My Sister the Stylist

A year ago this past weekend I lost my dear sister, Barbara. It's hard to believe a year has gone by since that tragic and traumatic time in my family. My sister loved fashion and made it her career. She worked in New York City for a time before moving to San Francisco in the late 1980s. There, she worked hard and became a fashion stylist for a few years before becoming a full time mom. She worked her way up in the industry and styled photo shoots for Levis, The Gap, and others, as well as many shoots for San Francisco Magazine.

While cleaning out Barb's personal effects, I came upon her portfolio from her stylist years. I took it out to look through it over the weekend and I want to share a couple of the shoots that Barb worked on for San Francisco Magazine. This editorial feature, called Little Luxuries, is from 1990 and was photographed by Ann Rhoney. The clothes are now considered vintage.

Celia Tehada silk organza blouse with black and gold lace skirt.

Giorgio di Sant'Angelo stretch netting gown.

Left: Bill Blass dress with illusion sequined bodice.
Right: Yves St. Laurent chiffon dress over black lace slip.

Carolyne Roehm velvet gown with fishtail hem and organza bodice.

Mr. Beene black and silver point d'esprit cocktail dress. Last year, I was sitting at Barb's dining room table flipping the pages of her portfolio when I came upon this image. I immediately burst into tears as I had the almost identical dress for sale on my website at the time. It has since sold and I had a hard time letting it go. It touched my heart to find this thread of connection between Barbara and I. Life is full of serendipity.

1990 Mr. Beene by Geoffrey Beene cocktail dress.