Thursday, December 17, 2015

Manners, the New Affluents, dresses you can eat a meal in, and other stuff wot I rote

Since I took such a long sabbatical (see what I just did there, give it a name and then it's very okay...) I thought I'd post a few of the articles I wrote for the SF Chronicle since the end of summer.  How do you make sure you actually enjoy some of the getting ready for the mad rush of the holidays? My latest piece was about trying to do a serene Mrs Dalloway day out, just strollin' the streets, and browsing the new Gucci high-end clobber.


By the way, I am loving this new Gucci stuff!  Just re-read old Donna Tartt's The Secret History (man alive, that woman can write a word or two) and she had the funniest things to say about Gucci; kind of preppy ugly-cool.

What gets your goat about other people? Here, no one replies to dinner-party invites. Another article I wrote was about manners, or modern etiquette, especially during the holiday/party time. (Everyone was conspiring to annoy me yesterday and was tempted to be rude to someone behind a desk who was being obtructive when on came that Sponge Bob song, "Don't be a jerk! It's Christmas!" Had to larf.)

Waiting for the guests to arrive, but will they? Manners during the holidays

Good news in the East Bay is, people here are really polite drivers. They let you in, don't honk much and are pretty laid back.

What will you remember about the summer of 2015? What trends did you love or hate? Here's my two cents. For me, one of the things was the 20th anniversary of Clueless (20 years! gah! how did that happen) still one of the most perfect movies ever made.

The awesome twosome in their matching plaids

If you're coming to Oakland, here's just a few of the brilliant stores we have here and things to do. This flying yoga is very bendying.



As a 53 year old Luddite, I don't expect to be invited on the Google bus anytime soon, but still, I found loads of things to see down in Silicon Valley along the train stops,  including a Pez (!) museum, if you please!




Then I wrote about the New Affluents in San Francisco. People don't flash their money around here like they apparently do on the East Coast, so when we arrived here 13 years ago it was tricky to tell... I'm saying this in a purely anthropological way. Until I realized there were a few clues and here they are..

The Burning Man Banker

And finally, two friends in Berkeley have designed a dress that you can eat a meal in. Caftans but without the Mrs Roper vibe...

Ginger Caftans
Whew! That's a lot. Do you prefer a sleek fitted outfit for the hols or are you looking for something where you can have that extra plate of tucker and leap like a gazelle, if need be?


24 comments:

  1. I can only read a couple of sentences of your fab articles before I am asked to subscribe. I used to be able to read them from your blog links so has it changed?
    I do like a day on my own mooching though - very satisfying.
    Wishing you a wonderful holiday - I tend to just unzip myself gradually during the overindulgence!

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    1. So sorry! I didn't realize as I was posting them. I have changed a couple of the links to SFGate so free and readable, but the rest have that paywall thingy. Now SFChron and SF Gate are two diff entities and the gate doesn't publish everything.

      Happy Holidays!!

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    2. Ok back again, thanks for letting me know Trish. worked out how to do it and now you can read all the links...

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  2. No fitted frocks for me over Christmas- caftan style tents all the way xxx

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  3. No fitted frocks for me either. Actually no frocks at all. I'll be in trousers because otherwise I'll have to take an extra pair of shoes in my suitcase. Merry Christmas! :)

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    1. I'll be in my togs, (swimsuit) with towel if that's too horrifying a visual

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  4. Fabulous articles! Kind of stunned re. the manners one - I always thought of Americans (maybe, even especially where you're based) as being overly polite. But of course being polite doesn't equate to having manners and not replying to invitations is incredibly rude! And the car pool thing I can tell you is a universal issue with the manners of both parents and kids leaving me speechless. Which doesn't happen often :)
    I think the loose fitting situations might work better for me although, like you, I have no formal work party so invite myself along to other peoples and have to fit in with the appropriate attire; because I have manners! And used a semicolon…

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    1. hah::;;;. love that! LA is even worse re manners, my friend says people reply two minutes before walking in and then don't eat or drink anything because they're on so many diets

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  5. So many links in this post you've given me some great reading for the evening, thank you! I would likely die doing flying yoga. The regular kind makes me nearly pass out as it is. Imagine not replying to a dinner party? I just do not understand.
    The Secret History is a brilliant book, read it for the first time this year and I thought it was amazing. XO

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    1. I did too, and even though i thought It could be half the length loved to keep reading it. Old Donna can surely spin a yarn

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  6. Well, Mrs. Dalloway, just finished reading all your columns. I'm not sure I'd recognize Oakland any more, sounds more like San Francisco or Marin.
    Manners? They left No. California long before I did, they now live comfortably in the South.

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  7. Great articles! They show a sign of the times. Not all good. Manners seem a thing of the past. OMG - RSVP today seems to have a very new definition. I had a Christmas party and one couple (the wife) telephoned me to say they had another invitation and possibly they could stop by my home and leave quickly to attend the next party. I responded they should attend the other party and not embarrass themselves and me by drifting through my party. I told her they could attend my party next year if they were free! Susan (with the short fuse)

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    1. Good reply, we shouldn't have to put up with that sort of nonsense.

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  8. The Secret History is one of my top ten fave books! And of course, I love the caftan idea. Happy Holidays!

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  9. Amazing variety of articles - so good! I hope you have the loveliest of Christmases with your menagerie!

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  10. Free food, free booze...we'll be the first ones signed up! Not sure why people even have such wishy washy friends. Are they worth it?

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  11. On the go all week and will read your articles this weekend. Manners are but one modern feature I loathe, the primary one being the decline of intelligent conversation. There seems to be about 10 cliches even alleged intelligent people lean on for 70% of what they say aloud...and they even want to use the au courant tone & inflection to make these banalities more irritating.

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  12. WHO DID YOU INVITE TO DINNER and they DIDNOT RESPOND??!!NOT LINDA or ME!!!!!!!!!UNBELIEVABLE in my book.
    SO< is the BOOK FINISHED?Did you do what you went away to DO?Or did you PLAY and PUT off the finishing touches?DO TELL this CONTESSA she wants to be in the know!!!

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  13. Any dress that is caftan like but acceptable for public attire gets a big tick from me! Wow you have been busy on your sabbatical!! I'm going to hop off and read all your articles because they are nothing if not diverse.
    As for people that don't respond to dinner invitations???!!!! What??? I would obviously end up cutting so many people off my list that I'd never entertain again. Or have any friends. xxx

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