I have so many style posts I want to write! The story of my daughter’s new blue sofa. Musings on the right lipstick wardrobe in 2018. The burning question, why don’t I have any clothes that work for non-casual daytime events? All fully compelling, at least to my way of thinking.
Instead here I sit, again, at the Centurion Lounge at SFO, making a breakfast of eggs, tea, and Xanax. No champions required. I’m on my way to Southern California. My nephew graduates from high school today, my daughter from medical school tomorrow. In retail they call this season Dads and Grads. Did you know?
Hence the issue with daytime event wear. I got nothing. I mean, I’d be fine in New York, where you can wear black any time of the day, but Southern California? I’m stumped. I figure for the Los Angeles segment I’m going to go somewhat flash and trash – of the vintage off-white, gray and black Issey Miyake pleated top, Vince cropped cuffed pants, and Gucci slides printed with pink parasols and mustard yellow tigers variant. Add Rolex Cellini watch in case that’s not enough. For the beach town shenanigans I’m either going to be wearing 15-year old navy linen Armani pants, a white tee, and gray sweater – essentially how I dressed for work in my 40s – or a black floral Comme des Garçons top and skirt with brown Isabel Marant Dickers – as though I were opening an art galley in lower Manhattan.
Start with the shoes. So many identities in so few clothes. I don’t have a capsule wardrobe, just capsule personas.
In any case, far more important are the large flapping black gowns of our graduates. My nephew is off to college on the other side of the country in the fall. I congratulate him and his family from here, and will do so in whirlwind person very soon, with any luck.
My daughter, you guys know how proud I am of her. But she’s 30. I have told her before and I will tell you here, her success now belongs fully to her. The pride I’ll keep. I would say that all I want is for my kids to be happy, but over thinkers can’t stop there. A job takes up so much of your life. Finding one that suits you, whatever its worldly rewards, I did not know when I was young how much it mattered.
My daughter will be most of this year in scrubs. Capsule wardrobe. I bought her new clogs a while back Always start with the footwear.
I’m going to sign off before Xanax Lisa shows her full face. She is funny, but prone to unpredictable communications. Have an excellent weekend, all of you and any grads you happen to be close to.
49 Responses
I’m sure you’ll look wonderful no matter what you wear, because you’ll be so happy. Congratulations to both graduates! Watching your daughter officially become a doctor will be quite a moment. (And sometime it might be fun to read Xanax Lisa.)
@MJ, It was an amazing moment, to cheer, Doctor Daughter Last Name! I wish I could promise to unleash Xanax Lisa here but really, surely, best not;).
Yay,graduations! Congratulations once again!
MJ said everything so nice,I can only second it
Capsule personas-that’s interesting :-)
Enjoy!
Dottoressa
@dottoressa, <3 <3 <3
I love the idea of capsule personas. So on point. I’ve got nothing either, something I have to work on this year, but so far the idea hasn’t percolated down past my brain cells into any kind of action.
Have a wonderful weekend. Your joy will be beautiful and contagious, no matter what you wear.
@Mardel, Thank you. So much smiling and hugging:). My youngest sister and I agreed that neither of us had this outfit, I said I’d go on the hunt:).
Congratulations graduates!
Those outfit choices sound wonderful – and you’ll feel great as well as look fantastic. Enjoy!
Suz from Vancouver
@Suz, Thank you! It was a great day:).
Congratulations to the grads! Your outfit choices sound perfect to me – I’d love to see photos.
@Leslie K, I do not think I managed to get any outfit photos worth showing – all I could think of was capturing Doctor Daughter’s day! I’ll check my phone, maybe something will work. In the end I just kept telling myself it didn’t matter at all what I was wearing. My daughter agreed;).
Wishing everyone much joy and pride at the graduations. Sounds like you shopped your own designer closet and came up with wonderful outfit choices. So much to celebrate – enjoy the day!
@Susan, Thank you! It was wonderful. I admit, I have great fondness for my closet;).
Congrats to graduates, the outfits sound lovely!
@Elizabeth, Thank you!
Must echo what MJ said, as well. Warmest congratulations to one and all, and would love to hear Xanax Lisa’s voice sometime. I have the feeling there is great humor lurking there.
