Legendary California politician Willie Brown, the brash liberal with a devilish grin as wide as a $100 bill, will be remembered not only as a power broker and master fundraiser, but also as a clotheshorse with few peers.
“I've spent more time in the closet than any straight man in San Francisco, but that's just choosing my wardrobe,” the city's handsome former mayor says in his 2008 memoir, “Basic Brown.”
Brown, 89, whose popularity was due, in part, to her sheer presence on stage, in high-profile restaurants and in the inner circles of Democratic Party leadership, recently donated a portion of her wardrobe to San Francisco Bay Goodwill.
“We are honored to have Willie Brown as a supporter of the good work we do,” Andy Simons, the charity's associate vice president of e-commerce, said in an interview Saturday.
Proceeds from the “Willie Brown Collection” will help fund Goodwill's mission of providing job and career training to people who need a second chance. The clothes are for sale on eBay.
“Snag a piece of Willie Brown fashion by shopping the exclusive collection online, while supplies last!” the nonprofit announced Thursday, along with opening prices ranging from $24 to more than $300.
The 7-day auction, which runs through Wednesday, features a taupe Kiton coat, a black Salvatore Ferragamo pea coat, a brown Brioni silk double-breasted jacket, and a multicolored hoodie printed with images of Brown.
If anyone was destined to wear $6,000 Italian suits, it was Brown. The great-grandson of Southern slaves, the Texas-born Brown never let anger get in the way of his determination to live large and with purpose.
Throughout his improbable life story, he served two terms as mayor of San Francisco after becoming the longest-serving Assembly speaker in California history.
Through it all, Brown cultivated his image as a high-life connoisseur whose daily fashion choices generated a steady stream of fashion bulletins in the media. His wide-brimmed hat, for example, sparked a San Francisco-wide trend toward dress hats for men.
“You really have to have more than just a good heart,” he told 60 Minutes correspondent Harry Reasoner in a 1984 interview. “You also have to have some style.”
“California is an image state. California is where it happens. “You really… you really have to project something.”
