This feature ran in Orange Coast Magazine as for the fall style issue. I sourced, conceived, reported and wrote the feature here: OC_FallFashion16
Fall Fashion 2015: Going Boho
I produced this feature for Orange Coast Magazine’s fall edition. Fashion Feature September.
The focus was on runways’ fascination with all things ’70s. I came up with the concept, sourced the photos, worked with the art director on the layout and wrote all the copy.
Dude Style: The Summer Blues
There’s no cooler color for hot days of summer than Blue:
- TIE IT UP
Mark Pomerantz tie, $275
C Dobbs
2823 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar
949-427-2321
c-dobbs.com
- RUNWAY
Berluti jacket, $12,600; T-shirt, $490; trousers, $870; sneakers, $1,460
Berluti
South Coast Plaza
714-641-3582,
berluti.com
- LID
Travis Mathew Altos cap in Castlerock, $40
Travis Mathew
Fashion Island
949-438-2515,
travismathew.com
- TIMELY
Daniel Wellington Classic Warwick Nato band watch, $195
Bloomingdale’s
Fashion Island
949-729-6600
bloomingdales.com
- PACK IT
Coach Crossgrain Hudson backpack, $550
Bloomingdale’s
Fashion Island
949-729-6600
bloomingdales.com
- KICKS
New Balance Weekend Expedition sneakers, $110
Bloomingdale’s
Fashion Island
949-729-6600
bloomingdales.com
(Original article appeared in Orange Coast Magazine, June 2016)
When I grow up …
I want a pink couch with gold accents.
Every little girl grows up with certain things embedded on their “if I were a princess, or an heiress or won the lottery” wish list. For me certain furniture pieces rendered in various shades of pink and velvet were number one.
So imagine my delight when I spied this adorable “room” set up at Anthropologie’s new super store at Fashion Island (the store doesn’t just stock Anthro’s usual inventory of refined boho-meets-world-traveler clothing and accessories, it also features the retailer’s drool-and-splurge worthy line of furniture and home goods). The set-up features the Linen Edlyn Left Sectional in Pink and the Hexna Inlay Coffee Table, a combo that seems like it shouldn’t work but totally does.
I love how the room stylist mixed the different shades of green and geometric patterns as well as different styles in this room. It’s my definition of “eclectic”.
’70s are back, everywhere … including my face
It’s no secret the biggest, most recognizable trend from the fall runways was the ’70s.
Jean skirts and patchwork at Tom Ford and Chloe
From silhouettes to palettes to accessories the styles of my youth have blossomed anew along with the same body issues I had at 13. Sort of.
In 1973 I was 14 (go ahead and do the math) with a face full of zits, a bosom maturing faster than I was psychically and wavy hair that I, of course, wished was straight.
At the beginning of my teen years I was not in a hurry to grow up. I liked being a kid and went into denial as my breasts began to develop and my waist curve in. I resisted wearing a bra (which became necessary in 6th grade) telling my mother I didn’t want to grow up. But grow — up and out — I did.
Because I had boobs at youngish age and looked older, less childlike, than some of my friends I got teased by boys in my class (and leered at by grown men, including teachers), I hated school. (Also I was bored most of the time).
At the same time my face broke out so much that my working-class parents spent money on a dermatologist and therapist to help me cope … they even helped me switch schools.
The new school wasn’t much different, although it was safer having as it did about 100 percent fewer teacher stabbings than the previous school. But I still got teased. I was once surrounded by a group of girls who pointed at me and called me zit-based names (I don’t remember the exact words they used but they weren’t making fun of me because I had the smooth complexion of a Disney princess) in front of everyone eating lunch on the quad.
I grew my thick wavy hair long because I thought it would at least cover some of my zits and if I could get the perfect Jacqueline Smith or Farah Fawcett wave maybe it would distract from my face? (In case you were wondering I achieved neither goal).
Every day was a struggle not to feel self-conscious because of my complexion or body but every day a new zit grew and someone tried to look down my shirt.
(And just so you know, I am not telling you this so you’ll feel sorry for me or because it left me with permanent emotional scars. It didn’t. I was a goofy, hormonal, overdeveloped teenaged girl. I wasn’t the only one. Lots of kids got teased and bullied in school; for some it left a mark and those people feel the pain to this day. Others managed to move on without lasting effects. I’m one of the last category.)
The one thing that made going to school palatable was getting dressed. Getting to put together outfits and feel admired by girls less into fashion than me. (To be clear, to this day I have no idea if anyone in junior high school admired me, my clothing or my style but I was hoping they did). I latched on to every trend, every look … wanting to look hip and well dressed in a full ensemble with ladylike accessories one day; sporting an army jacket, suggestive motocross tee shirt and torn jeans the next day. I always saw fashion as a form of expression and as a shield to hide behind. It let me adopt different personas and try out different versions of myself.
At the start every school year my mom would take me shopping and I would pick out the trendiest pieces my parents could afford. That year it was a pair of red plaid bell bottoms, platform shoes and red v-necked sweater with ribbed cuffs and hem. I loved that outfit. I thought I looked so Vogue and so stylish and cool (and I maybe I did). It made feel in control and less like an alien in my own body.
But the pimples still kept coming and my body kept developing till the pants no longer fit and my cleavage bloomed too openly in the sweater. I wasn’t fat or even overweight I don’t think, I just wasn’t the tall willowy surfer girl or tiny, petite gamine I had hoped I would be. (womp, womp).
