My friend Christine turned 26 on November 4th (she is so young), and she invited a couple dozen of her best friends to celebrate last night at Chambers in the Tenderloin. Chambers fascinates me. For one thing, it's a hotel bar...well, a motel bar, really. It's in the Phoenix Hotel, which looks like a classic Southern California motel circa 1966. What an establishment like that is doing in downtown San Francisco circa now, I have no idea, but I approve.
Anyway, in the fifteen years that I've lived in San Francisco, the space that is now Chambers has had many previous incarnations, and I think I've been to all of those different bars at least once. What fascinates me about Chambers is the fact that, on the surface, it's not a place I should like. It's got a very trendy vibe and generally is filled with people ten to fifteen years younger than me who are so busy eyeing each other up and down, it's a wonder they don't trip over themselves. I'd regard the whole scene with a weary and condescending "been there, done that" sort of disdain, were it not for one thing. Well, two things, really. The first is the previously mentioned fact that it's in a motel, and the second is the music.
I've been to Chambers twice now, once on an early Wednesday evening in late September for my friend Carla's birthday and last night, when the joint was in full-on weekend party mode. Both times the music has been stupendous. No continuous boring beats or cringe-inducing rap for Chambers guests, oh, no. Early 80's alterna-pop seems to be the name of the game there, with some 60's pop thrown in for good measure. We're talking Squeeze, Roxy Music, the English Beat, early Cure and even the Monkees. The Monkees. Chambers has propelled me into auditory heaven during both visits.
Music aside, Christine's party was quite lovely in its own right. I chose to wear the fancy Kate Spade party dress that I got on super sale (60 percent off!) from Kate's website last week. It had just arrived yesterday afternoon, so I figured why not inaugurate it as soon as possible. My dress is pink, but in the dim lights of a hip night spot, it seemed to match the birthday girl's red dress perfectly, as well as the crimson frock donned by our other friend Megan. We were like three peas in a very stylish pod.
I think the photos say it all.
The bra-strap peeking out is a great look and really completes my outfit, I'd say. I'm classy.
No comments:
Post a Comment