@Shawn, Thank you! And, Xanax Lisa might be funny but rarely on purpose, only because she gets so giddy she starts to trust the whole world and find it comical. Maybe I will write a Xanax post some time and then review when I reemerge and see if I can bear to publish
I want to meet Xanax Lisa! I can introduce her to Ativan Charlotte (only on planes).
As a teenager I used to name all my favorite outfits (40s Jazz Singer is one I recall for a princess seamed navy blue with white polka dots and a white pique collar, which I wore with white platform shoes–it was the 70s!). Now I am happy to have t-shirts and chinos that fit with a pair of Merrell Moabs. Can anyone come up with a fitting name?
@Charlotte K, Fitting name in my part of the sartorial world, Sturdy Gal! ;) I love that you did that as a kid, so creative. And yeah, let’s have a whole anxiety drug party one day! When money falls on my head, I’ll get us a private jet, how about that?
Congrats. Such happy celebrations
@Nancy Walsh, So it was. Thank you.
Congratulations to the graduates! I understand how proud you must be. I am curious about Xanax Lisa, as well as the outfits you put together. Will there be pix of the outfits? Have a wonderful time this weekend!
@Jane, Thank you! I have a couple of photos – all iPhone grabs from various mirrors. Not good outfit shots, but might work to illustrate a post, at least, in the better than nothing way. I’ll see if I can make something worth posting. xoxo.
Love this post because I agree that shoes are the beginning of any wonderful sartorial relationship. Animal print – whether pumps, sandals, or boots – are always perfect starters for me. Just add black, which is my favorite pastel, and I’m good to go. Hope your enjoy your celebrations with family!
@Cynthia, I think that those of you who wear animal print with aplomb do have a secret weapon. I have rarely rarely felt comfortable doing so, only once with a t-shirt I bought in Paris. So I have to work a little harder to get the effect you arrive it easily.
All-right Lisa,sometimes I’m prone to practicality. For G-d’s sakes enjoy the culmination of this marvelous success. Somehow you managed to raise such a competent person. We are talking about a future brain surgeon! It doesn’t get any better than that.
If for some reason you don’t pull off the California look no worries you are unlikely to see these people again.
We once had a family photographic shoot that was an absolute disaster because I wanted color coordination. We were fighting mosquitoes, extreme heat and each other. I’m not even able to look at the pictures. Yes, I learned my lesson.
I do relate to your anxiety but don’t let it preclude your enjoyment. We can talk fashion next week.
With every wish for your happiness.
Luci
Luci
@luci, Thank you for your story. I imagine it must have been a rough day, but it makes for a great story. In the end I was able to let anxiety and happiness coexist without conflict, if you can imagine that scenario. Thank you.
When I lived in Newport Beach for a single year, not that long out of Cal, and after working at SRI, my clothing persona was nascent shifting to the point that a friend from my SRI days who had moved to Hampstead, England some years before commented, when he visited me in Newport Beach, on all of the white in my wardrobe. I hadn’t noticed that I was responding to place in that manner. Next stop was Chicago and fabulous winter wools and summer linens. I’ve been back in Northern California for years, in Palo Alto and then in SF. My wardrobe persona has items from the Chicago days that work comfortably with my latest additions. I dress for me, and walk into a place with that as my only imperative other than that I be dressed appropriately for the occasion. In some instances this may make me look like a bird flown off migratory route and landed a strange bird in a strange birdland, but I can work with that. Congratulations to your nephew, to your daughter, and to you. These are significant milestones. Enjoy them. (Your Xanax Lisa and my Valium Katherine should take a flight together. I’m sure we’d find it hilarious even if our fellow travelers were perplexed.:)
@Katherine C. James, I think that in Northern California so many are migratory birds that your style works very well. I had to laughing at the white in Southern California, but I am sure I would do the same!
Yes, totally here for future anxiety-drug fueled plane trips;).
Congratulations to your beautiful and smart daughter for reaching this important milestone in her life! And the same to your nephew. Congratulations! No doubt you didn’t need a capsule wardrobe, to put together a beautiful outfit for the ceremony. And very much looking forward to reading Xanax Lisa!
@Amelia, Thank you very much! My outfit wasn’t beautiful but it was adequate and was more an occasion just to think about a better one than worry about the current one. Luckily!
