Clothes Encounters

Someone once called me a fashion victim (It was a person who did not know how to pronounce Ralph Lauren's last name--- it's the same as the way you pronounce Lauren Bacall's first name not Sophia Loren's last name) I smiled and said "you can call me a clothes horse but I have never been a fashion victim!"  For those of you who are not sure ... 

fash·ion vic·tim    

noun a person who follows popular trends in dress and behavior slavishly. (think of anyone with the last name Kardashian or Hilton)

I have never been that kind of person and never will be... but I have had a few monumental lapses in judgement mostly in the 70's and a couple of times when I was visiting far off romantic places while I was dancing the tango under star lit skies and cavorting in fountains and drinking Champagne out of a shoe (I've actually done all these things and for a magic moment thought I was someone else)

The 70's---- I have no one to blame but myself but I did not fall into as many fashion mine fields as most... I bought the Famolare Wave shoe (they were really really comfortable) A jumpsuit (I don't know what was going through my head ( to add insult to injury I wore it going commando) and a suede fringe vest ( another travel decision mishap.... I was in San Francisco and sparked a doob for the first time in my life)... but probably the worst mistake was the polyester Nik Nik shirt--- I would like to chalk this one up to  peer pressure or maybe temporary insanity.

The garments in these photos are exactly the ones I once owned (except the Wave shoe was navy blue) actually when you consider the big picture of a 10 year span the 70's were not a complete train wreck for me.  But luckily for me most photographic evidence of this period had been lost to time. 

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It was also during the same period that I bent the gender boundaries for the first time  and bought a silver lame paper shirt from Biba in London in the big store on Kensington High Street... now that was a store... the only place that ever came close was the Fiorucci in Beverly Hills (I filmed a scene of a movie there once--- with Gene Kelly and I dancing to ELO you can find it on youtube if you want to watch it)... OK I'm getting off track the silver paper shirt was a dream and I wore it to one of the most fun parties of the 70's!--- I wish I had another just like it!

The 80's were a real mixed bag  emotionally and the biggest lapses in judgement for me involved shoulder pads and fur... I'm not someone who should ever wear shoulder pads as I have very broad shoulders but I had some Norma Kamali tee shirts I wore with the jackets I had by Willie Smith (he was such a nice man) my favorite was hot pink number; Boz Scaggs wore the same one on an album cover) I wore mine with an interlocking quilted Chanel brooch. 

The fur coat was an act of rebellion... I bought it to piss off the PETA people who were stepping over homeless people and snarling at them to get out of the way so they could picket their cause about the cruelty of inhumanity... I found it quite ironic and I did enjoy the coat apres ski for many years.

Lucky for me the travel virus only lingered for one more ill fated purchase in Rome...  (I love Rome I can always find some fun and interesting errands to run while I'm there) I was with a friend and we ran into some of his large extended  Italian family... and were invited to a wedding... a small dilemma not having appropriate wedding attire in my luggage but easily remedied being in Rome and able to buy something fetching by paying in lire before the euro was introduced... what can I say except drinking in the middle of the day can really cloud your judgement and I embraced a Versace summer suit that made me look like I was in clown college.

For most of my life I've been drawn to updated classics that I can mix and match and wear for years and years... I was once quoted as saying " I'm never out of style because I'm never on the cutting edge of being of the moment." Part of the art in pulling this off is I know what colors suit me, what lines and fabrics work best and I know how to mix things up to work together to make my own statement... Another wonderful compliment I once got from someone was " you are the only person I know who can look smashing in athletic clothes." 

Now in my travels when I find something a little off the charts I try to work it into my life or just enjoy it for the moment... I've made a pareo sarong and tank top one of my signature looks but it works better for me in Hawaii than it does on the street in NYC.

Every once and a while I'll add something a little askew to my look just to keep things interesting and to update something that needs a little boost in morale (I have few articles of clothing that have been around the world and the block several times... but they are still pretty fresh because I've taken excellent care of them)... I have this thing that I call the "Cost Per Wear" or CPW factor. If something is $100.00 and you wear it one hundred times it has a $1.00 CPW if you wear it one time it's $100.00 CPW--- I always take that into account on big ticket items... but you have to factor in upkeep and fabric longevity. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was always look at yourself in a three way mirror before you leave the house... if something screams "notice me"  you need to take it off or change into something else... you are trying too hard... it's OK to have a focal point but it should work with the whole story you are telling the world about yourself. Oh and one more thing--- really crazy flamboyant avant garde eyewear does not make you look more interesting--- it makes you look desperate for attention. 

We all make mistakes but if we learn by them and don't keep repeating them then the payoff is worth the pain... I see some of the ghosts or reincarnations of  clothing past pop up in the store or magazines now and then and once in a blue moon I'll take that road again but If I passed the first time for a good reason there is no need to subject myself or the world to a fashion mistake redeux.

Next week I'm gong to be talking about the upkeep and maintenance and cost it takes to face the world... and as I was mulling it over  I think I might have spent close the cost of buying a penthouse in Olympic Tower on 5th Avenue... just on my hair... speaking of  hair --- the 70's were quite a tidal wave of choices and misbegotten decisions as well. See you next week.