My Wonder Room: Week of 6.30.25
San Francisco treat edition, part one.
I just got back this week from a fantastic 4-night trip to San Francisco that left me with much inspiration, a lighter wallet, and extremely sore walking muscles. Here is just a few thoughts pulled from my travel journal in the fashion and styling realm, stay tuned next week for more on the art and culture side! Photos that are not mine can be found on my Pinterest.
Trends on the street
First off, hats off to anyone who manages to have style in SF… between the constantly-changing weather and microclimates, the blasts of wind, the athleticism required to walk around (them there hills!), potentially needing to be up for going to the beach and a nice restaurant in the same evening, etc., it’s not the easiest place to dress for! SF might not be a major fashion capital, but there were fun styling choices and notable trends to be observed.
One thing that stood out immediately is that skirts were everywhere; either mini or maxi, not much in-between. The standard cool-girl uniform seemed to be a fitted or straight-cut mini with an oversized jacket, usually vintage leather, and heavy boots (a heavy loafer with socks also gives the effect). A bit brat girl summer holdover perhaps? For something more casual, an oversized sweatshirt or t-shirt with an Edwardian-inspired petticoat and comfortable shoes was seen a lot. I also spotted more than one beautiful iridescent bias-cut midi skirt that was very late 90’s Prada, worn with a simple tank, minimal shoes and narrow sunglasses.
For more androgynous looks, I definitely noticed a 30’/40’s sporty vibe with sweater vests layered with collared shirts and simple trousers a lot. This was often topped with a baker boy cap, which looks super cute with the layered shaggy short and mid-length haircuts that are currently popular.
Other notable hair trends: curly hair was everywhere (especially in mullet/shag/wolf form), which makes me happy to see, as curls have really disappeared from the media zeitgeist in recent years. Perhaps the most common haircut, however, was what I can only call ‘floppy hair;’ a grown-out, center-parted short cut that I am very familiar with from the late 90’s-early Y2K. It’s gender-expansive, flattering for a lot of people, and easy to style, so it's easy to see why!
Aside: I’m not watching the SATC reboot but am voraciously reading everyone’s complaints about how bad it is, and this article has me convinced one can trace the decline of the franchise with the abandonment of Carrie’s curls.
I also saw a lot of outfits that reminded me of the John Woo films of the late 80s and early 90s like The Killer, Once a Thief, and A Better Tomorrow (minus the neckties and huge shoulder pads). It’s very much the 30s/40s vibe again, but in fluid tailoring or barrel-leg trousers accented with sturdy loafers and classic sunglasses. Which all goes perfectly with floppy hair, of course!
I do wish I had seen more of the 1930s fringed white satin scarves to top these looks like in The Killer…
Another aside: J.W. Anderson’s first Dior men’s collection featured this exact scarf styled casually and I can only hope it catches on. Also, I was feeling very 2010s-esque high-top sneakers again, but was afraid to admit it, and this show definitely made me feel validated... Watch this space! This show was fantastic!
A footwear trend I noticed and enjoyed were moccasin-esque shapes that ran the gamut from boat to nurse to Golden Girls, they are a nice touch to unusually-shaped denim or flirty short skirts, and also make a lot of practical sense. I even spotted a moccasin wedge, which is very 70’s, but also very 2010s… I can’t easily find a picture of Lauren Conrad or Kristin Cavallari wearing them with skinny jeans, but I would be positively shocked if it didn’t exist.
In the stores
I didn’t end up doing very much shopping on this visit, it can kind of feel like a chore on shorter trips and I had to watch my budget. To be honest, the consignment stores I went to were a bit underwhelming, but I did score a couple of vintage finds at the fantastic shop Decades of Fashion on Haight. They have interesting displays dating from the late 19th c. on, and a really fun costume archive in the back, where I got to eavesdrop on someone picking out a midcentury circus costume for a performance (very Chappell Roan-coded!). I got to chat with the owner Cicely Hanson and learned they wash everything and add reinforcement to the seams to ensure wearability.
They don’t allow photos, but I tried on two beautiful dresses from the 1940s, one of which I ended up buying. Upon researching the brand, Martha Manning, I was a little disappointed to see it was all about ‘slimming the figure’ and looking ‘more youthful…’ Just when you think toxic beauty standards are a recent phenomenon! It needs some buttons but I luckily had some 1950s ones on hand that will work perfectly.
I also scored some nice black leather gloves, but I kind of regret not buying the other dress, which was a sheer navy eyelet fabric and very film noir femme fatale. I suppose I will have to get into some 1940s patterns and see what I can make. For now, I am desperately seeking a grey or black sun hat to go with my new (old) dress… I know there are some cool small hat brands out there, if anyone wants to enlighten me, I’d be very grateful!
Takeaways
From our late 19th c. bed and breakfast, which was filled with beautiful antiques, to my experience at Decades of Fashion, one theme that kept coming up was the importance of getting use out of things that are 50+ years old. They don’t need to be treated in a precious way, nor sit there collecting dust in an antique mall. You will want to take care of it of course, but a lot of vintage and antique stuff was built to last and well, if it’s here, one might as well use it! Someone who is a great evangelist of this way of thinking is Rajiv Surendra. Just watching a few of his videos will have you questioning, why aren’t I using cutting boards from the 1890s?? If you have a longer point of view about the past, you realize that’s not that long ago. Our cultural obsession with the immediate is a little strange.
Perhaps what struck me the most was, despite all of the seeming efforts by ‘the powers that be’ to undo connection and community, it still exists here. People are still supporting each other, laughing and enjoying the company of their friends and family. Large groups of friends, small family units, happy couples of all kinds... In the midst of driverless cars eerily cruising around and endless billboard ads for AI products no one wants, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people weren’t on their phones in public, how well neighbors seemed to know each other, and how supporters show up for their local bands, yard sales, humble restaurants and watering holes… Perhaps I’m being overly optimistic, but it did give me a little hope to cling to in these troubling times. I am also now considering getting a perm (half-joking).
That’s it for now, mes amis, next week I will be sharing my thoughts on style systems (anyone else go down a David Kibbe rabbit hole during lockdown?)! Restez connectée!