Kimberly Ann Calos has an eclectic look that has evolved over the years. (Photo by Kim Frost)
Kimberly Ann Calos dressed well in 1979, 40 years ago, and she dresses well today — although her style has changed immensely.
When asked recently what clothing was like that year (which marks the founding of Richmond magazine), the first thing on her mind was jeans. “Levi’s that were hard as a board, turned your legs blue, and by the time you finally got them comfortable, you had to cut them into cutoffs,” she says. Everything else was polyester and too short. “Your rear was hanging out most of the time.”
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The shoes, too, were fresh on her mind. Frye boots, wedges, espadrilles, Tretorns, Wallabees and clogs. “Converse are Converse, that’s probably the biggest thing that’s timeless,” she says, adding, “To imagine that we ran on the basketball court with those things is bizarre.”
Brands were a big deal. “Anything Lacoste was, like, the biggest thing ever.” She also remembers Ray-Ban sunglasses — aviators and Wayfarers only — as emblematic of the era.
“Converse are Converse. ... To imagine that we ran on the basketball court with those things is bizarre.” —Kimberly Ann Calos
Today, she describes herself as a “conservative” dresser, but that’s conservative in Kimberly Ann Calos terms. “Now I wear only sterling, usually artisan-made jewelry,” she says. She likes Tom Ford sunglasses — she’s not a brand person now, but they’re well-made — and hats, which she never wore in the 1970s.
Photo by Jay Paul
But she still wears Frye boots, and a lot of handmade clothing. “I have always been very artistic and always been surrounded by art and things people made,” she says. “Even back then a lot of my clothes were handmade by my mom and my aunt.”
“We had a lot of keg parties, which, I can’t even tell you the last time I’ve been to a keg party,” she says. It’s not just the parties: “We rode around in muscle cars, and now I drive a BMW, so that’s a huge difference.” Also: “I’ve turned into my parents when it comes to that.”
Today, Calos owns Petersburg Pickers, an estate liquidating company that has a warehouse in Petersburg open Friday and Saturday. And she dresses up often — most notably with her son, Sam Pinkleton, a theater director in New York City.
“Now, I’m pretty boring,” Calos says. We’ll let you be the judge of that.
