Fashion Statement

The oddest fashion we saw our entire trip to Italy was at the very outset, in New York. We wandered into a very popular "French" bistro in Soho, Balthazar. The food was good and the room was filled with good looking people, many of them waiting for tables. We sat at a tray sized table next to the bar.

"Waiter, there's a fanny in my soup!"

A blonde walked up to the bar with her friends and ordered a drink. Do you know what tulle is? That stiff fabric ballerinas wear that you can see right through?

This gal was wearing a beige tulle skirt cut all different lengths and sticking out in all directions. It had big GASHES cut in the back of the skirt. I think she was wearing a thong under it, but I didn't check.

Her rear end was almost on our table. I mean I could have poked her with my fork. On the top she was wearing a shawl made out of burlap, the fabric potato bags used to be made of. Her friends all looked stylin. She kept clutching at her shawl but honey that wasn't covering the part that needed covering.

It really looked like an outfit from a classic bad dream but she made the choice to wear it, and we had to look at it.

Governors Awards 2009

Roger Corman being toasted by Ron Howard. There were many toasts all night- something new they were trying. whew *****

Last night was the big Hollywood party at the Kodak Theatre. Since I don't have a point and shoot mini camera, I thought the cel phone would serve the trick for taking pictures. But it doesn't have flash, and half the time I forgot to click save anyway. My two pictures weren't worth posting. I found the one above on line. I was sitting right behind the woman on the right with the helmet hair.

It was an outstanding evening, written up in the L.A. Times. The food, catered by Wolfgang himself, was choice, particularly the appetizers "passed by butlers". These included tiny crabcakes, slices of Kobe beef with horseradish sauce served on a potato slice, teenser duck rolls tied with some kind of vegetable string, tuna in a cookie like cone (all these minitature) and champagne provided by Moet and Chandon.

We got there exceptionally early- fine with me-I got to sample all the appetizers. Others were letting the fancy trays pass by but I considered it a special opportunity to eat as much as I could. Besides, I got food poisoning at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant once. I had to prove him wrong. Once the crowd got roaring there wasn't much to be had. I saw Morgan Freeman sitting on the couch I'd just gotten up from. I saw Lauren Bacall pass right by looking beautiful. A woman I know asked me to hold her shawl which looked like a bathroom rug. I made a point of finding her again so I didn't have to take it into dinner with me.

We sat at the table just behind Roger Corman. Here's my take on the evening:

The lively speakers were Quentin Tarantino, Jonathan Demme, Roger Corman, Lauren Bacall, and Gordon Willis. Willis (who shot the Godfather movies), said, "Every time I worked with a beautiful actress I think she was worried I'd make her look like Marlon Brando. I just want them all to know they don't have to worry anymore."

Looking great at the awards were Roger Corman & family, Lauren Bacall, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson (no girl friend, no sunglasses, big smiles)

Lookin like a zombie: Peter Bogdanovich.
Most pompous speaker (no surprise) : Tom Hanks.
Angleica Huston presented the award to Lauren Bacall. They had family ties that went way back. Holding her Oscar, Ms. Bacall said that she was just happy to have a "two legged man" to bring home with her.

Tied for most boring speakers: Mr. and Mrs. Warren Beatty.

At the end of this SIX HOUR affair, they gave the Irving Thalberg award to John Calley who was too ill to attend. In the process they brought up all the previous award winners including Walter Mirisch, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Saul Zaentz, Norman Jewison, Warren Beatty and Dino de Larentiis. All of them have white hair and gray beards and are about the same size, except for Beatty. Looked like Snow White and the seven dwarves!

Dessert, for those who like to know these things, was "Chocolate Tear Drop filled with White Chocolate Mousse and Fresh Cherries." (though they were actually raspberries.) Very tasty!

Oh, and as for my outfit etc. I got my makeup done for the first time ever. Geez it took a long time. Do women spend 45 minutes every day to do themselves?

Here's the before picture:


I was sitting in a high chair with my eyes closed. When the makeup artist said, "Now open" I got confused and opened my mouth- halfway thinking I was at the dentist. I could tell she thought I was a nut. She asked me what I was wearing, and I said, "It's vintage." She said, "It's SPINACH?" okay so who's the nut here!



always looking my best out by the trash cans!



looks like I just sucked on one of those lemons on the ground. My stockings were navy and silver sparkly herringbone.

Mean Malls

We're going to a black tie event on Saturday night. It's an Academy Award event honoring, among others, Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall. Government issued id required at the door. And don't wear orange.

I really didn't have anything to wear, so I set off looking for a formal gown. I've experienced a lot more of mall life in the last three days than I'd ever want to otherwise.

Things I learned along the way:

• In spite of Michelle Obama, department stores are still pushing the Betty Ford look in formal wear: big bows and bigger collars.
  
• If the dresses don't look like Betty Ford wore them, they look like 1940's swimsuits with big skirts and glitter. The lampshade look is everywhere.

• Another option is a dress with one strap only, ala Tarzan.

