Sunday, January 4, 2009

Santa Anita




The December 2008 issue of Vogue had a feature, called “Coastal Blend,” with the following write-up:

On a glamorous getaway to L.A., actor Jon Hamm plays leading man opposite model Catherine McNeil, who wears a retro Hollywood-worthy mix of rich Technicolor, graphic prints, and bold bijoux.


Read: glamorous, getaway. L.A., retro, Hollywood, Technicolor, graphic, bold, and bijoux.



A day at the races. This first weekend of 2009, my sister and I wanted to “try something new” (one year it was a collective resolution for us sisters to opt for the new, and we thought to bring it out again) and so we visited to the Santa Anita Park. For all the years that we’ve lived in the San Gabriel Valley we could not remember when we had been to the racetrack in Arcadia.



With the racetrack’s Art Deco architecture and the foothills framing the big sky, the views were cinematic, and oh—there was drama! “Nine To Dine” sounded like a great name for a horse, and—privately—we chose it to win.





However, when Nine To Dine was parading with its owner, trainer, and jockey, we observed it behaving badly, not allowing the rider to mount it. “And that horse is the favorite?” another onlooker questioned. The jockey, especially, looked put-out. But, wouldn’t you know, that horse was the one to win the race?



Much of the fashions in the Vogue spread were too something-or-other for my sister, but it did not stop her from taking what she admired.

Autumn began with basics: a white button-down shirt, khaki pants, and a tweed jacket by Ralph Lauren. She then added sophisticated accessories: a waist-cinching belt over the jacket, wrist-length gloves in leather, and a square-faced watch. And finally, here comes the confidence: a purse in a color that pops, a scarf that’s a reminder of jockey silks, earrings and bracelets in gold.

I love Autumn’s movie star lip color best of all.








Autumn’s look is a translation and an inspiration.

5 comments:

Argos The Dog said...

:)

Anonymous said...

A pleasant day trip and you guys picked the winner. I'd say your trip to Santa Anita was a success.

The pictures of Autumn could be bigger though, I had to click on them to really examine the style.

p.s. - The Vogue model looks very strange in that first picture. I'm not sure whether it's the awkward position of her head, or the tiny waist. It looks like I could wrap my hand around it twice...They couldn't find any belts small enough for her so they used a stapler. I guess they could have used one of those twisty things from the grocery store. I'd make more skinny jokes, but I have to save them since I'll be here all week :O)

Lisa said...

Wow, looks like it was a beautiful day. The colors really pop! Nice photo skillz :D

I absolutely love the jacket. I've always wanted one like that. The matching glasses and belt are a nice touch of warm color to it. It always seems like you have such a blast finding new scenes and events to stage the photo shoots :)

Rose said...

Enjoyed the excitement of both the setting and very crisp colors. It really is a very pretty party.

grannybabs said...

Our grandkids favorite outing is the early morning workouts at Santa Anita - and breakfast at Clockers Corner!