Typically, when I pack for a few days stay in McCall during the winter, “fashion” doesn’t even enter my mind. What I think is – Sorel boots, 600 weight down parka, gortex pants, Smartwool everything, and skis (nordic, because I’m much too timid for the alpine variety). I was born and raised in this tiny, snow-plagued mountain town – nothing could surprise me about this place anymore. Or so I thought.

This is the warmest, driest winter on record in the central Idaho mountains in 35 years. The front yard of my childhood home is actually bare in some places, and the snow isn’t more than a foot and a half in the deepest sections. The last time McCall looked the way it does now, Jimmy Carter had just been elected to office. I wasn’t even a flicker of a thought in my Ma and Pa’s mind at that point.

This year, as I wander the soft, loamy banks of Payette River, in clothing usually reserved for a McCall autumn, I revel in the glorious strangeness of it. I watch the bulbous, pale bodies of the whitefish slowly sway against the low, lazy current beneath the old sheep bridge and think about all the many times my family and I wandered out onto the thick frost heaves that typically cover the banks at this time of year. We’d spend the day luring those small, tender fish to hook and line with gelatinous neon grub lures that would wiggle and dance in the current.  As I watch this year’s hatch of fish roll listlessly in the untouchable center of the river with a carnivorous eye, I wish them well….for now.

About the outfit: The velvet blazer is one of my favorite finds at a clothing exchange years ago. The silk scarf is another clothing exchange score. The shoes are wonderfully comfy Frye loafers I bought new on Ebay ($40). The rest of the outfit was all purchased at my favorite Boise thrift store – the skirt is 100% worsted wool, made by Talbots ($2.50). The blouse is silk, made by Clifford & Wills ($2). The sweater vest is a silk-poly blend, made by August Silk ($1).

About the accessories: The earrings are hand-hammered bronze and steel, and the necklace is hand-hammered bronze and copper with a hand-dyed silk tassel – both made by Hazel Cox. The belt is a brass, abalone, and leather beauty purchased by my Ma in the ’70’s. The rings are gold, diamond and elk ivory, made by Glade Davies, and an antique silver and petrified wood piece purchased by my great-grandmother from Navajo traders in 1930.

About the purse: I bought this beautiful brown suede purse at Antique World Mall in Boise for $20. It was designed by Bonnie Cashin, who used to design for Coach in the early ’60’s. Had my purse been designed during her Coach years, it would easily be worth around $350 – $400, but since she designed it for Meyer’s, a more obscure handbag company, it’s worth is around $100. I swoon for this purse – it’s small enough to be convenient to carry, and large enough to carry my loafers for those times when I have to don my winter boots!

And turns out Cashin was a woman after our own FU hearts – here’s a quote from her biography: “Favoring timeless shapes from the history of world clothing, her staple silhouettes included ponchos, tunics, Noh coats and kimonos, all of which allowed for ease of movement and manufacture. Cashin is also credited with introducing the concept of layering to fashion.”

 So, in honor of this unseasonably warm weather and layering queen Bonnie Cashin, drape yourselves in lovely layers of velvet, wool, and silk and go for a stroll along a river, down the street, or wherever you happen to find yourself today.

Pictures of me taken by Ma, all others done by moi.