Since 1976 I have counted two birthdays every April in my head. One is my actual birthday and the second a sort of “re”birthday, when my parents, sisters, and I began a new life in America after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. This year is a huge milestone because it marks the 35th year in our adopted country. It’s quite remarkable–not only because the math doesn’t add up to the fact that I’m only 25!– to think that I have spent most of my life in this country and now consider myself an American both on paper and in spirit. Yet when I count numbers, it is still always in my native Vietnamese, and when people ask me where I’m from, I’ll say LA but the visual in my head is always of the photos you see in today’s entry…
One of my earliest memories of being in the States is seeing my mom and our live-in nanny (who evacuated with us) hoard staples like food items or toiletries. If they had known about Costco back then I think we would have had enough bulk items to last another 35 years. I suppose when you are given 24 hours to vacate your home and country with little more than the clothes on your back, you shop with a newfound urgency and fear of lacking the very basics. We used to self-diagnose our behavior by referring to this as the refugee mentality and today I laugh about it, trying to apply this syndrome to my Chanel habit. Something tells me it’s not quite the same thing.
I often wonder what the experience is like for other immigrants who now claim America as their own. Do they ever stop longing for the home that’s no longer there…do they stop feeling guilty when they sing the Stars Spangled Banner and feel the same chills of pride? It’s taken me 35 years to try to define it, but the best way I can put it is that my immigrant experience is all of these mixed emotions of confusion, of trying to get a sense of belonging. But what I know most of all is that all immigrants share the one common bond of survival. I am beyond amazed that my parents were able to provide for the three of us and their extended families under tremendous, life-changing circumstances. And this stalwart determination is the one refugee mentality I hope to never lose.
Tags: April 30 1975, Fall of Saigon, vietnamese
Ever since Coco Chanel made it cool to look like a gondolier I’ve been collecting Breton or mariner shirts. A fashion editor in one of my favorite magazines once wrote that women over the age of 30 should stop wearing stripes, especially the horizontal kind. I was past 30 when I read that and stored it in the back of my fashion brain, but look…
…so basically, (a) I don’t really listen to advice, and (b) I just can’t seem to get over tuxedo or mariner shirts. Luckily the fashion gods agree with me about the latter this spring/summer. The nautical striped shirts are everywhere you look, at all price points.
And since my entry started with a reference to my favorite French designer, just for fun, the title for today’s FIMTSO episode is Une Semaine à Paris (a week in Paris). It is a capsule of how I would pack around one key item for a trip that involves business and play and multiple weather possibilities.
Test Item: KORS by Michael Kors black/white mariner lightweight pullover sweater.
Look 1: Since the fantasy here involves Paris, let’s bring out the good stuff. For a business meeting I would pair the top with the Chanel wool tweed skirt from their 09 Moscou Paris collection. Black patent Manolos finish the look.
Look 2: That skirt comes with a matching jacket and if I needed to, I would wear it with the look above. But let’s say my meeting spills over into dinner and I want to not look so Nancy-Reagan-formal–I’d swap out the skirt for a pair of black 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans. But since we are in Paris, I’d keep the heels for dinner (for some reason my French sounds better when I am tottering in cute shoes!):
Look 3: Let’s say on the third day of my trip Karl Lagerfeld announces to the world that I am his latest muse and must immediately make my way to 31 rue cambon before my fantasy expires. After I recover from my fainting spell, I consider putting on my Chanel ballgown, but no, I’m here to represent the All-American casual look. So I’d slip the top under the 09A black tweed tunic and pair it with a pair of white palazzo pants. White palazzo pants? Pourquoi pas? I’m sure to wear my high heels (see what I wrote above) and red classic flap just to add a pop of color:
Errr, if I had four minutes of face time with KL, why would I be wearing a shirt that I’d already worn two days in a row already? Because, dear readers, in one’s fantasy there’s no room for logic or common sense. But anyway…let’s continue with this episode, shall we?
Look 4: On the last day of my week I spend the morning at the musée Picasso followed by an afternoon in old book stores. Sigh, the idea of this is making me drool already. I’d want to dress comfortably so all I need with the top is a pair of my Ann Taylor Loft denim sailor pants. Sidebar: can you believe I only paid $18 for these white jeans? And yes, Imelda here did buy two pairs. An Alexander McQueen chiffon scarf completes my look; I’d probably wear some black sandals or white leather Converse sneakers:
Look 5: If for any reason Paris is chilly and hazy on my trip, I’d forgo the white pants in Look 4 for Hudson jeans instead. My 07A peacoat rounds out my nautical theme. And the red flap is still appropriate for work or play (though I would not wear the red purse with the red suit above):
So this episode begs the question…just what exactly would I wear to meet Kaiser Karl? Maybe we can visit that scenario in a future blog entry. I welcome all suggestions!
