SF

On Tuesday, while walking by an extremely elegant hotel two extremely dapper gentlemen were walking out. The visual definition of refinement & taste. Debonair, with a capitol D. They were speaking beautiful Spanish. They were obviously brothers, possibly twins. One was all in white and grays, including his hair, eyebrows & mustache. The other was all black, charcoals & dark gray. The lighter brother's shirt had ruffles.

A note to Julie T. re: hosiery

Yesterday at Sundance I saw a woman wearing tights, which is a good thing these days. {I don't get the pasty leg look, with dress clothes. AND! I DON'T GET WHY hosiery manufacturers don't make comfortable, stay-up-able tights! I get why women don't wear them...} One leg was striped and the other polka-dotted. :) At first I thought, now that would be uncomfortable, worth complaining about, then I realized [duh.] they were MADE that way. Then I thought of you, your girls, my girls and me needing some. Later, at a pharmacy, I spotted an older woman in sheer white tights with a lattice/checked[?] pattern on them. Very cool. Looked great with her cream (cashmere?) skirt and off white  red flats.

M

BTW: M designed this dress! Clever use of yellow newspaper bag. Look out Bob Mackie!

M the stylist. "I wanna do it myself."

Mlle. M is such a lovely girl. So smart and stylish. She just hasn't mastered the hair-doing yet.

Below is a detail:

She loves to do my hair as well, or really, not too well.
Last night S, Devan (good pal) and C were all laughing at me and my Cinderella hair! M & I matched! It was painful, I mean adorable. When she took it out of my hair, what is left of it, was all kinky and whacked. No pictures available.
This morning it isn't much better. Thank Heavens for baseball hats and spin classes.

Madmoiselle M ... magnifique!

E is for Extraordinary.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com

Found this under books and more. Va va voom!
My Mum still hates pigeons.

URBAN CHICKENS

http://urbanchickens.org/

H is for homecoming...

S has been asked to homecoming, with a cute knight teddy bear in shining armor...

What should she accessorize with?! Here are a few things that we have come across while fashion hunting.

The final result will be a blue silk dress with shiny silver flats, to better accompany her date. We hope to make a very long pearl necklace for added glam.

C is for Chapeau.

The Shoe That Got Away.

They didn't have it in my size. Can't find it on line... sniffle sniffle.

Valentine Special: Fashion Report

Today S is featured in her amazing Valentine ensemble. For me it was like the first day of Kindergarten except that she chose everything. From the spiny skirt on the yellow, pink and red patterned dress, to the green t-shirt, to the stand-out yellow tights, WITH the subtle show shoes, in patten red leather. Hmmm mmmm. She is a very fine Valentine. But (!) the ensemble needed something on top... she dove into her closet and pulled out the coolest cropped and most perfect pink leather jacket from Jody. (Thanks again Jody!) Wow.

With clothes this great a girl wants to be seen. She wore it to school and the boys were tripping over themselves in the halls. On a little shopping trip with me a certain cashier kept glancing her way. At night we went to the Louw's incredibly fun Valentine dance. S was the best dressed there.

On the not so fashion savvy side, seen on the Sundance slopes:

I am wearing my mother's 1960's vintage fur hat. Perfect day. Warm, but funky hat. Wanted to show Julie (see the fashion post for 2.10.08). Also, my deepest apologies to Dan Piraro and his beautiful wife.
DFM kept thinking that someone was going to throw paint on me and this vintage chapeau. I wouldn't have blamed them if they had. They would've needed more paint though... at the deli/shop out side the grill a thin blond woman was wearing a very new fur scarf, complete with tails. That was way beyond necessity of a warm coat or hat, or even mom's funny furry hat.

When M saw me in the hat she jumped and ran to her dad!

Speaking of Bizarro:

M is for Monday Fashion :: the M & B edition!

Recently seen on the streets of trend-setting San Francisco: M and Bapa making a bold statement together.

The heppest seasonal accessory is the vest. Sherpa and pink satin for the 4 year old set and the dark chocolate brown for the more seasoned gentleman. Shoes? Black patten leather is a must. Tops? Leave subtlety at the door, adorn yourself with fuchsia cashmere. Small pattern shirts always work, especially when paired with stripped tights and contrasting pattern and colors. The Pièce de résistance is the NoelleO skirt -- so hot its cool. Also, plastic accessories, practical and balanced, are the rage this early Spring.

