Is this a Bakersfield thing?
On my way out of town earlier this week, I stopped at a fast food joint and got this pic of a young man with several fashion DON'TS that I see around town all the time.

First, the sunglass placement.
Please find somewhere else to put your sunglasses when not in use. This upside-down-back-of-the-head thing makes people look foolish. I suppose I understand that men don't want to perch their shades on their heads like Gidget, but can it be so much more difficult and time consuming to fold them and hang them on the shirt front, or even back?

Second, the shorts.
Can someone please take all the men in Bakersfield to a store, ANY STORE, and have them try on shorts that actually FIT? I'm sooooo sick of the long baggy look. It makes men's legs look deformed. I'm not advocating Speedos here, but there MUST be a happier medium. And doesn't anyone know that "saggin" originated in prison because inmates who wanted to wear larger sizes, as they had on the outside, aren't permitted belts, hence the droopy look?

Third, calf tattoos.
Really, they aren't artistic (few tattoos are), it doesn't look "tough" since 70-year-old grandmas get them for Pete's sake, and it's hardly original since every one ELSE has them. So what is the point? (If you can't make it out in this photo, this gentleman's calf art is of flames reaching up to the back of his knee. Perhaps he is a fire walker...?)

Fourth, the shower sandals with socks.
Again, somehow a prison necessity (limiting the spread of foot rot among inmates) has been soaked up by the mainstream. Prison is about a LACK of choices, we have choices on the outside people! Please stop choosing so poorly! (And pairing any kind of sandals with socks is just such a serious DON'T!)

Fashion in action.
I took a quick buzz around town today after lunch and stopped in at La Dolce Vita where Ms. Olivia was getting her claws updated by SUPER manicurista, Terri (Terry?) who is clearly a fashion feast all in her own right. Oh and she has some interesting tales...

Shaggy James update.
Ok, I feel robbed.
Last I talked to J.Burg, he was gonna get a "summer cut." As you know from my previous summer cut installment, I love the summer cut for boys....a REAL summer cut, that is.
I come back from my road trip and saw that James' hair is ANYTHING but buzzed. He said he went to a stylist and she convinced him it was a cool summer cut to "thin" his hair.
Uh...James, did you pay money for this alleged hair cut?

MUST HAVE!
The new Alley Cat shirts are in and they are WAY cool!
I got mine, where's yours?

BIG transition.
I've made the switch!
I've carried a big purse long enough. I'm retreating to a small bag and trying to simplify my life. After all, what gal really needs more than two credit cards, her license and a tube of "take me I'm yours" red lipstick?

Ok, so we're not 20 years old any more. But I'm still gonna try and fight the good fight by scaling back.
Here's my first attempt. I was recently at Target and saw this teeny thing on sale for $7 (including tax!). For $7 I figured I'd try to retreat back to a small bag. We'll see how it goes. Day 1 (yesterday) was already weird when I realized I couldn't stuff my bag of Cracker Jacks and Diet 7Up into my purse and had to actually ask the guy at the stop and rob by my work for a BAG!

Purse stats:
Old bag - 10"X10"X5"
Liz Claiborne (on sale at Gottschalks for $30)

New bag - 8"X5"X3"
Cherokee (on clearance at Target for - did I mention - $7!)








Here's what I can actually fit in the new bag. I think I'll start looking for a smaller wallet, for sure. But I have no idea what else I can throw out. This is the BARE BONES!!!
And, NO, I don't carry a Stanley tape measure, that's just there to represent my camera, which I do carry every day in case a fashion DO or DON"T presents itself. In fact, my camera is much sleeker and lighter than this tape measure, but both take up about the same amount of space.
We'll see how it goes!

Devilishly good!

I recently went to the movie, "The Devil Wears Prada," which was GREAT. Meryl Streep is phenomenal!
Then I remembered I had the book "The Devil Wears Prada." So I read it and it was also good (kinda long and repetitive in some spots, needed a tighter edit) but pretty good. It's totally different from the movie so anyone who LOVED the book is not going to see all the scenes exactly replayed. But both are great summer diversions and deserve two strong bako fashion DOs!

Here's the book jacket and movie logo. I think I like the movie logo better, but both have their own appeal...






And the auther Lauren Weisberger is still in her 20s, I think, already with a best selling novel and major motion picture under her belt. JEALOUS!!! Here's more about the author.

http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/680_lauren_weisberger.htm

Nelson!
This gentleman is a definite "fashion do" in Bako.
We discovered Nelson working at the Lancome counter in RobinsonsMay and immediately fell in love. Not only is he good looking, smart and funny, he knows his make up and takes time to know his clients.
I even switched from Clinque lipsticks so I could work with Nelson.
RobinsonsMay closed shop, but Nelson, like the slinky cat he is, landed on his feet over at Macy's.
Olivia and I ran into him just the other day.
Of course, my camera skills BITE so this pic is out of focus. But don't forget to stop by and say howdy next time you need some Lancome beauty supplies!

Oh, and FYI:
Clearance signs are still up at Talula's and Jezabelle's just had a clearance sign go up and I saw a 30-70 percent off sale ad in the paper for Bella's at the Marketplace!!!

So so so sorry I haven't posted in so long. I went out of town, I was harried, what can I say?

Before I left town I made a quick trip to Jezabelle's downtown to see what kind of yummy stuff they had (some good stuff, very pricey though).
While I was fussing around in my car outside the boutique, a group of actual punkers walked by. Number one, I haven't seen actual punkers since the '80s. Number two, in BAKERSFIELD? I got some shots. And, yup, just like in the '80s, punk is STILL a fashion DON'T!!!