Learning About Fashion

Rodarte Spring Summer 2011, photographed at Stanford University for Electric Fashion, the book I wrote with Frederic Aranda.

This morning I was handed a challenge. One of my wonderful Instagram followers asked me if "During this time, could (I) give basic lessons on how to develop an eye for high fashion"? I don't remember ever being asked that.  Usually the question is more like "How long have you been interested in fashion"? or "When did you know you loved fashion"?

So how do you develop an eye for high fashion?  I can promise you, it doesn't take beauty or dressing well yourself to understand couture.  All you have to do is look at who writes the best, most observant and critical reviews to know that beauty and one's own style often have zero to do with understanding fashion.  In fact, the pretty girls and boys in their latest Balenciaga, these "influencers" about whom we hear so much, are generally ignorant about style, fashion history and elegance. By the way, Cristobal Balenciaga is most likely rolling in his grave at the thought of these influencers and the Balenciaga tee shirt culture.

First I recommend a book that anyone interested in learning the essentials must read.

Dior By Dior

Christian Dior is surely the most influential figure in French Fashion, which essentially means fashion.  And as befits a great man, his modesty and humility shine through.  What would Christian Dior have thought of these Instagram influencers?  Probably not much.

There are hundreds of books about Coco Chanel.  Try The Many Faces of Coco by Lauren Lipton.

To learn about Yves Saint Laurent, the first French designer whose clothes I wore and loved, I recommend Jalil Lespart's  2014 movie, Yves Saint Laurent. There are many reasons I recommend this movie over the other (which came out the same season), but first and foremost, the clothes in Lespart's are from the Saint Laurent archives. Chanel and Saint Laurent must be studied assiduously to understand the twentieth century history of fashion. You would do well to learn about Cristobal Balenciaga and the era of women he dressed.

We are lucky enough to be alive in Christian Lacroix's lifetime. My adoration of this designer is well known to those who read or follow me. I suggest that anyone who wants to understand the last forty years of fashion go to Vogue.com and look at every one of his Haute Couture shows from 1987 until 2009.

Left, Spring Summer 2006, Right, Autumn Winter 2009
Christian Lacroix
The work of Lacroix is out of this world. Study the gowns, the accessories, the way the shows were put together. Look at films of the runways from YouTube. Mr. Lacroix gave women poetry and freedom to dream, all based on a strong intellectual foundation.

There is also my book with Frederic Aranda.

Electric Fashion was published in 2015 by Skira.  It details how I began my couture collection and includes beautiful photographs by Frederic Aranda. I write about spending long periods with my mother, who also loved fashion, talking to her and watching her dress. If you did not have a mother or older figure in your life to teach you, you can still learn.  Remember, the greatest fashion writers are often persons you would not even notice on the street.  But their eye for style is unerring. I am tempted to say "You either have it or you don't".  However this takes away the idea that we can learn about what makes clothes great. Read the books I recommend. See the movie about Yves Saint Laurent.  Study the runways of Christian Lacroix.  I am sure you will learn a great deal, and that your fashion eye will expand and you will begin to really understand the beauty of couture.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The human eye is hungry for beauty.

Please take care and stay home right now.  I love all of you and I thank you for reading this missive.

Christian Lacroix and Little Missy

Long ago in the mid aught 2000s, I visited the Maison of Christian Lacroix for the first time. I had been going regularly to his Haute Couture  and pret-a-porter shows since the nineties.  I knew that when I took the plunge and bought Haute Couture, it would be from Mr. Lacroix. I even dreamt that I would give my Haute Couture to a museum.  Well, anyone who reads this blog knows that sometimes dreams come true. I did collect many beautiful pieces from Mr. Lacroix and they are now all at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

2008 in New York City, wearing Christian Lacroix Haute Couture

But here is the first ensemble I bought from Mr. Lacroix, in an outtake from my book with Frederic Aranda, Electric Fashion.  We shot this in Regent's Park, London.

Imagine wearing something this beautiful. I treated the couture like children, for I knew my Lacroix pieces would someday be moving on to their next home, the de Young.

This 1999 pret-a-porter Lacroix coat is nearly at the couture standard. This is also the first piece from Lacroix I purchased and I am never parting with it.

