the Bobby Burns

"(Sacramento style is) one part Bobby Burns, one part Lux Interior, sprinkled liberally with prime thrift store finds and a hearty dash of vintage nostalgia.... Marinate with coffee and Pabst, bake in a 110 degree summer until boredom inspires creativity, and voila! Sacramento style!"

          -Sacramento historian William Burg

This is Sacramento style, old school.
 

And this, my friends, is Bobby Burns.

Lovable, local midtown legend  Bobby Burns exemplified the quirky color of Sacramento style. A midtown mainstay all during the '80's and '90's, Bobby Burns knew everybody and everybody knew him, You couldn't miss him: he    was almost always very loudly dressed in some sort of wild plaid/bold print number. And a midtown party wasn't really a party unless Bobby Burns was at the party.

 

My outfit today is my homage to the Bobby Burns style. I'm wearing bold clashing prints, a mix-up of gingham and plaids (with a little floral thrown in) the way Bobby might have worn them. 

 

When I first met Bobby in the late 1980's, I was with some friends, in the back patio at the Weatherstone coffee house, sipping some iced coffee when this loud (& very LOUDLY dressed) old man came sauntering in, and announced in a theatre timbre that Bobby Burns had arrived.  He literally sauntered. Like a cross between a swim and a dance move. He was wearing navy gingham slacks hiked up to his lungs, and the brightest red polyester leisure  shirt I have ever seen in my life. He was shuffling in bright, white loafers, and he had a brightly colored handkerchief in his back pocket that he'd pull out and wipe his forehead with. Somebody went inside to buy him an iced tea, and he made his rounds, approaching almost every table, saying hello. I think he kissed my hand quite ceremoniously as he introduced himself. AND that's how I met Bobby Burns.

 

 Bobby Burns: Hats Off To YOU!

Now Wearing: 

• Vintage red gingham visor, thrifted
• Liz Claiborne Plaid cotton blazer, thrifted (Thrift Town)
• Gingham/Plaid mix cotton sundress, clearance (Target)
• Vintage Red/White/Blue flower broach, gifted (Thanks, Kerry D!)
• Vintage pleather/floral tapestry purse, thrifted (Modesto's Hope Chest)
• Red fabric summer flats

Bobby Burns photos courtesy of the Bobby Burns Fan page on Facebook.