Da Fashionista.com

he SceneAlot going on. TOO MUCH! Trying to deal with one thing at a time, breathe and not get overwhelmed. So glad I have hilarious deliciousness to look forward to tonight.

Taking my two loves to see Julio Iglesias. YAYAYA!

My mom is a huge (read: lusty) fan of his. She and my Dad took me to see him in Vegas when I was little. I was mesmerized. The man is a straight up rico suave pimp. Huge fan.

As soon as I found out he was touring, I snapped up tickets. Knew it'd be the perfect treat for my mama. Knew it would score me major good daughter points!

Got a ticket for Mr. Diabolina too since he loves being with his ladies and we have a running joke that he gets super romantic whenever he hears Spanish music. Awwww yeah!

My mom wears her cute new little shoes, the scarf I bought her on Sunday and her wedding ring. She's been a widow for nearly 2 decads now but will bust out the beautiful sparkler for special occasions, when she wants to feel close to my Dad. I love that kind of accessorizing ;)

All night I feel like he's with us. Like we are on some cosmic double date. He and Mr. Diabolina would have loved each other. Missed meeting each other by a couple of years. That kills me!

Back to the concert. So a comedian opens for Julio. A really, really bad comedian. To add insult to injury, he's not even Latino.

For about 10 minutes of his set, it's dead silent. Crickets. Ugh. I am not a big fan of stand up precisely because of horror scenes like this. Mr. Diabolina gets up to get drinks. My mom takes this as an opportunity to become a total and utter PROBLEM.

She starts chanting JULIO JULIO JULIO. Everyone around us joins in. UGH! WHO IS SHE???? I mean I know her loins are on fire but GOOD LORD.

I tell her to pipe down, that the man on the stage is someone's child. That gets her. The chant dies down for a few minutes but then some other banana starts it again. The poor guy hustles off the stage incensed. EEKS!


Then for 2 bilssful hours it's magic time. It's Julio time! Can I just say yes he's practically 80 years old but GOD IS HE AN AMAZING PERFORMER!!!

He is like no American artist. His voice is so powerful. His lyrics so gut wrenching. His style so raw and emotional. He practically yelps certain break up songs. Please watch this - it's beautiful and yes, cheesy:






Just love it. Reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me that though I now exist primarily in English, Spanish was my first language. That the blood in my veins is Latin no matter where I live. That my passion and fire and bawdiness are all products of my upbringing, my culture, my people.

All wonderful reminders as I'm on the brink of big changes...

The Outfit
Banana Republic leopard print dress
Black wrap sweater

The Accessories
Chanel art deco earrings
Chanel black chain tote
Narcisco Rodriquez red sandals

The Grade
A-

The Commentary
So I actually wore this little (legging) ditty to work.

Got the Pucci inspired top and DIVINE white jacket at Forever last year. Cute nuff outfit but not particularly special. Had so much on my mind this a.m. that I just threw it together.

Now the concert outfit had ALOT of thought put into it.

Since Julio provokes a very primal response (he's a notorious ladies man - has chillins in every area code) I figured an animal print would be PURRfect.

Mr. Diabolina also suggested I flash a bit of cleav for the old man. Done and done with this great chiffony Nana dress.

It's very DVF flowy sex kitten, no? Fab party dress. Very versatile. Can dress up or down easily.
The red heels provide a nice bit of pop. Also designed by a Latino - thank you very much! My mom warns me not to ruin the night and break them. UGH!

The outfits at the concert were lots of fun to spy. I feel like Latin women are notorious for : 1) having a real gaudy gene 2) often loving tight when it's not a good idea 3) flashing lots of skin at night. And day. And even at kids' birthday parties and funerals.

Think in a lot of ways my style was influenced by mom's distaste for all of the above. By her desire again to assimilate and not be stereotyped. It's almost like my style is a reaction against the cha cha stereotypes of Latin women.

I ultimately try to opt for classy not tacky. I rarely wear tight sausage outfits. I do flash quite a bit of skin but hope it's age and situation appropriate. I mean I'm only this cute once - gotta flaunt it :)

Found it very interesting that I noticed quite a few really high end designer purses on the women tonight - Chanel, Burberry, Gucci. My tiny mom wore her tiny Tod's.

I would have to say the majority of the purses however were Coach ;)