I loved this jacket.  It is so 18th century, so very Lacroix

This ensemble was hand painted.  Mr. Lacroix said I reminded him of a Provencal Heroine. I said yes, Je M'appelle Marie de Renal, (I call myself Marie de Renal, after Madame de Renal in The Red and the Black by Stendahl).

Needless to say, a dialogue with the designer is divine. It helps to know your French literature, at least it did in my day when I was looking at couture. Yves Saint Laurent often had literary references as well, as did Mr. Lagerfeld for Chanel.

Here is the Vogue.com story where Mr. Lacroix talks about my collection at the de Young.  This coat, which I owned and gave to the de Young was one of Mr. Lacroix's favourites.  It was one of mine, too, and as I recounted in the book Electric Fashion, I once put this coat in Kate's and Laura's room when they were staying with me to inspire them, early in their Rodarte career.  I told that story to Mr. Lacroix and he liked it.
I think that Christian Lacroix is the greatest living designer. I have been lucky indeed to have been able to wear his clothes and then give them to the people of San Francisco.

Little Missy's Travel Adventures and the Beginnings of Autumn!

Yes, Autumn has come to San Francisco!  And yet Little Missy and Carolyne Zinko, editor in chief of the esteemed Silicon Valley Modern Luxury, lifestyle magazine for the Tech Elite, had the privilege of experiencing the beginnings of Springtime in Australia!

Early Spring Night in Sydney
Sydney reminded me of an optimistic, fresh version of San Francisco.  I could live there in a heart beat.  No guns, great food, great weather...what is NOT to love?

Beauty everywhere you look in Sydney--I mean look at this!  

The famous Sydney Opera House did not disappoint!  The architecture is thrilling!

A secret garden in Sydney enchanted us.

Sunset in Sydney with Silicon Valley Modern Luxury editor in chief Carolyne Zinko.

If I didn't come home, who could blame me?

But I did come home and here I am about to leave for the San Francisco Fall Show in my new Richard Quinn coat.  I'm trying to get my daughter and son in law to emigrate to Australia.  They already live in Abu Dhabi and that's so far they might as well live in beautiful Sydney!  My daughter Lexi called me in Australia and said she could tell from my Instagram posts that I was in love with the country, and I told her she should emigrate and my grandchildren could have Australian accents and not live in fear of mass shootings! And I could visit them.

BTW, the nonstop trip from San Francisco to Sydney is only about 14 hours and you sleep the whole time (if you are lucky which Zinko and I were).  So put Sydney on your travel agendas!  The city is fabulous!  Next post I will tell you about the Outback!  Kangaroos and other marsupials galore! 

 Lots of love and happy Autumn,

 Little Missy

End of Summer Update!

Hello everyone!  I hope all of you have had a great summer!  But wait--I'm about to take off for Sydney next week, where it's winter! I packed two black sweaters (one for evening) two pairs of black pants, a black pleated skirt, silk evening pajamas, black heels and two three quarter coats for a sort of dressy warmth. I just thought "How would I dress for San Francisco in the summer?" and I figured out what to bring!  And all in a carry on. Which I can't carry on because of my makeup and creams and so on.

I'll wear jeans, a  pullover sweater, a cardigan and a cool Rodarte coat, along with easy to slip on and off espadrilles and a scarf on the plane.  I even have room in my suitcase for a swimsuit and my Nikes, as well as my makeup and stuff! I'm kind of happy with what I've selected.  I'll only be gone for a week.  I'll let you know how it turns out!  In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great rest of summer and an easy slide into fall!
Love you XXXXXX

Meet Your Designers!

Vivienne Westwood and me at the Met Gala in 2013.  I had lunch with her on my birthday a few years ago and she only wanted to talk about men!

It's important to meet the people who design and oversee your wardrobes!

Zandra Rhodes and me at the Met Gala in 2013.  She's jolly good fun because she lives in Southern California now!

Karl Lagerfeld with Ciina Feng and me at his 75th birthday party in New York.  He told me there was no such thing as arthritis.  I happen to know that's not true.

With Jean Paul Gaultier in London in 2016.  He told the photographer to do a good job with the photo as I was an elegant woman!

With Alexander McQueen in 2006 in San Francisco.  No, he wasn't happy.