But what I eventually learned from those years was how to dress my body so I felt the best I could, to pick pieces and styles that showed my body to its best advantage — whether that was to minimize my chest and play up my clavicle (a body part I am often complimented on) and arms or make my shortish legs appear longer — and therefore made me feel good about myself.
I learned who I was and what my style was and that knowledge served as a basis of my innate sense of self.
In the intervening years I learned how to use style and fashion to feel confident in any situation whether it was picking the right skirt and blouse for a job interview or how to wear a black leather jacket (my favorite piece of armor) like it was a second skin.
In my 30s and 40s my hair, never curly enough to produce pretty ringlets but too wavy to be silky, calmed down and with the help of a good stylist usually looked fine. The oily skin that caused so many breakouts and so much embarrassment — which means I have very few middle-age wrinkles — eventually cleared up.
Until now.
Probably because of hormonal changes (the culprit in my awkward puberty and, apparently, my dowdy middle age) I am once again chasing one red, stinging zit after another from my face. At least now I am more expert at hiding them with makeup and concealer. I’m also spending more time trying to blow dry straight my increasingly wavy hair. (I’m thinking of just letting it go wild.)
And my boobs? Well, lets just say they seem to be back in 7th grade asserting themselves farther out. Only now they aren’t aiming quite as high and my stomach is trying to follow suit.
It seems that fashion isn’t the only thing that comes full circle … so do we.
…
Today I spent time researching the ’70s inspiration for fall knowing that not only the prohibitive barrier of cost (no, I cannot drop $1,295 for a pair of Valentino gauchos or $5,000 for a Lanvin midi-skirt) but my thickening torso means I’ll be sitting this round out.
Instead, I’ll focus my energies on figuring out how to care for and dress this newest iteration of my body to its best advantage. It’s served me well and the least I can do is keep it strong and clothe it the best I can.
But man, you should’ve seen me in those plaid bell-bottoms…
Now excuse me while I go apply some more Clearisil.
Long Vest 2 Ways
Long Vest 2 Ways
Long Vest 2 Ways
Spring wish list — OC lines I (we) need NOW
I love living and working here in Orange County. In the course of doing my job I get to visit the county’s best boutiques, meet all of local style mavens and I get a front row seat at the preview of the county’s newest lines. Of course, as a freelancer I don’t make enough money to purchase every amazingly cool thing I see on a daily basis but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream, right? What I’m dreaming about right now are two brand new break out lines by Orange County designers you should know.
First up, is Beek a line of mostly hand-made leather sandals out of Newport Beach. The line was co-founded by the former head shoe designer, Birgitt Klett, and Kenna Florie, former marketing veep, for Roxy. Beek features six sandal styles ($240-$320) named after birds — Finch, Starling, Lark, Sandpiper, Wren and Sparrow — rendered in burnished leather and sporting a molded arch in the footbed that makes the flats more comfortable to wear. They are stunning, simple and timeless, recalling long lazy days wherever a sunny shore can be found: Greece, Italy, Hawaii, St. Tropez, Ibiza, Laguna Beach. Their elegant and classic style could be worn with anything (short of a business suit that is, but, hey these are vacation shoes, weekend brunch on the terrace shoes not cubicle shoes!): the season’s wide-legged pants or culottes (that’s right! Culottes!), 70’s front button skirt, maxis or cut off shorts or …. They would look excellent with the next line on our wish list: Aïe a small collection of dresses and tops by Laguna Beach dress designer Jessica Barkley and partner Isaura Gardner. With a simple silhouette that is also universally flattering the line, in modal with mesh overlay, is sexy without being aggressive, easy without being sloppy. I particularly lust after the racer front top, $94 and the long-sleeved dress in black, $156. I’d wear the dress with Beek’s Wren for just about any occasion. Ciao for now!
Fall 2015: All the shoes; so much shoes … shoes … shoes
It’s no secret that of all the fashion things a girl can own, shoes are my favorite. Shoes are my Zanax. Shoes are my style saviors.
Shoes never let you down. Gain a few pounds and your jeans mock you, your dresses threaten to suffocate you and your shirts refuse to button. But your shoes, your shoes will love you no matter what.
That’s why each new season (Fashion Week season that is) I can’t wait to see the shoes and the runways for Fall 2015 did not disappoint.
All the Best shoes from Fall 2015 Runways
From Rebecca Minkoff’s rocking fringed boots and booties to Monique Lhuillier’s sexy ankle straps, Suno’s chunky heels and Altuzarra’s witchy lace-up booties all the shoes were amazing. The toes were round, pointed and open; heels were chunky at Coach, Christian Siriano and Miu Miu, spindly on Prabal Gurung’s impossibly femme-fatale pumps, curved at Donna Karan and architectural at Jason Wu. At Saint Laurent, Giambattista Valli, Chloe and March Jacobs laces wound up the ankle and the leg.
Styles were, happily, all over the place — sporty thick platforms, ankle straps, loafers, even knee-high lace boots and up-to-the thigh moto boots. The choice is more eclectic than classic for fall with lots of call backs to the seventies, the Art Deco 20s (Ferragamo’s arty sandals), 80’s; even the 2000’s with pony manes at Christian Siriano and 3-D embellished heels at Rochas.
Will it mean you’ll have to spend a little to freshen your shoe wardrobe? Maybe, but isn’t it worth it?
Ciao for now!
My Life in Shoes 