Friday, March 21, 2008

Easter Bonnet

So I was up in Altadena the other day. I stopped off at Steve's Pets to pick up a chew-bone for Boz. There was some construction going on and no place to park in front, so I drove around back down Marcheta Street to that parking lot behind the store and...

Was that a dress shop? Behind the pet store? I bought the dog his bone and grabbed my camera.

Well! At the back end of a parking lot you might expect—what, resale? Oh, no no no. Clear your mind and allow it to fill with all things fancy.

If you like to dress up—and I do mean UP—Winsome's Pretty Woman is your shop. In this hiding place, Charmaine Boyd stocks sequined suits, studded denim, sparkling purses, and hats, hats, hats. Mens clothing, too. And did I mention hats? Pretty enough to wear to the Royal Ascot races.

I hadn't even known the shop was there. When I said that, Charmaine said it with me. But she likes the quiet atmosphere of her location. She doesn't care to rush her customers. They come to browse through the catalogues over a cup of coffee, consider their purchases and place special orders for Donna Vinci and Lisa Rene dresses (at the best prices anywhere, says Charmaine, and I believe her). She can get them from petites to size 36, get you alterations if you need them, and find you a fabulous purse to go with it.

And did I mention hats?

11 comments:

Jim Klenke said...

Do you think people would stare if I wore the yellow one with the black band? Maybe I will just go conservative and get the dark blue one.

freefalling said...

I love hats!
Hats, unfortunately don't love me.
I'd like to share something truly awful with you:
http://freefallingskyward.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-good-hats-turn-bad.html

Petrea Burchard said...

Jim, you ought to wear the gold one with spangles.

Petrea Burchard said...

Ararat, I didn't get all that.

....06/when-g....?

John Sandel said...

Ararat posted this link, Tinied:

http://tinyurl.com/3765dd

Petrea Burchard said...

Oh, my. Ararat, is that you? She's funny enough to be you.

Pont Girl said...

What a bunch of lovely hats! It's hard to wear a hat in L.A. - not cold enough, but I do like to bust them out when I go to chilly Europe!

Petrea, speaking of cute little shops, have you been to PattyCakes in Altadena? Yumm-eeee!

Pasadena Adjacent said...

Petrea,

My blog is up and running (finally). Come visit! I too have an Easter theme going.

Petrea Burchard said...

Pont Girl, it's funny you should ask that. I haven't been to Patti Cakes since I lived in Altadena (2001-03). Then on Friday I drove by there and thought, "I've gotta stop in!" I was rushing, but it's on my list of musts.

Petrea Burchard said...

Palm: Your blog is one of a kind and I love it.

freefalling said...

Petrea, yes.
Sadly enough, that is me.
Thanks to Bernie for tinying me.
I didn't know about tinying - you learn something new every day.