Glad to see that Stylin’ Lisa is back! Of course, your daughter and your nephew will love you no matter what you wear, and no one will be looking at you anyway, but one does want to look appropriate and attractive – and it sounds like your “capsule personas” will do just fine!
I’m stylin’ myself on Sunday afternoon, but wearing my new outfit (white pants, bright pink and white caftan-style top) depends on the weather being less muggy than currently expected – so I’ll probably be in my personal “dressy” version of black tee and tan chinos (see Charlotte above), but with excellent jewelry (coral and pearl necklace, coral and silver drop earrings) and black block-heel sandals (we will be dining under a tent on the lawn, so no spike heels!).
My husband will of course be in a navy blazer and grey slacks, and wearing a vivid white, green and blue stripe shirt from our favorite men’s shop in Venice (those Italians know about menswear…). And he has a perfect Panama hat from Milan, so he will be quite the beau of the ball!
Many congrats to the graduates, with all good hopes for their futures – golly, how time flies! They will both be so proud to have you with them on these two great occasions, and I know you will be the best-looking granny and auntie in the crowd! xoxo – V.
@Victoire, I do love the sound of your good jewelry! And your husband’s style:). Nobody did look at me, you are right, of course, and I am happy to be called Granny. It’s an aspirational title;).
Whoops! You’re NOT a “Granny,” you’re a Mom – I guess I was channeling my own capsule personas! So you’ll be “the best-looking Momma and Auntie in the crowd!”
TOUTES MES APOLOGIES…
So exciting. Congrats to the graduates! You will look adorable because, you know, its you.
Enjoy this special time.
:)
@MaryAnne, Ha! You are so nice. I have never before thought of myself as adorable but I find I quite like the idea. xoxox.
I know you are enjoying your daughter’s graduation. What a fabulous accomplishment!
@Susan D., Thank you. Her graduation was just wonderful. <3
Xoxo will have to do, but I know you know you got this. Celebrate! You will inevitably do it with style, Xanax or no…
@Frances, Thank you. Xoxo, Xanax, related;).
“…why don’t I have any clothes that work for non-casual daytime events?”
PLEASE take notes at both [SO exciting!] events, and file a report back here upon your return. We want to hear how to assemble non-casual daytime event wardrobes, we do. Especially when it’s so much more difficult to look/feel smart in hot weather locations. xo
@Flo, I’m trying. It appears that the various Southern California cities and ceremonies differ. LA is sui generis, unsurprisingly.
Just saw your latest Instagram pic of your lovely daughter, perfectly dressed for this great occasion in black cap and gown with gold accents, nicely accessorized with a bright flower lei around her neck and a bouquet of white flowers in her arms, all set off by the best jewel of all: a gorgeous smile …
Oh, Lisa, you must be so proud of her, and so happy to be her mom – and I know that your own mom, if she could, would be there with you, smiling with pride though her own tears of joy. Three beautiful women, loving and supporting each other. What a great day for all of you!
@Victoire, Thank you. She was perfectly accessorized. I agree;).
Mom would be incredibly proud, if she could understand.
<3
Congratulations to your daughter on her amazing accomplishments. Day event clothes – ay yi yi. I have nothing and luckily only a preschool graduation to attend this June (where I can wear jeans). It’s why I say no to charity luncheons usually – nothing to wear and no idea what to buy. Not into floral dresses for me. I’m going to put some thought into it as well – let’s see what we all come up with?
@KSL, Thank you! Ay yi yi is right. If you happen upon any brilliant ideas, send them along. Am all ears.
Oh, the clogs! I need to email you an opinion piece about lucky footwear for MDs.
Congrats to one and all.
@Jean Shaw, Thank you. Would love to see a piece on footwear for MDs!
I had to Google Xanax. I see it’s a treatment for anxiety. I use cannabis to treat anxiety, and it works great! Lots of ways to do it these days. No need to smoke. I’ve been writing about my experiences on my new blog. My old (very old) blog being Rock the Silver, where you were featured during your hair transition. Looking great, by the way.
@Donna, I remember you! And your blog! Thank you for saving hello! I am wholly uneducated as to the new medical uses for cannabis, I am guessing that both state and private enterprise will want to change that!
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