I’m not gonna discuss Bianca Jagger’s iconic Studio 54 style or the advent of DVF’s jersey wrap dress here. No, even though I was born pretty recently (hey, everything’s relative!) in 1973, this post is not about that decade’s funky fashion and faux pas. Instead, I wanna give a big shout-out to my mom (a.k.a. […]
Ah yes, we are officially in the dog days of summer here in DC. The stifling heat and soupy humidity make rivulets of sweat stream down my back and between my boobs (squish). One morning while doing my daily trudge for three excruciating blocks from the Metro to my office, I realized that Tretorns and […]
I wasn’t officially allowed to watch Flashdance when it first came out in 1983. I was ten years old at the time, and my Asian scientist parents freaked out over the R rating. Exotic dancing? Ripped clothing? Sex scenes? Michael Nouri? All that was way too much for their traditional sensibilities. But as the saying […]
I had brunch this weekend with a childhood friend who I haven’t seen in twenty years. JK is as vivacious and radiant now as she was when we were growing up together in the Philly suburbs. We had a wonderful time catching up and looking into the future while also strolling down memory lane. Before […]
So the other day I was reading about the Roaring Twenties. I had forgotten how much astonishing shit happened during that decade: women’s suffrage, the Lost Generation, the Jazz Age, Charles Lindburgh, radio, the mass production of the automobile, the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Al Capone, and so on. (Maybe I can rework the […]
In case you were wondering, the old Linda Ronstadt song “Blue Bayou” somehow popped into my head as I was writing this post. (For better or worse, I live with random thoughts percolating through my cerebral cortex all the time.) So I saw this painting by Utah-based artist and environmentalist Susan Swartz in the July […]
So the High Priestess of Effortless Cool (a.k.a. Kate Moss) got married this past weekend! Frankly, I was more curious about her wedding day garb than that of the other Kate M. or Princess Charlene. She didn’t disappoint, looking naturally radiant in her simple Galliano gown. Then again, she’s been pulling off stellar, trendsetting looks […]
I’ve been writing this blog for about a month now, and in case you haven’t noticed, I come up with some strange associations between seemingly disparate things. I just can’t help it—my brain sees something having to do with fashion and it often automatically links it to another idea or image from nature, animation, you-name-it. […]
My best friend Susan recently sent me an envelope full of articles, clippings and a short note. (Isn’t snail mail such a rare, unexpected joy?) On the reverse side of a profile of actor Tahar Rahim from the French movie “Un prophète,” Alexa Chung glared at me decked out in some fierce Versace: The photo […]
I had a hate-hate relationship with the color navy for the longest time. Back in college, I bought a dowdy navy suit for a job interview. It didn’t help that I paired it with navy pumps which made me look very stewardess-meets-Murphy-Brown. Navy always seemed too difficult and annoying to match. While its hex triplet […]