Baby it’s cold outside!
Man alive is it cold today! How did we manage to go from a balmy 75 degrees to freezing cold and windy 55 degrees in a matter of a few days?! Even worse, weather reports for this weekend predict thunderstorms (is it just me or is Google’s depiction of thunderstorms pretty scary?). Serious weather demands serious accessories.
My number one all-time favorite cold weather accessory is a vintage fur collar. I inherited a few from my Grandmother a few years ago (Don’t throw flour at me PETA! The minks have been dead twice as long as I have been alive!). You would be amazed at how warm such a tiny piece of fur can be.
Toss it on under a coat and you are ready to brave the elements. You can even doll it up with a broach. I haven’t tried the faux version, but I would imagine that they are not as warm. I mean, there’s a reason people have been wearing fur for so long. Combined with a pair of leather gloves and thick tights, a vintage fur collar is the only accessory you need to survive the crazy San Francisco weather.
Have you been to the Helper’s Home thrift store at Ghirardelli Square? Drop whatever you’re doing and go (call first, weird hours). They get the great vintage from old SF society ladies. Joy, the woman with the big dark glasses, runs the place and is an angel on this earth. She knows fashion and the prices are not low, but you’ll see amazing, amazing things there.
Excellent tip! I’ll have to check that place out. I love finding old clothes made in San Francisco. I bought a Lilli Ann suit back in November from La Rosa’s on Haight.
You can make a pilgrimage to Lilli Ann headquarters — on the corner of 16th and Harrison, just down the hill from the SPCA and across from Atelier Posey et Susan. It’s a storage facility now, but you can tell by the stylish tan glazed brick facade that it was an epicenter of fashion once.
That is so cool! The rock climbing gym is in that area and I pass that corner all the time. Next time I’m down there I’ll have to look more closely!