wacky-ties to prove it kind of guy.  Yet nerdy or not, he seems destined to date fellow teacher and rebel with a heart of gold Lainey (AJ Michalka).  If you think that Lainey's too cool for this fool, think again.  After all, she was engaged to Barry Goldberg.  And who knows; she could still rekindle that flame.  Which would leave old Brett (or as my sister calls him, triangle face) to play second fiddle a second time.  Because my spidey senses tell me that Jane will be riding off into the sunset with Raf.  And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Time to change the subject.

When I wore rainbow-rama outfit number one, I was so excited that I decided to photograph myself in it.  This meant breaking out this here selfie stick, which my mom gave me almost six years ago for my wedding.  I'd never used it before, which is obvious from the frustrated look on my face.  The subpar camera on my 3G phone wasn't helping.  But then I thought, who cares?  The graininess and washed out colors make this pic look like it's from back in the day.  Which is fitting because this outfit could've come straight out of the costume trailer of That '70s Show.  "But Tote Trove lady," you may be (but probably most definitely are not) thinking, "you said this was a 90s look!"  So I did.  But when I wore stuff like this in the '90s, my mom would say that it was just like something she'd worn in college.  So even fashion -- especially fashion -- comes full circle.  Everything old becomes new again.  And like Dier, rainbows never say die.

All of this philosophizing has me craving shrimp. Hold the hair spray; I'm headed to the hibachi.

If Y is for Yellow, then J is for Jaune, er, Jane

 Sassy Stripes Gumball Necklace

Top: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Skirt: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Shoes: Venus

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 Lock it Up, Love Necklace

Top: Self Esteem, JCPenney

Skirt: Xhilaration, Target

Shoes: a. n. a., JCPenney

Bag: Marshalls

Sunglasses: JCPenney

 Mighty Bright Medallion Necklace

Top: Merona, Target

Skirt: Eric and Lani, Macy's

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Belt: Marshalls

Sunglasses: JCPenney

Yellow is one of my favorite colors.  Sunny, happy, and vibrant, it sets any scene or ensemble ablaze.  So, as spring ripens into summer, I'm always glad to see it take center stage.  Just like I'm glad to be painting my toenails after months of hibernating in closed-toe clodhoppers, taking walks without a jacket, and ordering ice cream instead of hot chocolate.  But amidst all these warm weather welcomes skulks the bittersweet threat of good-bye.  That's right, I'm talking about TV series season finales -- finales that, more often than not, leave us teetering on the edge of gut-wrenching cliffhangers.

Of all the shows I watch, the one dangling upon the most precarious precipice is Jane the Virgin.  As soon as I tuned in to this CW freshman dramedy, I was hooked.  A kind of cerebral soap opera that pokes fun at itself through the wry observations (and captions -- no multi-tasking while watching this one!) of a world-weary narrator, this Miami-based, more-than-a-melodrama lauds and lampoons the telenovela genre, delivering intrigue and heart through an impressive network of original plot lines, the, ahem, mother of which is Jane's accidental pregnancy via artificial insemination.  Jane's virginity complicates an already surreal situation, challenging her relationship with fiancé (and local detective) Michael while tossing her into the maelstrom of madness that is the Solano family.  For, the father of Jane's little miracle is married former playboy and Marbella Hotel heir Rafael Solano, who just happens to be, in a telenovela-worthy twist, her boss.  But at an exceptionally grown-up twenty-three, Jane is level-headed enough to handle it all with grace, humor, and a sense of adventure.  And why not?  She's got the live-in emotional support of fiery, aspiring singer mom Xiomara and straitlaced but sweet grandmom Alba, not to mention a sure-thing future as a teacher.

But then things begin to unravel.  Jane discovers that the father she never knew is the purple suit-clad, obliviously vain (and hilarious!) star of her favorite telenovela.  She forges an unlikely friendship with Rafael.  And she turns down a teaching job to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.  What's more, weird stuff starts happening at the Marbella, casting suspicion upon the entire Solano family, a development that conveniently requires the services of one Detective Michael Cordero.

Employing a well-rounded arsenal of satire, flashbacks, dream sequences, and eye-catching outfits, Jane the Virgin is the everything bagel of the TV breakfast buffet (even though I hate bagels).  It's at the same time dazzling and deep, smart yet surprisingly poignant.  Which is why, I suppose, the season finale packed such a punch.

So what, pray tell, was the shocker?  For once, I'm not going to say.  I'm going to practice restraint and retain some mystery.  Not that the answer isn't lurking in about a zillion other internet outlets or in your very own memory given the show's popularity (that, and the finale aired a whole week ago).

Speaking of which, I recently caught Golden Globe winner Jane, or rather, Gina Rodriguez, on Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight or one of those shows being interviewed about her skyrocketing stardom.  "How does it feel to know that you can buy those shoes?" archly asked the reporter, no doubt referencing Louboutins or some such seemingly hallowed brand.  Gina looked baffled before offering a very Jane-like response: "Uh, I gave some money to my grandmother?"  Now, I like shoes as much as the next girl, but I thought that this was as good and genuine an answer as any.

Alba would be proud.