There were so many great casual looks at Off The Grid Ft. Mason, that it was hard to shoot just one person. In fact, I ended up finding a very stylish Madrid-turned-SF trio: Silvia, a Language Specialist at eBay, looking cute in her blue and yellow; little Leah, 18-months-old, with fantastic hair; Markus, head of SEO at Yahoo!, talk about a swoony dad.
What Silvia's wearing: Knit beret from H&M, Madrid. Chambray shirt by Blanco, Madrid. Mustard cuffed shorts from Mango. Black tights from H&M. Kimchi Blue peep toe flats and yellow scarf from Urban Outfitters.
What Markus is wearing: Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses. Salt Valley plaid shirt from Urban Outfitters. Levi's jeans, Zara shoes and his grandfather's vintage cardigan.
What Leah's wearing: Patterned Sweater and white t-strap mary-jane shoes from H&M, Madrid.
Solid elbow patches have real wear marks. And aside from those marks, this vintage cardigan is in amazing condition. "My grandpa bought the sweater in a small mining village in Sweden, in the 1950's," said Markus.
There are lots of neat details -- interesting stitching and line work, floral-lined collar -- in this chambray shirt.
7 Style Questions for Markus and Silvia:
1. How would you describe your individual styles?
M: Mainly with stains from small child's hands. In general multi-functional to fit dad/professional/comfortable/fashionable all at once. It is not easy!
S: I usually try to come up with an outfit that makes me feel good. Thanks to the weather in San Francisco, my hair is usually a mess. I don't fight it any longer and wear hats instead. Heels are usually included (not in this picture though!). In general, I try to keep it trendy, yet professional. And stains from small child's hands are included for me too, of course.
2. What shops are you loving?
M: Urban Outfitters, Haight Ashbury. Lola of North Beach and Carmel Blue for Leah.
S: My favorite pieces come from myaunts'/moms'/grandma's closets, but in SF, I love Molte Cose on Polk.
3. What's the ideal kid-friendly day?
M: Joe DiMaggio Playground in North Beach, followed by ice cream at Washington Park and later, hopefully, our daughter takes a nap and mom and dad get to go for lunch at Cafe Divine.
4. Who or what inspires your style?
M: My wife, Frank Sinatra.
S: I love anything '20s -- not only fashion, but art and, especially, literature. My hair is longer now, but for a long time I sported a very flapper style haircut. I'm thinking about bringing it back. A good book on the flapper subject is Flapper by J. Zeitz.
5. What do you value more, great accessories or great clothing?
S: Great accessories make great clothing. I think it's a matter of how you combine everything. I usually like to throw something vintage into an outfit. I think it makes it more unique. Again, that did not happen for this outfit though! You caught me off-guard this day!
6. Which fashion blogs are you browsing?
S: Bleubird Vintage, and Somos Malasana, street style from our former neighborhood in Madrid.
7. If you could shop anywhere in the world, where would it be?
M: Berlin. They have great small fashion shops that are not too cluttered and it's an even greater place to go for a night out, in case you did not find anything to buy.
S: Madrid is really cool as well. If you ever happen to be there, check out the places in the Triball area.
Lily Ko (lily.7x7 @ gmail.com) studied fashion design and merchandising at Central Saint Martins and the Academy of Art University. In addition to writing for 7x7, Lily is an editor at SF Station, works as a freelance stylist and covers food, fashion and fun on her blog, Curated SF.