• Every single dress I saw was made in China, every one.
• Don't imagine the dresses you see online will be in the stores. Too much of a risk that they won't sell.
• There are no velvet dresses to be had. Maybe they forgot how to make velvet in China.
• Nearly everyone working or shopping at malls in the middle of the day has a middle eastern accent.
• Formal wear is freaking UGLY!

The stores I went to: Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, and a small dress shop with barracuda style sales women. This was NO FUN!

Getting desperate, I ordered a dress from the Neiman Marcus catalog, sent overnight, and when I tried it on all that was missing was the pink bunny slippers. A combo design of nightgown and mummy outfit, with wrapping bands all around the top that added to its ugliness.

Ah but I was inspired. I remembered I had a velvet dress from the 1920's. I haven't worn it in 20 years myself. Pulled it out of the costume trunk, tried it on, miracle it still fit. Now I am mall free! You don't tell people you pulled it out of the costume trunk, you just say it's vintage, right?

French Rabbit

Every week or so when we've driven to Montrose for our groceries, there's been a big sign up outside City Market: "We Have French Rabbit 1 L. Boxes"

French Rabbit? Ooh, sounds kind of down and dirty. What could that be? Are the folks in Montrose getting so citified they order rabbit meat from France in big boxes?

I had to know.

Turns out it's a gloriously packaged French wine in a box that's entirely recyclable and just the thing for campers. We bought a box but haven't tried it yet.

Teen Fashion Trend Observed

I went to Santa Anita today because a horse named Sally Says So was running, and I can't miss opportunities like that. Alas, she came in fourth, and Skinny Dip won.

I meant to bring my camera but left it by the door.

Maybe because the "Jockeys" show is quite popular on Animal Planet, there are now more and more young teenage girls showing up at the track. But think about it-- the jockey guys and gals featured are very attractive and just the size of these young teens.

I spotted two teens? tweens? maybe 13 years old, sitting together with a fashion look that took me by surprise-- not long straight and horse tail perfect hair, but rather total Sarah Palin with rectangular glasses and a big old pile of hair pinned on top of their heads. They weren't wearing fancy suits but the hairstyle screamed Palin. Not your typical teen fashion, and it takes work to get that big bun just so. Remember, you heard about it here first.

It was really fun to stand in front of a crowd of people who were all screaming "Sally Says So!" (She was a favorite in the race.) You know it, crowd, you know it. Can I hear it one more time?

Overwhelmed by giant squid

Mardi Gras 1910 Part 2

This is my grandmother's Mardi Gras gown from 1910. You can read more about it here. When I got it out of the box the colors seemed even more amazing. On the background of a vibrant orange is this dusky blue gray cut velvet pattern. It has rhinestone studded metal mesh straps and a fitted bodice. It's lined with a paler gold silk and has a long train with lead weights sewn inside the train.

Unfortunately it's also about size 5. My grandmother was much smaller than me.



You wonder what to do with family items like this. Just save it through the years? Supposedly it was a Worth gown from Paris. I have cousins who live in New Orleans and I told my brother I thought they should have it but he was against it. My niece lives a high style life and worked for Valentino for years. She might have an opportunity to wear a dress like this, but it wouldn't fit her either and she has three sons. It's in remarkably good condition.

Celebrity Puke

and yes we did watch the Academy Awards last night, drivel city.

afterhours:

Something she ate

Whinsey has a lot of food allergies and they cause her to go all Tourettes sometimes. This is one of those times I guess. And the company she keeps-- eek!

Web Styles/Font Fashion

Two very different web sites, one for the Telluride Library, the other for a horse show in Sacramento. See how they're both using the fancy slightly retro script getting squeezed by other letters, with typographic decorations (in second one), and textural, almost wood block printing behind?

When I saw the library site I thought, "Gee, couldn't they have gotten that type laid out better?"

Then when I saw the horse show site I started thinking maybe this is a style, and if so there must be a bigger site or tv show where they're getting their inspiration. Look familiar to anyone? They even used an embedded font that resembled old time type setting, where letters aren't quite aligned.

I noticed in a number of pro Obama ads this campaign, that they were using 19th century lettering, often with a saloon feeling. Never thought that would come back as cutting edge. I guess it implies, um, history, straight truth, beer?

I may be building a simple horse site for my old trainers so I'm checking out the territory.

Attached to my hat

It's rare when I find a hat that fits me, and when I do I wear it for years and years. So this hat is the new featured item, bought at REI for our wild bear adventure. It has a full brim and nice deep top, with chin strap for wind, and it's waterproof, made of some new high tech material. Many of the new clothing items for hikers have so many features they need for dummies books written about them.

You can turn the sides up with velcro tabs and stick feathers in them, then watch the feathers blow away, as I did the other day.

Baseball caps sit on the top of my head like an inverted tea cup.

My last hat was olive green, then faded to pale green, then an ugly beige with stains. This one is ever so much better and required at altitude 9000 ft. Before the ugly green one I had a hat with long ear flaps that people made fun of.