Papa spent 24 years living and working in British Hong Kong and loved every minute of it. I believe that the city of Hong Kong is part of his soul, very much like it is part of mine. That’s where he met my Mum, and where our family planted their roots. Papa eventually left Hong Kong to retire in Cape Town, and then moved back to the Netherlands after my Mum passed away. Papa hadn’t been back to Hong Kong for years after leaving in 1983. 

So today I’m also taking you back to 2001, which is when Greg, our close friend Karl, and I took my Papa back to Hong Kong for a Christmas holiday. At that point it had been a year since Mama had passed away and Papa was still extremely heart broken. He needed cheering up. He loved spending time with the “youngsters” as he called us, so this trip was therapeutic in many ways. 

During our trip we walked down memory lane revisiting Papa’s old hang outs, the schools my brother and I attended, the apartments we lived in, the hospital where I was born, and the offices where Papa worked. We met up with local friends, discovering all sorts of new nooks and crannies in this beloved city. We also ate lots of delicious and familiar food. It was an incredibly fun holiday, and the first time that I had seen Papa laugh from the heart and belly since Mama’s illness and passing. Priceless. 

My Papa is a very kind, generous, strong, disciplined, gentle, practical, patient and academic soul. He is also very sentimental and slightly stubborn. The stone jacket that you see Papa wearing in these photos was stained and a little worse for wear. There is no way that my late Mum would have allowed Papa to wear a worn and stained jacket. I desperately wanted to pass it on, but when I tried Papa said in a firm voice, “No. Way.” And that was that.

Mama had bought the jacket so he could not bear to part with it. He wore it every day on our trip because it comforted him. 

Papa still speaks of this trip with fond memories. Greg, Karl and Papa were like the three musketeers, laughing and enjoying their beers and each other’s stories like old mates. As a daughter who only wants the best for her wonderful Daddy, I was very touched by this dynamic. 

We see my precious Papa about once a year. He’s coming to visit Seattle at the end of June and we are extra excited to share our stories of Japan. We’ll also see familiar friends, eat lots of Asian and French food, see the odd movie and visit many a bookstore.   

Papa will be sporting a much newer Summer jacket when he visits. As the years went by, the sentimental stone jacket became even more stained, worn, and tore at the sleeve and side seams. So we bought Papa a taupe jacket from Nordstrom a few birthdays ago to replace the one that Mama had bought. Papa was finally ready to exchange one sentimental piece for another, and I know Mama wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  

I love you Papa, and wouldn’t change you for the world. You are a role model and very dear to my heart. I wish you many more happy and healthy years with your kids, grandchild and our doggies. 

We at YouLookFab wish all the dads a very happy Father’s Day on Sunday.

Suz suggests reading this article in the Guardian on body image, which discusses the role of the fashion industry in creating body image dysmorphia. 

Inge enjoyed seeing Gap’s 1993-1995 “Who Wore Khakis?” campaign on That Kind Of Women. 

Velvety Chocolate thought that this infographic in The Big Picture showing the retail strength of Amazon was eye-openeing. 

Kari was taken aback by the high cost of cheap fashion, and shares her thoughts on the subject on A Pencil Skirt Life. 

Mac read on Passage des Perles how many women have fit issues when clothes shopping, and what a few retailers are doing to address these challenges. 

Rae is excited about another season of printed pants and so am I. 

MaryK recommends reading an article about how Gloria Steinem feels about aging and looking your age in USA Today. Coincidentally, we recently had a great discussion in the forum about looking one’s age. 

Last but not least, Kat from Corporette talks about what to wear to an office pool party.

Note: by white footwear I mean all shades of white, off white, bone and cream, but excluding athletic sneakers. 

I LOVE the look of white footwear throughout the year. My love for white peds started in the ’80s and it stuck. White boots, booties, stacked sandals, ankle strap shoes, thong sandals, mules, peep-toes, ballet flats, mary janes, Converse, espadrilles, loafers, flat oxfords, sandal booties, pumps – I adore these styles in all shades of white, although I wear only a handful of them. 

I have a thing for white items in general, so that might be why I am drawn to white footwear. White footwear looks fresh, crisp, bold, and above all modern to my eye. It can also look graphic or retro depending on the style of the shoe. 

White footwear is a perfect marriage with white trousers, cropped pants and jeans, creating an elongated column of colour. They also look great when matched with a top, topper or dress that incorporates white. You don’t need to be tanned to wear white footwear either. I think it looks fabulous on all skin tones. 

When I work with my clients, I’ve found that their thoughts on white footwear are divided. Some like it for the same reasons that I do, while others find the vibe frumpy, unflattering, jarring, unsophisticated, hard to successfully pull together in an outfit, or just old fashioned. 

Granted, white footwear is bold and bright, and not quite as versatile as a metallic or nude-for-you shoe. For me, there is something magical about white footwear, and my wardrobe is never without it. 

Do you wear white footwear? If so, do you wear it in the warmer months, or throughout the year? Do you think that white footwear is hard to match up in outfits? Does it look frumpy to your eye?

I had a little time to shop on our recent trip to Japan. If space and budget were no object, I could have brought back suitcases full of gorgeous goodies because the one item was more fabulous than the next. The shopping in Japan is that good. But with lots of shopping discipline I came home with one suit and a pair of shoes. 

Although suits are one of my current fashion obsessions, I wasn’t planning on bringing one home at all. This is the season of pattern and colour, so why on earth would I bring back a black suit? Well. It just worked out that way because after fitting it on, it had to be mine.

It’s tuxedo integrity, fabric sheen, inset panels, ruffles, and intricate ruching detail make for an interesting masculine and feminine juxtaposition. Also, the fact that the cropped trousers were at the perfect length was a big sign that this suit should come home to Seattle. The great fit and excellent quality were the clinchers.

I have been living to wear this suit since we got back from Japan – after all, I bat for Team Wear. But it wasn’t until a recent business trip that I had the right occasion for its debut. These photos were taken just before our meeting in sunny and breezy San Francisco last week. The crease-resistant fabric made my outfit feel crisp all day. Perfect for travel. 

There are countless ways to wear this suit, but for it’s debut I opted to wear it with a tucked, masculine, French blue button down shirt complete white cuffs and collar. It’s similar to the light blue and white striped shirt I sported a few weeks ago — I’m loving my button downs more than ever this year.

I wore the shirt tuxedo-style for our meeting: buttoned up, but creating a butterfly by wearing the collar up at the back. For the rest of the day I wore it open collared.

A black patent belt with sculptured bow and off white satchel finish off the look. No jewelry other than an oversized pair of specs, silver watch and wedding ring. True to this leg of my style journey, this outfit is soft and a little masculine.

And then there are the shoes. I almost cried when I saw them in Japan and popped them on to my fussy feet. They are low heeled, soft and so very comfortable. Their dainty straps and slender wedge heel are refined and ladylike. I had already worn these a few times before the debut of the suit, but felt just as special for this trip.

I am extremely pleased with my versatile new black suit. I can dress it up or down, wear the items as separates, throw on boots or flats, and mix it up with sparkle, pattern or denim. No item of clothing can substitute for real confidence, but the quality and design of this suit definitely doesn’t hurt.