With James Galanos in San Francisco in 2005. I first met him as a child when he showed his collections at my mother's charity fashion shows.

With Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte in New York  in 2019.

  They are responsible for 90% of my wardrobe!

With Johnson Hartig of Libertine in Woodside, California, 2019.  I love his California aesthetic!

With Brandon Maxwell and Tony Bravo in 2016 in San Francisco.  He's not responsible for dressing me but for dressing Gaga, for which he was awarded Designer of the Year by the CFDAs.

With Jonathan Saunders in San Francisco in 2017.  I love this guy so much.

With Zac Posen in San Francisco in 2018.  I love Zac, too!

With Azzedine Alaia in San Francisco in 2005.  I adored Azzedine and cried when he died.

With Simon Ungless and Sarah Burton in San Francisco in 2012.

And last but definitely not least these guys, Livi and Yass of on aura tout vu.  I like to say that before they were dressing Beyonce, Gaga, Madonna, etc, they were dressing Christine Suppes!  You have to start somewhere! Paris, 2018.

And what's this all about anyway?  Who knows?  I think designers are some of the nicest people in the world (with very few exceptions) and if you have the chance to meet or get to know some great designers, you will love and appreciate your clothes  even more!

PS Although of course I have met Christian Lacroix on several occasions, we were never photographed together, at least to my knowledge.  Ironic but true...

Little Missy's Trip Across the World!

NYC-London-Marrakech-Abu Dhabi-London-Scotland

It started in New York City, although this photo of Kate and Laura Mulleavy and me is at the Brooklyn Museum after the CFDA Awards Dinner (Council of Fashion Designers of America).  They should have won in their category, Best Women's Wear, but never mind, they have so much going on right now, and their shows are always voted number one by Vogue Magazine.

Then I flew to London for the day and discovered this Mecca for Instagrammers called Peggy Porschen Cakes.  After spending a forgettable night at Gatwick Airport I flew to Marrakech for JC and Brent's wedding!

There are dozens of photos I could post of this beautiful city and the beautiful wedding I attended, but we'll leave it here for now with the fountain of the beautiful Riad El Fenn.  Madonna had just checked out and our wedding party checked in!  Orange groves, lavender, hammams, a beautiful wedding, perfect weather.  But I had to tear myself away in less then 48 hours because I had to catch a flight to Casablanca to fly on to Abu Dhabi where my kids and grandchildren live!

Travelers' Alert:  Casablanca is kind of sketchy if you are a single woman.  Like they asked why I was travelling alone and that kind of thing!  Airport officials took my passport away for about 15 minutes for reasons I didn't understand. But I made it to Abu Dhabi!

All the perfumes of Arabia, and here is a selection from my favourite store in Abu Dhabi, Villa 515.  The Arabs love their perfumes, and as it is generally "105 degrees Fahrenheit but feels like 123 degrees", perfume is certainly refreshing.  None of this California "I'm allergic to scent" in Abu Dhabi.  Men and women alike adore their colognes.

Here is the beautiful skyline of Abu Dhabi as seen from The Emirates Palace Hotel.  A brilliant trans activist in San Francisco likened it to phallic symbols and said, "This is the moment for women".  I agree with her.  I also think this is a gorgeous skyline, And I'm sorry for my old fashioned friends who think it's awful and that San Francisco is headed in this direction.  San Francisco has a lot of catching up to do to even imitate a small part of this genius skyline.  So don't worry, old school San Franciscans!  This won't happen in your lifetimes!  Sadly!!!

Here's me at a Philippines seafood restaurant in Abu Dhabi having an Anthony Bourdain moment in his honor, eating rice and seafood without benefit of plates or cutlery!

Moving back to London, here is my favourite dress from the V&A exhibition, Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams.  It's by Galliano (1999) and up there with the Junon dress from 1949.

Then I found myself in Scotland and fell madly in love with the entire country.  I will show only two images. The first is Hopetoun House, where Adrian Hope, fourth Marquess of Linlithgow gave a very personal tour of his childhood home.

Lastly, I want to show the rustic appeal of Hospitalfield, an arts institute in on ancient site with a view of the North Sea.  I could go on and on with images from artists, collectors and artisans I visited, but this gives you an idea of the varied itinerary I had this past month!

