Noir City 2013

One of my favorite times of the year is upon us: the Noir City film festival at the historic Castro Theater. This year there are 10 nights (and a couple of days) of movies, and the Noir City Nightclub event is happening again after its wildly popular debut last year. This year I've decided to dress up for ALL the events that I'm attending, not just one or two as in years past. I've been busy the last several weeks getting my outfits prepared and practicing my vintage hairstyling techniques.

For opening night, my BFF Laura and I went with 1940's-style looks (Mark attended too, in a vintage 1940's tux no less, but I didn't get him in these photos. He'll be wearing the tux again for the nightclub event though, so you'll get to see it). Both of our dresses are actually modern, but they fit the bill quite nicely.

Opening night featured an appearance by Peggy Cummins, who starred in the evening's feature, the film noir classic Gun Crazy. It was such a treat to see Peggy in person, and she seemed to be truly touched by the warm reception she received at the Castro. I'm glad we got to contribute to sending her back home with a wonderful memory of our city and its enduring love of the film noir genre.

The mink wrap I'm wearing is a vintage one I found recently at the Alameda Flea Market. It's in mint condition and has been the perfect top layer for all of my outfits so far, since it transcends several decades. The red dress I'm wearing here is my Valentino, and my shoes are BCBG. Laura found her adorable peplum-detailed dress at Modcloth.

I suspect that one of the reasons film noir is still so popular in San Francisco is that the city itself features prominently in so many of the genre's films. With its steep, narrow streets and mysterious fog, the city is the perfect setting for murder mysteries and thrillers. Thus, every year's Noir City lineup features a San Francisco night, which I attended with both Laura (not pictured here) and our friend Fawn:

My dress is vintage 1940's, and Fawn's is a vintage reproduction from Trashy Diva. I just love Fawn's cute t-strap shoes, which give that bombshell dress a bit of an innocent touch. The evening featured (for us, anyway) a drinking game:

• A view of an SF bridge or iconic landmark: one drink
• A mention of any specific SF location: one drink
• Lighting a cigarette: one drink
• Anyone uttering the word, "Frisco": two drinks
• A slap, followed by a kiss: two drinks

We saw lots of bridges and other SF landmarks that night, I can tell you. Sadly, there were no slap/kiss sequences, as the evening's double feature consisted of a serial killer and an asthmatic bank robber, and no tempestuous romances.

Next up was Bad Girls Night, another one of our perpetual favorites in the Noir City lineup. I attended this one with Fawn, and both of us went with more of a late 50's-early 60's look:

My tiny handbag was just barely big enough to hold my flask, which of course we employed for another drinking game:

• A woman applies lipstick, adjusts her stocking, lights a cigarette (or has one lit for her), or holds a gun: one drink
• A slap (with or without a subsequent kiss): two drinks

Oh, we were able to polish off that flask with no trouble at all. It's really the cigarettes that do the trick in film noir movies, and in the case of Bad Girls Night, the slaps. Oh yes, there were plenty of slaps.

I'm attending two more Noir City events this year. Tomorrow night is the Noir City Nightclub, then a Sunday matinee B-movie marathon, and then next week I'm off to France for work again. Rest assured I'll have more pictures to come, hopefully before I leave town.