I paparazzi myself

The guy sitting outside the Coffee House Café this morning looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him. Gucci jeans jacket. Oliver Peoples designer eyewear. He looked like he belonged in Hollywood rather than Salem.

I couldn’t tell exactly what he was saying on the cellphone, but I thought I heard “If you can’t get Leonardo and Julia for less than 30 mill, I’m out of this deal.” Or, maybe not.

After I snapped the first photo, the guy smiled, motioned me closer, and took off his dark glasses. Now I recognized him! It was me.

I just didn’t feel like myself after my West Hollywood daughter, Celeste, and her husband, Patrick, gave me the Gucci jacket for Christmas. I couldn’t wait to wear it in public today. However, the decidedly counter-culture Coffee House Café isn’t exactly the place to go if you want people to admire your Italian fashion statement.

I didn’t get one comment about the jacket, except from my friends: “Stop talking about how it says ‘Gucci’ on the buttons, please.” Well, at least it was a comment.

Patrick manages the men’s department at the Gucci store on Rodeo Drive, and Celeste is an account executive with Oliver People's Eyewear (note to the Gucci webmaster about the store locator page: it is “Beverly” Hills, not “Beveryly”—for this proofreading work I’ll accept another jeans jacket in a different color).

Celeste had given me the gradient lens, reflective Olivers People’s dark glasses about a year and a half ago, so fortunately I had cool shades to go with my new cool jacket. About the only thing I lacked was a cool cell phone, but my friend Hans loaned me his Samsung flip phone when he saw that I was planning to pose with an (ugh) basic Nokia.

Thanks to Celeste and Patrick for adding a dash of southern California style to my rather drab life. When Laurel and I visit you next month I’ll be heading right off to the Gucci store to do some shopping. But unless I win the lottery, it will probably just be for some socks. (How much is that employee discount, Patrick?)

Comments

[Celeste Vos]

Wow, I thought for a minute that it was Jerry Bruckheimer. You look very Hollywood, I have to admit. maybe you can wear the jacket at night and get us into some fancy nightclubs when you come visit. This could be the start of a whole new profession for you -Hollywood screenwriter. Love you!