Just stay organized and keep to your schedule and you can do it too!  You might get a little tired sometimes...that is the only drawback.  Four continents in 22 days!  Not bad!  Not bad at all.

Hoping your summers are off to a roaring start!  HAPPY PRIDE WEEKEND!

Love, Little Missy

Jumping Continents

Four Continents in Three Weeks!

It's not for everyone!  I wasn't planning to exactly jump four continents in three weeks, but things just kept coming up!

I'm going to New York because in early June The CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) are having their annual awards dinner and my girls Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte are once again up for Women's Wear Designer of the Year.  If they don't get it this time I may not be responsible for my response!

I'm wearing their Rainbow Ensemble from their famous cemetery show in New York last September in the pouring rain. I asked for an extra layer under the rainbow lace, and I'm hoping for the best for Kate and Laura, who are the best designers working in this country!

Then I'm going on to London, where I will leave one of my suitcases with my usual hotel, and then on to Gatwick Airport, where I will spend the night because the following morning at an ungodly hour I am flying to Marrakesh, where my friends JC and Brent are getting married!  It's hard to believe I've known JC since she was not even 20 and now she's getting married!  And even though she has planned an exquisite wedding thousands of miles from where she lives (in Berkeley), she took the time to bring me an Intention Candle just before she left, which I burned for 72 hours (never unattended, mind you), only to find three crystals at the bottom when the candle was finished burning!  My intention is to find out what exactly my intentions are!  At my age, I think I ought to be focused on that!

Here is the Ungaro 2008 caftan I plan to wear to the wedding.  I first wore it in Marrakesh 11 years ago!  You can imagine, for a fashionista , this is heaven!  I'll have spa treatments between the festivities and hope I can book a hammam.  Aftr the wedding, I'm leaving at the crack of dawn (just two days after arriving in Marrakesh) to fly to Casablanca, to catch a flight to Abu Dhabi where my kids live!  I thought it was a hop, skip and a jump from Morocco to Abu Dhabi.  It's an eight hour flight! From Africa to the Middle East!  It's really far!

I'll probably be so exhausted by the time I get to Abu Dhabi that it's a good thing I bought these Dries Van Noten pajamas in two colours, orange and blue!  I can put on heels and jewelry and pretend I'm awake!  But my five year old granddaughter Isold doesn't allow any nonsense! On my last visit in January, I decided to teach Isold my beauty routine. As I used my cleansers and splashed my face thirty times like Erno Laszlo (remember him) taught us in the eighties, Isold blurted out, "Oh Granny, that's so old fashioned!  Mommy uses a sonic brush!"  I was so taken aback and ashamed you can bet I bought a sonic brush as soon as I could, and my California makeup artist who works with me when I go out to important (at least in some minds') galas or events told me my skin felt smoother  (and not even prompted by me)!  And if I can't get a hamman in Marrakesh, I can get one at the Emirates Palace Hotel, probably the most beautiful hammam in the world. Just being with my kids will be heaven.

Then I'm fairly crazy!  NOOOOOO!  The American Friends of the V&A are offering a "best of Scotland" trip and I thought it would be fun for my friend Kate Dixey and me to go, as we both have Scottish blood flowing in our veins!  I'm no fan of Prince Charles per se but I'm looking forward to seeing his renovation of Dumfries house.  We can't deny he has taste.

Looks very beautiful to me. And as you can see it was featured in Architectural Digest. 

And here's my fantasy of how it will all be!  Did you know that Scottish doctors are now prescribing Vitamin D supplements to Scottish kids because there is so little sun?  So you see, I'm going from a New York fashion party to Marrakesh to the true heat of Abu Dhabi to the coldest country in a given European country during the summer.  No one twisted my arm!  I signed up for this adventure! Eight hours back to London from Abu Dhabi, the divine V&A Summer Party where I will reprise the Rodarte Rainbow ensemble and probably scandalise the American Friends of the V&A, who tend to play it down, to put it mildly. And then a Scottish escapade!

Well, that's Little Missy's Continent skipping!  I'm wishing all my  readers a wonderful summer, filled with adventures and books and some down time!  This year it's all about self-love.  Self-love is the biggest buzz word except for the color chartreuse!  So find a chartreuse swim suit or trunks and dive into the season!

With love, Little Missy