Just For The Halibut

A few weeks back, while in Palm Springs on the “divorce” trip, we spent a lot of time shooting the shit. A lot of the shit we shot involved the shit that went down during our collective shitty divorces (only one of us has been spared the big “D”.)

All of our circumstances were very different: One’s divorce involved kids, another’s involved devouring Eat Pray, Love and subsequent move to Rome to devour Gelato, mine a DUI and Iyengar. The most recent involved halibut.

Let me explain.

At dinner, we debated what drove us most crazy about spouses, past and present. When our over-tatted, over-eager waiter appeared to discuss the specials, of which halibut was one, I mentioned how much I loathed the lame refrain, “Just for the Halibut”. “That”, MB exclaimed, “Is one of the reasons I divorced L.” And without missing a beat, she added, “I’ll take the steak.”

When we fall out of love, things we initially found endearing become annoying and then unbearable. Our face freezes into a permanent cringe: lips purse, eyes bulging and hard, just like the face on that Judith Leiber fish bag, pictured at right. We look old. Fish look old (which I never realized until now.) Once we’ve cut bait and swim away, we soften up. It may take awhile, but it happens. Fish? We just eat them.

To be fair, most “Just for the Halibut” moments are not grounds for divorce. In fact, Luanne had a great idea: when she and her fiance argue over the proper ratio of baguette to brie, they have posted, in their kitchen, “Who cares!” When you truly have that connection, who cares indeed.

So in honor of whatever your “Just for the Halibut” moment is/was, go fish for some of my favorite fashion finds.

Jump in. The water’s fine.

1. Stella Jean furetto Capri pants, Moda Operandi. 2. Alexander McQueen Knuckle-clutch, NeimanMarcus. 3. Guiseppe Zanotti fish-bone flats, Stylebop. 4. Maison Margiela fish-net top, Farfetch. 5. Brash Cat Fish cuff, Ahalife.