Noir City

One thing I love best about San Francisco is all the opportunities for getting dressed up. Last week it was the annual Noir City Festival at the Castro Theater. Now going to the Castro is an experience in itself; the 1922 theater, with its ornate architecture, Wurlitzer organ that pops up out of the stage, and enormous art deco chandelier, really gives you a sense of stepping back in time. The theater is also located right in the heart of the Castro district, so the calendar of events reflects the lively vibe of the neighborhood (which reminds me that sadly, I have still never been to one of their sing-along Sound of Music events).

San Francisco being a classic film noir setting, the Noir City event is quite popular, and lots of people get decked out in 40's and 50's attire. Luckily I had my 40's reproduction dress, as well as a vintage hat that I reshaped and trimmed myself (I bought it for $6 when I was with Sal out in Minneapolis over the summer). And boy, did I get a lot of compliments on this outfit. The best was from Eddie Muller himself, the organizer of the Noir City festival and author of several books about film noir. When you're at a film noir festival and the Czar of Noir says you look fabulous, you know you've done a good job getting dressed.

But here's the point I was really trying to get to: over a glass of wine after the double feature on Saturday, Laura, Fawn and I ended up discussing the goofy songs we sing to our pets. I used to make up songs all the time for my iguana, Pet; mostly they were just bits and pieces of songs that I inserted his name into. The better developed ones had to do with his scaly lips, his greenness, and his fondness for lounging in the sun. One was to the tune of the Oscar Mayer hot dog jingle. It went:

My Pet-boy has a first name, it's P-E-T... *exaggerated pause where the other two letters should have been*
My Pet-boy has a second name, it's B-O-Y...

I always imagined that Pet really enjoyed hearing me sing to him, but it's possible that he always closed his eyes because he was trying to tune me out. Recently I learned that Mark also makes up songs for Georgie (as do I), and I confirmed with Laura and Fawn that they also both write songs for their cats. It got me wondering if this is indeed a universal habit for people who are really crazy about their pets. So let's hear it; do you sing songs to your pets? Are they regular songs, or do you change the lyrics to include your pet's name and traits? Feel free to share your silliest songs; after all, we're all friends here.

Dress: ReVamp Vintage
Hat: vintage
Pearls: my grandma Ruth's
Textured tights (layered over black nylons): Sock Dreams
Shoes: Steve Madden