Equally important is attitude: Always port yourself with a smile and a spring in your step. This is a must for any age of fashionista/o. Of course this is easier with a beautiful brunette at your side or your very favoritest, and funniest, Beau Brummel. Simply: Surround yourself with the very best!

T is for Tricks... for yesterday's Fashion Monday post.

Yesterday was Fashion Monday. The fashion tip is rather tricky:
Overcoats, ball caps, thick frames & natural hair are all the rage this season.

For a great time... tell your 12 year old to watch for the pizza delivery guy and give him a tip. Then give him a dollar or two in dimes. Then go run errands. Let a lot of time pass so that the 12 year old is really looking forward to the hot pizza! Then deliver some pizza in an odd costume and watch your 12 year old freak at the freak with his pizza. This happened to us the Sat before Halloween. K GAVE ME A TIP!!! He really didn't recognize me and then really freaked when he turned around and saw that this weird bag lady person WALKED INTO his house like she owned the place (while he was trying to quickly scoop up the tip). And, oh crap!, his parents and big S were away, and she was starring at him! His expression was hysterical! Then I was hysterical, laughing laughing laughing.

W is for "I WANT that!"

M and S both want this dress... though for different reasons... S for crazy and vintage and awesome and M for the "Fl-wow-ers!" and pretty.

M is for More Fashion EXTRA!!!

M's costume this year was a bit tricky to swing. She wanted to be a ballerina, butterfly, Barbie, Hello Kitty. We did alright by her. The skirt + shirt is from Oopsy Daisy Baby. She turned heads everywhere she went! Eventually the paparazzi was just too much and she just took off trick or treating, briefly. Today K had some candy, instead of asking for some she said, "Trick or Treat!"

F is Monday's FASHION extra.

My pal Julie posts about Fashion in NYC on Mondays. Taking a page out of her book, so to speak, this post is dedicated to her.

I took this at CCA -- didn't know whose derrière I was admiring. Turns out it is Arthur Gonzalez's. Later C and I went to a lecture and he made a comment about the medium, whether paint or clay or this or that needs to fit the intent of the artist, not the limitations of the medium's history. Really enjoyed seeing his assignments posted about the clay studio and talking with him, and his fashion sense!

F is for Fashion.

S and I like to talk about prom dresses. I only went to one prom in high school. It was pretty laughable. I was a sophomore, he was a junior. He was pimply and although the quarterback he was not at all cute to me, but I thought it was cool to be asked. A strap on my homemade dress fell apart; I just couldn't slow dance with him. WHy did I think we needed to make the dress? Even recently my mother mentioned that unfortunate dress; she hasn't sewed since.

The next year I transfered to Urban in SF and was spared anymore all-American fun. Oh drat. Now I realize that I did miss the sports teams and especially being on them. Anyway, if S choses to go to a prom I intend to support her enthusiasm. While in SF I went to the Marc Jacobs store on Fillmore St. Bought her a WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE? shirt. She loves it. The sales woman told me that tight shirts aren't so in anymore, which I told S. "The Marc Jacobs lady said..." That made the size medium shirt much more hip. And, WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?! anyway-- a topic for another day.

Back to the prom dress. I called S and told her that instead of buying one of the dorky pastel (or safety orange?!) tight satin, cap-sleeved, tasteless dresses that everyone here wears I will by her a funky Marc Jacobs dress that she can wear to parties after she graduates and moves to SF or NYC. Or at least love the night she is wearing it. She mentioned that she hasn't been invited to any parties in NYC yet.

The above dress is made of tequila wrappers and lime rinds. Found it at sfgate.com The designer is having a blast. Earlier M asked what I was looking at. She said she likes that dress for grandma. I do too! The pink dress below is similar to the MJ dress -- fun. MJs' was pleated gray layers, with odd short, triangular sleeves. Short length, great with festive leggings or shorts underneath for actual dancing! The truly hip folks dance. These roses are so fun and feminine!