Tags: 31 rue cambon, 7 For All Mankind, Ann Taylor, Breton, Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, mariner shirt, McQueen, Paris
It’s 8.15am when I get to Target for the Zac Posen release and there’s a small crowd of women grabbing sizes while gabbing on the phone with their less fortunate (if wiser) friends who stayed home. One woman asks me to help her keep an eye out for the navy dress that sold out in 30 seconds; she’d elbowed her way through the pack in front of the store when she got there at 7.45am but wasn’t fast enough to score one in her size.
Secretly I’m glad I missed that mêlée, and I already knew I didn’t want that dress so I zone in on the ones that I loved from the lookbook, with the top look being the lipstick red leather motorcycle jacket. The color is right on in person but I’m somewhat disappointed that the sleeves are suede; but it’s still pretty cute on:
Next are a couple of tops:
This tuxedo bodysuit is actually way cute on! Maybe I can do my own Beyonce Single Ladies video in it 
. NOT.
I absolutely need NO MORE swimwear, but this molten bronze one-piece is just too hot to pass up:
So that’s my Posen Sunday. Hope yours is as fun!
There’s an astigmatism in my right eye that’s worse than the one in the left, and each year my eye doctor pushes me to try the toric contact lenses to remedy the problem. Each year I give it a good effort but in the end I can’t wear them. This year in particular has been challenging (we are still fighting the good fight against reading glasses!), and only today, after the fourth try at yet another different prescription and brand, I think we’ve finally found me the right non-toric pair.
My vision is not that bad, but the astigmatism hinders me from clarity of details and affects some depth perception, especially at night. Let’s just say you might not want to make me the designated driver at night whether I’ve had too much to drink or none at all. It’s not a serious problem, but I can’t tell you what a difference good vision makes on your confidence in nighttime driving.
After some frustration this morning, my doctor sent me out to–in his words–”the brave new world” to try them out. As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the snow capped mountains way in the distance against the blue, blue sky without having to strain my eyes. I got on the freeway to test the sharpness, and I don’t know if it’s really the new contacts or the rain from the day before that allowed me to see with so much clarity. I think I almost saw Wyoming from California! It is a brave new world and I already feel like a new person…though the real test will be the next time I drive at night.
So…what can possibly beat a new pair of eyes? A new pair of shoes! What did I say about my Louboutin footprint yesterday!
Tags: astigmatism, Louboutin, toric
Today marks Earth Day’s 40th, and I have to ask myself, do we leave a bigger carbon footprint by hoarding stuff like a pack rat or by churning old things out of the closet every season only to buy more? What exactly is the sustainable approach to fashion besides making our own clothes, by hand, by candlelight, out of recyclable materials (btw, why do I always associate going green with a pre-Industrial Age scenario!)?
I’ve just posed a question I can’t answer, but suffice it to say I don’t think recycling unwanted clothes and accessories at the local Goodwill drop-off can offset the rate at which I re-populate my closet. Disposed stuff seems to beget more new stuff, and the cycle is never ending. My closet is a landfill of guilty pleasures, and in another century it might contribute to something really bad to our planet. I don’t know what yet, but I’m always told if it looks this good, it’s not going to end well. And my closet is pretty awesome if I may say so myself .
Anyway, if Earth Day’s motto is to reuse, renew and recycle then I suppose my FIMTSO series is sort of on the right track….I’m…trying.
But I just can’t seem to promise the universe that my Louboutin footprint will shrink any time soon because, well…the Loubs are always so darn pretty, and when you’re standing inside the shoe department surrounded by peep-toes and slingbacks and stilettos and ballerinas screaming “BUY ME” at you, you’re not exactly thinking about saving the environment. You’re still stuck on rationalizing why you have to own more than 20 pairs of shoes. In black.
So much for my Earth Day repentance; it’s more of a confession than an atonement. But in the spirit of using things that are recyclable, today’s pics are of some of my favorite re-usable bags that are meant to replace those disposable plastic bags at the supermarkets. Too bad these bags are so cute I don’t have the heart to use them for my groceries 
.
Tags: carbon footprint, Earth Day, FIMTSO, Louboutin
