Post-Fire Fashion Tidbits and Tadpoles

Cozy in my non-smoke and non-ash gray J.Jill coat

 

Little fashion things have come up as life rolls along after the fires and I’ve wanted to share them with you. And when the words Tidbits and Tadpoles came to me in my morning writing I knew that would be the vehicle.

I just love the rhythm of those two words together. Go ahead and say it out loud: tidbits and tadpoles. See? You just want to say it over and over again, don’t you? I’m determined to figure out how to get tadpoles into this post. It won’t be easy but I’m taking on the challenge.

Let’s start the tidbits off with a story from a friend and reader about symbols and jewelry.

 

 

My friend Vicky shares some fashion symbology with us

Meet my friend Vicky who unfortunately isn’t in one of these pictures. She lives in Sonoma. We first met when I lived in Larkspur. She’s an amazing person. In fact, she’s in my book, Brenda Kinsel’s Fashion Makeover! She’s an expert at many things including spas and spa treatments.

We get together for a glass of Mathis Grenache wine at the Girl and the Fig periodically. It’s a little ritual we have. We always pick up where we left off and there’s no telling what comes up in our conversations.

This last time we got together we talked a lot about the fires and our evacuation experiences. Her son Devon is a news reporter for KQED radio. He was reporting from the fires in Santa Rosa and called his parents and said, “You have to get out of here.”

It was what my daughters told me as well that first morning. I’m still pondering what it’s like to be a mother at this time of life when our kids are stepping up to keep an eye on their parents and watching out for them.

Vicky also told me about being with her friends on a camping trip and how symbology came up in jewelry. I’ll let her tell you about it. She says:

 

 

I had to share these pictures and story with you. A couple of weeks ago I was camping with a couple of long-time friends in the Sierras. My friend Joan collects vintage trailers and drove three of them up to a beautiful mountain lake so we could stay in them. One night around the campfire we were talking about the fun necklaces Joan made for Lisa and I (they had a trailer charm and a quote about the lake on them). It made me think of your blog about “Give your outfit a power boost by wearing a symbol” so I pulled out my iPhone and read them your post. They loved it too (of course)! So I just had to share this with you.

 

 

 

Is this a thoughtful gesture by Vicky’s friend Joan, or what?

 

What are the fashion chances?

So while we were evacuated from our home in Sonoma and in the big “I don’t know what’s going to happen next” anxiety bubble during the Wine Country fires, I paid a visit to Nordstrom. I went upstairs to see my friend Mariam who had been sending me well wishes all along. I was talking to her at the counter in the Individualist department when another buddy who works there, Patty, showed up. She asked about our safety and then a customer arrived and needed Patty’s help.

The customer was wondering what colors a particular item came in. Patty looked it up on the computer and then she turned the screen so the customer could see it and said, “It only came in two colors: smoke and ash.”

I said to Patty, “Do you hear what you’re saying?” What are the chances that we were talking about the fires and a customer is looking for something that comes in smoke or ash? I’ve used those words before to describe shades of gray, but I don’t think I will be choosing them any time soon!

 

 

I received a J.Jill (gifted) Chelsea coat to try out. I love it! I had to look at the invoice to see what color it was. It’s labeled “dark grey heather” which works well for me! Here’s a link to check out details about the coat.

It’s funny; I had purchased a coat like this a week before and it stayed in my closet covered in the store’s plastic bag the whole time. You know that when I buy something I’ve generally used it in an outfit within the first 24 hours and that hadn’t happened. I tried to figure out why It wasn’t getting used.

I figured it out once I looked at them side by side. It was because it was too tailored. I’d call this Chelsea coat pretty tailored but it has that soft curve at the neck instead of a notched collar. This one feels more like me.

Do you do that sometimes? Buy something and then realize it’s close but not quite nailing it? Do you have an internal barometer for purchases?

 

Check out Bright Star on Netflix which is full of great fashion

 

 

I haven’t been watching much TV lately but the other night I was on Netflix and came across this Jane Campion film. I was blown away by the rich images, especially the fashion parts of the movie and there are many of them. Of course, I thought of you guys and knew I had to tell you about it.

It’s about the three year romance between British poet John Keats and his muse, Fanny Brawne. Keats, if you remember your poetry facts, is a 19-century poet, considered after his death to be one of the greatest British Romantic poets ever. Yeats is played by Ben Wishshaw. I’ll watch anything he’s in which has mostly been British crime movies or BBC TV series. Abbie Cornish plays his true love. She makes fashionable clothing with all kinds of intricate detail. In fact the moving opens with her slipping a needle through fabric, pulling it out and pressing it back into the fabric. That opening scene alone made me want to hold a needle and start sewing again! Her fashion prowess plays heavily in the movie.

Yeats died in 1821 at the age of 25, thinking he was a failure. You can learn more about him here.

If you watch it, pay attention to all the scenes in nature. Jane Campion makes beautiful films. All the trees, bushes and flowers are layers of texture that could be easily imagined in fabrics.

 

A fashion accessory to remember the fires by

My daughter Erin assists me in all my client work. We’re the BK/EK team. After one of our client days a week or so into the fires she gave me a little gift with a card attached.

I’m going to share it with you. She’s in Tokoyo right now and I’m not asking her for permission. I hope I don’t get into trouble.

 

 

 

I unwrapped the tissue paper and there was a little gray bag, a perfect example of something the girls in our family would respond to with these words: “Oh fer cute.” Autocorrect doesn’t like the way I spell that. It wants me to say “for” instead of “fer” but “for” would be incorrect.

My mother loved cute things. When she saw anything cute, and she saw many of them, we’d hear her say, “Oh fer cute.” It’s almost like saying “offer cute” but in her Scandinavian Minnesota way it always comes out as “fer.”

 

 

Erin found this bag in her comings and goings and she knows how I like the color gray but she managed to tie in a memorable reference. She insists it’s called “L’il Smokey” and for good reason.

I’ve always liked the way her mind works. She pays attention to people and what they say and do and always manages to come up with gifts that are meaningful for them. October of 2017 will be memorable without any effort. But when I wear L’il Smoky, I’ll remember how my kids jumped in and supported Russ and I with all their efforts.

If I was telling Mom about Erin and this gift I know just what she’d have said: “Oh fer cute.”

 

And finally, the tadpoles!

 

 

The only way I could figure out how to bring tadpoles into this post is to ask to borrow my client’s scarf. This is a go-to scarf for her. It always comes out in the fall. Erin and I have loved adding it to outfits she wears. And although we’ve labeled it in different ways, today it’s the tadpole scarf! Thanks, Veronica!

As we’re heading into short days and long nights, maybe you have some fashion-related movies or a TV series or two to share with us. Let’s make a big list!

Happy week to you!

XO