Throwback Thursday
I found this picture of me, circa 1987 or 1988, when going through shoeboxes of photos for Ted’s slideshow the other day. The picture tells me some very specific things about time and place.
1. Very likely this picture was taken in the summertime. I’m on the Golden Gate Bridge between San Francisco and Marin County, and you can see the fog below the bridge. Also, I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt (You can’t tell this, I just remember the shirt.) and a long black wool coat. Have you ever heard the (not actually) Mark Twain quote, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”? That’s the cold, windy fog that makes it so cold.
2. While it was likely cold in San Francisco, and very windy on the bridge, when the fog is squashed down like that, rather than high in the sky, it means there is a very strong high pressure system, which does not let the fog get past the East Bay Hills, so it is probably 30+ degrees warmer out where we live now.
3. My hair has a strange orange tinge to it. When I was in college, I couldn’t afford to have my hair professionally colored, and would use home hair color from a box. My hair ‘pulls’ orange, which means that while the box said it was blonde, my hair would sometimes have an orange tinge to it. Sometimes this was OK, it had a bit of a David Bowie vibe to it, and it was the late 80s, so such things were cool, especially in San Francisco. Sometimes, however, I didn’t want this result, so I learned to buy a separate product called ‘drabber’, which would basically tone the color for me. Nowadays I guess I would use a purple shampoo, or maybe they still sell drabber, I don’t know. When I get my hair colored, my hairdresser will generally use a toner on it, so I know it still pulls orange, even when not using a box mix.
4. I was wearing lipstick…I seldom wear lipstick. It’s so much work, and my lips are naturally pretty pink, so I don’t really feel like I need it. Mascara is my ‘must have’ makeup item, as my eyelashes are very pale.
5. I was happy and having fun. I never walked on the GG Bridge unless friends were visiting, and I think this particular walk was some friends who were visiting from New Zealand. But maybe not, because I feel like they usually came during their summer break from school, which would have been our winter, which throws my entire first point into question. Maybe Ted took the picture? Maybe my roommate, Troy? Maybe it was a winter day, all signs to the contrary? I guess what this picture actually tells me is that my memory is faulty and I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about.
18 Comments
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
I love this picture! Yes now that you mention it, it must have been cold but it looks like a fun day. Love the hair, love the lipstick, love everything about it!
J
Thanks Beckett! Regardless of whether this was summer or winter, it was definitely a fun time in my life. I loved living in San Francisco!
NGS
I will admit to be distinctly underprepared for how cold it was the one and only time I ever visited San Francisco. I definitely should have heeded Mark Twain and packed more layers!
What a lovely memory to find! You look so happy and it’s such a pretty vista!
J
NGS, yes, layers are a good idea any time you visit San Francisco. It can be hot (rare, but does happen, esp in the late summer/early autumn), and it can be COLD (winter, yes, but also summer)
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
That is a really pretty picture! I never wear lipstick because I just don’t have the confidence to pull off a color different than my natural lip color. I feel very uncomfortable when I do wear lipstick. I will wear it for big zoom calls where I am presenting because I’ve heard it’s easier for people to understand you when you wear lipstick? I don’t get it but it’s what I’ve been told so I try to wear lip color on big calls.
The weather is so weird in the Bay area. It’s really interesting how vastly different the temperatures can be 20-30 miles away! I’ve been to SF in nearly all seasons of the year, I think, and I’ve definitely had some cold summer days there!
J
Lisa, I feel exactly the same way about lipstick! Every once in awhile I try to change my ways and start wearing it, but then I go back to my old ways.
The difference in temps in SF is indeed interesting, especially in the summer. When we lived there, Ted’s brother would come to visit and he would be wearing a tshirt and shorts, and he would FREEZE. We would say, why didn’t you wear a jacket and jeans? And he would say, because it’s 105 at my house (30 minutes away). Nowadays with phones and weather apps, it’s much easier to know what the weather will be like. Even within San Francisco, sometimes the fog only comes in so far, so some neighborhoods will be gloomy and COLD, some will be just overcast, and some will be sunny and warm. Microclimates to be sure!
Suzanne
This photo is fantastic. I love the hair color — it reminds me slightly of the “rose gold” trend that people seem to be doing these days. So pretty and fun and chic.
The fog takes me back! I spent a summer working in SF and had to drive through the mountains to get there, and I remember how wild the fog was, climbing over the mountains like a giant white creature.
What a fun trip down memory lane! So neat that a single photo can hold so many details about a moment in time.
J
Thanks Suzanne! If you had to go over mountains but not over a bridge, I’m guessing you were living in Pacifica or somewhere like that? I had forgottten about this picture, and when we found it in an old box, it brought back such specific thoughts, I knew I had to share it.
Melissa
Isn’t it amazing how a photo can bring back so many memories, and especially more than what is actually in the photo.
J
Melissa, yes, it’s amazing!
Nicole MacPherson
If you hadn’t told me the year I would have 100% guessed it was 87-88 due to the hairstyle. I consider myself a low-level expert on hair and clothing styles in the 80s!
I loved reading all the memories with this. I am a lipstick girl, all the way. I always have at least gloss or tinted balm on. Also, mascara! Back in high school my colour was Revlon’s Love That Red, which looks similar to what you have on.
J
Good call on the year Nicole! I wish I were more comfortable with lipstick. But mascara is definitely a MUST.
Elisabeth
I love this picture. You look both glamorous and so happy!!!
I’m always cold and basically make sure to have a coat + headwarmer with me at all times (even in the summer. It gets windy! The beach can be cold!)
I basically never wear lipstick. It’s so fun and I love how it looks on other people, but it just feels…strange on me. Mascara and blush are my go-to makeup products. I tend to be pale and my eyes often look “sleepy” so those two items give a major boost. I also pencil in my brows slightly…and that’s about it! I would like to play around with some eyeshadow more this year; now that I’m not wearing glasses, my eyes are more “obvious.”
J
Elisabeth, your makeup routine sounds similar to mine, though at my age I also need foundation, because my skin tone is not as even as it once was. I used to skip that step for sure. But mascara has always been a must do for me.
Margaret
You look beautiful and joyous! I don’t think I’ve ever been as cold as I was on a family trip to Alcatraz. We were woefully underdressed so it was our own fault. I wear lipstick quite frequently (always the same shade, a purply pink) and have dark lashes so I don’t ever mess with mascara. I used to wear contacts and after a few times of poking myself in the eye or getting mascara in it, I gave it up for good.
J
Oh goodness, Alcatraz is going to be VERY cold if the fog is in at all. You could have a lovely day in much of the city and still be cold there. Sorry you went through that.
I envy your dark lashes. As I get older I can’t put on my mascara with my contacts in, so I have to apply mascara, then put in contacts, which is very problematic. When I was younger I could put my contacts in, and then my makeup, but now I can’t see it.
San
I love this picture of you, Julie! The colors are amazing and the fog in the background!
J
Thank you San!