season five

shop target to go and ebay in san francisco this weekend

Pop-up stores and mobile retail boutiques are a real trend of our times. Until recently, New York had all the fun. This week two pop-ups are coming to San Francisco: Target To Go and eBay's Mobile Boutique.

December 11 - 13 Target comes to the city in the form of pop up store Target To Go.  This three-day-only, walk-up holiday event allows shoppers to buy wrapped holiday gifts like toys gadgets, beauty and fashion. Not having to schlep down to Colma is a gift in itself. The event takes place daily from 10:00 - 8:00.

eBay’s Mobile Boutique will arrive in  San Francisco December 15 at Justin Herman Plaza on The Embarcadero.  According to eBay, the mobile shop will have access to 200 million gift ideas, interactive shopping kiosks and personal shoppers on site.

Happy shopping!

donna karan dishes on luxury, fashion and the weight of the world

Jen and I went to Neiman Marcus in downtown San Francisco today for champagne, a light brunch and to view the Fall 2009 Donna Karan collection presented by the designer herself. The collection is beautiful - we especially love the slim grey jersey skirt which we think will go with everything - but Karan stole the show with her confidence, charm and wit. Here are a few notable quotes from her presentation:

On the fall's strong shoulder and why women will want to wear it: Women have a lot on their shoulders. No one gains weight on their shoulders.

On fashion: When you walk in your closet it needs to be seamless. It needs to all go together.

On luxury: Luxury is between you and what you touch. It is not necessarily how something looks, it is how it feels... Luxury is caring for ourselves and sometimes caring for another person (referring to the many employed by the luxury business).

We are still slightly breathless about the SERIOUS shoes. I'll have more on those later. The image of the designer with gorgeous Tatiana Sorokko is from Drew Altizer Photography.  Top image via Style.com.

milk opens in the castro

Milk opened at the historic and beautiful  Castro Theater this weekend to rave reviews 30 years after Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated in this city just a few blocks away.

found! great boots, great boutique

On my way to a gallery opening last week I stumbled upon Shotwell, a new boutique off Union Square. The store features a well-edited mix of local designer clothes and accessories for men and women and great vintage finds. I picked up these cute vintage ankle boots for sixty bucks! I've been wearing them non-stop with skinny jeans and leggings.

vino moda san francisco: wine and fashion

I'll be pouring Olson Ogden Wines this weekend at Vino Moda San Francisco. Vino Moda is a new event that features wine tasting and fashion from Bay Area boutiques. The event takes place this Saturday and Sunday (November 8th and 9th) at Fort Mason San Francisco. For more information and tickets visit the website at www.vinomoda.com. Come by our table and mention Season Five Style and we will give you a 20% discount on your wine purchase. See you there!

YSL at the de young san francisco

The de Young in San Francisco will be the only stop for "Yves Saint Laurent," a 40-year retrospective of the designer. The show opens November 1.  The exhibition will have over 120 haute couture creations, like the Mondrian dress shown here, and drawings, photos and videos related to the designer. Through April 5.

happy (hour) meal at louis vuitton

Last night my friend David and I attended a casino themed party hosted by Louis Vuitton at its San Francisco Store. The party was a lot of fun with Blackjack tables, Moet Champagne, Hennessy cocktails and beautiful clothes. However, it was the food that stole the show. It was so good, David and I lingered in front of the food services door rather than the bar. That is  big endorsement coming for us because we are kind of lushes.  Here is the list. Don't read it before lunch!

• Buttermilk Fried Chicken Bites on petite roll with rosemary aioli
• Spicy Dungeness Crabcakes served with cilantro ginger with crème fraîche
• Mahi Mahi Mini Taco with guacamole and cilantro
• Petite Matchstick Fries dressed in curry and coriander presented in bamboo cones
• Braised Shortrib Beggers Purses savory shortribs wrapped in a chive crepe with crème fraîche tied with a chive
• Butternut Squash and Grilled Pear Blintzes grilled pear and carmelized shallot, folded into roasted butternut squash, wrapped in a savory crepe and gently browned in sage butter
• Apple Cranberry Galette in a thin crispy cornmeal crust topped with chantilly
• Ice Cream Sandwiches fresh mint chip gelato sandwiched between choclate shortbread served in customized paper pockets.

The event was catered by Paula LeDuc Fine Catering.

diversity, dynamo donuts, de young and dylan - I love san francisco!

Fall is the best season to visit and live in San Francisco. Although this city has been my home for 11 years  I still view it through the enthusiastic eyes of a first-time tourist. On top of everything else this great city has to offer,  in the fall we have ideal weather (sunny and mild),  the wine crush in nearby Napa and Sonoma, Fleet Week and Leather Week (which is not my thing but I mention it to illustrate the spectrum of events). We have food festivals, wine festivals, pumpkin festivals and street festivals. Seriously, we are out there enjoying the weather like it is nobodies business. Here are a few things I love about San Francisco right now.

Diversity: This is the view from my daughter's windows. In October, the view is clear and bright. Ages two and five, they say good morning and goodnight to the pride flag every day.

Dynamo Donuts: I travel abroad every chance I get but I still believe San Francisco has the best food. It is fresh, it represents every country on the planet and it is creative! Sure we have celebrated chefs and of-the-moment restaurants, but we also have the most indulgent, delicious, inexpensive food you could possibly imagine. Creativity is king in San Francisco and Dynamo Donuts is a great example of that. Chipotle chocolate donuts anyone? Yum.

De Young Museum:  I am thrilled with every museum in San Francisco at the moment. The Contemporary Jewish Museum recently opened and Frida Kahlo and Lee Miller (SFMOMA) and Vivian Westwood and Dale Chihuly at De Young recently bowed. The Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective opens at De Young this month. Extended hours on Friday and San Francisco's beautiful Golden Gate Park make for the perfect entry into the weekend.

Dylan Boutique: Dylan in my favorite clothing boutique in San Francisco. It carries great designers for men and women and is very well-edited. New York may have more choice and a gazillion neighborhood boutiques but at  7X7 miles, this city is a neighborhood. Dylan offers the best of  LA and New York and a place where you can shop comfortably, with no pressure and the associates know you, your name and what works with your personal style.   Dylan just opened an online outpost - check it out here.

address book: san francisco maiden lane

Maiden Lane, a a European-style pedestrian shopping district in downtown San Francisco, has experienced a recent resurgence. The narrow, two-block stretch off busy Union Square is home to Prada's new flagship, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent,  Chanel, TSE Cashmere, London Sole, Diptyque and Gumps. Tory Burch, Theory and John Varvatos recently opened doors here. A new flagship Gucci store is set to open this fall. The area is especially lively during the week when bistro tables line the narrow and performers entertain. The lane is also home to a small Frank Lloyd Wright building, now the Xanadu Gallery, with a collection of tribal artifacts and jewelry. Built in 1948 as a gift shop, the building features a circular ramp to the second floor that evokes Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York.

lush employess get naked to raise awareness about excess packaging

This week, Lush Cosmetics' staff went naked at stores worldwide to get the message out: packaging is waste. Today a crowd gathered around this group in front of the store in downtown San Francisco who had their bums in full view (bits were covered with aprons).  News reports commented staff handed out  leaflets about their cause: not green! But the message is still good - especially for beauty and fashion. Do we really need all the bags, boxes and tissue paper for our products? And finally, the people who gathered here must have been tourists. Nudity on the streets of San Fran is not a real shocker.