episode 409 - September 8, 2008

Tijuana Brass. For some reason Whipped Cream and Other Delights, A Taste of Honey or the Lonely Bull had nothing to do with this episode of The Closer. I was a huge fan of TJB in their day, the 1960's, just as y'all are huge fans of TC (The Closer) and I'm sure just like my friends, family, TNT Publicity, strangers on the street and you dear readers are tired to death of hearing about what a huge fan I am of...the V word, yes vintage and for once in a long while, Brenda had some modern clothes on in this episode. When Miss Brenda strides up to the crime scene under the massive 6th Street Bridge, east of downtown L.A. she has a cute little cling of a jersey dress from Suzie Couture. The chocolate brown v-neck fit the Deputy Chief like a glove and sported a geometric trim at the neck and empire waist that splashed a bit of color, brown, white and turquoise and I picked up that brilliant blue in a cropped cardi from Pure Collection. The dress was purchased at my favorite place where clothes go to die, so probably isn't available for all you Brenda clones at the moment. But check this manufacturer out on the internet, I'd never heard of Miss Suzie but thought the dress just screamed Bren. Loved that we put the Wellies on her feet at the crime scene and later on a pair of white patent leather open toe pumps, last seasons Nordstrom. I mean really Brenda wearing white shoes after Labor Day? Of course.

We always try and get "it" right whether it's the gangs of East L.A., the medical professionals in a hospital, the fire fighters and other uniforms...sometimes that's a bit harder for obvious legal reasons, but when you're dealing with a church, or a religious community, especially the Catholic Church, it helps to do your research or be a cradle Catholic and have witnessed the changes to vestments and ritual. For Father Chris, being a with-it kind of political yet of-the-people man of the cloth, he couldn't be traditional. The stole he placed over his shoulders when he anointed the two dead men was borrowed from a former priest, a friend, and was a colorful, beautiful ethnic woven stole. I borrowed the actors own personal belt that was again a textural woven jute and let the excess hang below his waistband, just a bit of personality. The loosened Roman Collar in the Rectory is just like a secular worker loosening a tie, or unbuttoning a couple of buttons on a shirt, hell, priests are human too. Forgive me Father for I have sinned, I said one "hell" in my blog. When Brenda and Fritz walked into the beautiful church in East L.A., Our Lady of Sorrows, I had Carlos take apart and reconstruct a...here it comes, the V word...a vintage Neusteters grey worsted wool jacket, it was form fitting and sculpted and was Brenda's attempt at dressing for church. The swingy skirt was from Vera Wang, her casual sportswear collection, bought at Neiman Marcus in early summer. I loved the confessional scene, because as a child I remember going to confession behind those red velvet curtains and when the priest opened up the screen I just knew he could see me and figure out who I was...it didn't help matters that he was the only priest in the tiny church we worshipped in and that he was a friend of the family, so of course he knew who I was and what my sins were, I was always given the maximum amounts of Our Fathers and Hail Mary's as I said more than a few "hells as a youth!

It's so weird to see the preview for the season finale, but fear not, 5 more episodes will air after the New Year, but boy has this season gone fast. I think so many of you have responded to Brenda's unique for t.v. look, not only for my choices, but the way Kyra embodies the character and embraces the costumes. I was chatting with Jocelyn Wright this morning, Kyra's dramaturge on the show; Jocelyn is not only my good friend, but also was a talented costume designer, who has great personal style and we always exchange vivid conversations about the lack of class and style with today's working women be it on TV. or in real life and our conclusion is that for the most part the younger girls were not exposed to fine tailoring or how to buy and fit the perfect foundation, nor did they have anyone in their household that wore gloves or hats, let alone stockings and high heels. Perhaps that's why I love...vintage so much, it harkens back to a time when shop girls knew exactly what a client would wear and cared that she as well as her customer, was turned out beautifully from head to toe. That's what I feel I give to Brenda, a touch of what it's like to be from an era of refinement and femininity and knowing that the cut of a suit emphasizes all of your finest features and hides the flaws in the most discreet way. I love the fact that Kyra realizes how important the look is to her and Brenda and that I am the guardian of that look. Herb Alpert of Tijuana Brass had a certain look and style to his music and the girl covered in whipped cream on the album cover, that I still have from my childhood, never looked as sweet, but I'll just bet she had a gorgeous bra and panties on, under all of those peaks of foam, that fit her like a dream!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer/speaker and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc.