Ferragamo Runway Show

Tonight I went to my first Bangkok fashion show -- Ferragamo. Salvatore Ferragamo is known for gorgeous leather goods, especially shoes. Amy has a spectacular pair I found for her at Goodwill -- pale brown pumps that look like sports cars, all sleek and sculptural and classic. That being said, guess what I had on my feet for the show? That's right, baby -- a pair of Nine Wests!

I laughed to myself all the way to the show. You can get a pair of Nine Wests at Marshall's, for god's sake. They are not what you'd call a luxury good. Nevertheless, the pair I chose was comfortable, stylish, and complemented my dress (a black Jil Sander) -- you couldn't tell by looking they were low budget. Good thing I was wearing them, too, because I ended up walking part of the way home after fighting with a cab driver -- unscrupulous bastard! He told me his meter was broken and that it would cost me 290 baht to get home -- in actuality it should cost about 70. We yelled at each other in different languages for a while, and when we were close enough for me to walk In These Shoes I just got out. I'm glad I wasn't wearing delicate shoes. Good old Nine West!

Anyway, the show. Here's what we saw:

Maroon, navy, mauve, gray

Draping at the neck and shoulder

Three-quarter sleeves with interesting diagonal hems

Long gloves and arm warmers

Platform booties with stiletto heels

Lots of pleating at the hip for pants and skirts

Cropped pants full in the thigh and narrow at the bottom

Moc croc velvet

For evening, back interest draping on gowns and deep open peeks into the cleavage from demure necklines -- think one big decolletage slit

Lips were RED and hair was slick on top, side parted, and pulled long down the back

For men:

Maroon, navy, ivory, gray

Classics -- pea coats, duffels, bombers, with interesting details like metal clasp fasteners and banded waists

Wooly scarves at the neck

Extra long break in trow

For evening, a velvet tuxedo worn with maroon velvet loafers

As fashion shows everywhere tend to do, this one started late. I was alone, since B had school, so I spent a lot of time drinking champagne (pretty good champagne, too, I have to say!) and looking at everybody else. I got to see some real live "Hi-So 'Fros," or High Society Afros -- the doyennes of Bangkok Society (the cap "S" is intentional) favor big teased hair-dos, and the more money they have, apparently, the bigger their hair gets (if only that worked on my Jew Fro!). They each had a young gay escort and they all (escorts included) carried Hermes Birkins. The great damn big ones.

When they announced the show was opening I simply walked in. Since the announcement was in Thai I had no idea what was said, and I took advantage of that to blithely breeze in with what I assume were the reserved seat holders. Nobody stopped me and I got a good seat. I would have gotten a swag bag, too, except there weren't any. Not bad for a pair of Nine Wests.