What's posh? The dictionary defines it as elegant or fashionable, but to this I would amend the words unique or distinctive. The following guide is neither systematic nor definitive, but proves that glamour and cachet exist palpably.

1. What’s the best way to drive to your local supermarket? John Holt, the La Jolla attorney, does so in a 1967 Rolls Royce Phantom limousine that is an exact replica of the one used by the Queen of England. The last of the great classics, it weighs 6000 pounds, has 3 braking systems, 2 music systems (one front, another in back), comes upholstered in pale blue Bridge of Weir leather and West of England cloth that has been shrunk 35 times to achieve a satin smooth finish. Built-in bar, of course. Mr. Holt also collects unusual hats, purchased from James Locke of London, and he keeps these in the back of the car so that his guests may wear them. Then with flags flying (he flies the native one of his guest as well as the American) he sails into the parking lot of the local market. Doesn’t everyone?
2. Do you feel the need for a change in routine? The Presidential Suite at the Westgate Plaza Hotel rents for S225 a night and consists of 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full living room, European furnishings and antiques, 14 carat gold fixtures in the bathrooms, and telephones bathside. Not overpriced for its kind.
3. Are you thinking of throwing a small party? The Terrace Room at the Cuyamaca Club (a private club) sports a ceiling that rolls back to reveal the sky and accoutrements in damask and crystal and brocade that are right out of a 19th century French novel. It's expensive to rent, but cheaper than a trip to Versailles.
4. Are you seeking old world decorum in a public bar? The Prince of Wales Bar at the Coronado Hotel in Coronado was designed by Dixon Morrow with custom made fittings, lighting and wood paneling. Situated on the floor beneath the lobby, it has the feeling of a private gentleman's club. Happily it has always been integrated and liberated.
5. Would you like to have your hair shampooed as if Warren Beatty assisted? The Beauty Salon at Bullocks (separate rooms for men and women) creates the effect of an elegant space capsule. Its walls are covered with mylar paper, it boasts t-v sets in the drying room (1 set for 3 people), and for your comb-out you may watch a fashion show on a ramp and stage specially designed for the salon. Wash and set for women comes to $6.
6. Have you envied Frank Sinatra his barber? Exclusive Barber Shop in the Charter Oil Building, 110 W. C St., will provide men with an ambience of luxury and attentiveness. Styling, $8.00; haircut, $3.25; tinting $5.00. Conservative elegance.
7. In the mood for haute cuisine cooking lessons? Ann Otterson at Iberian West in La Jolla (Girard Ave.) offers a cooking class in which you are taught to prepare lamb soubise or veal orloff. $75 for 5 lessons.
8. Shopping for accessories for gourmet cooking? Perfect Pan at 4040 Goldfinch has everything for the gourmet cook, including gourmet foods. The pots and pans and whisks and souffle dishes are expensive, but though you may never poach a 25-pound fish, you should examine the proper pan for your fantasy life.
9. Do you want hot house strawberries in the winter and out-of-season vegetables? Jurgensen’s in La Jolla, the grande dame of grocery stores will provide sturgeon and caviar and grapes fit for royalty. At royal prices.
10. Are you looking for a non-musty antique shop with dazzling objects? The Connoisseur Antique Shop, 3165 Adams, will tempt you with its Georgian and Victorian silver, early clocks, antique firearms, and furniture. But don't expect to unearth some f^ded jewel at 55 in this store.
11. Planning a Good Health Check-Up? Scripps Clinic in La Jolla lives up to its fable. You don't have to be John Wayne or Elizabeth Taylor to rate individual attention.
12. Do you want a hock shop that doesn't make you feel like Humphrey Bogart on the lam? Palace Hock and Loan Shop, 951-4th Ave. displays and accepts items of unusual interest and worth. For browsing, this rates as highly as any second-hand shop with excellent quality items. And should you need some folding money for Las Vegas........
13. Interested in a private primitive painting collection? Bradley Smith, the publisher and photographer in La Jolla, has a stunning collection of Haitian paintings in his home. No phone calls, please.
14. What else is posh? Ending on lucky 13 will not prove sufficient. If you’d like to trade your Rolls for a motorcycle, the BMW 900 sells for about $3000 and the striping is hand-painted and signed. The Krauser luggage which fits along the sides of the motorcycle costs $275 a set, so you can whirl up or down the coast with a proper place for your bathing suit and towel.
15. The Phylum, 3022 Canon in Point Loma, deserves interest as a plant hospital and plant sitter. While the place doesn’t look posh, the service is. If you need a baby sitter for your house plants. The Phylum will do so for about 53.50 a week.
16. De Santo’s Mushroom Farm in Escondido will provide you with the greatest variety of elegant mushrooms in this area. Drive to the north end of Broadway in Escondido, and when you think that you’re lost for sure, there it is.
17. Fior’s Candy Shop in La Mesa. Nothing about the physical accoutrements denote posh, but the apricots hand dipped in chocolate are.
18. Rafferty’s in Parkway Plaza in El Cajon makes the best peanut brittle, and before your eyes.
19. Del Cerro Liquor Store carries anything extraordinary, including framboise, rasberry liqueur at S18 a bottle, and Rothschild wines.
20. It would be impossible to conclude an article on posh without mentioning the view from the La Jolla Art Museum — possibly one of the finest gallery views in the world — and the elegance of seeing thoroughbred horses being exercised in the Del Mar surf. The spa aspects of The Golden Door are posh, as is the mustache of Senor Pernicano in the Casa de Bafifi. The old Fox theatre as well as the Spreckels still maintain a faded patina, and the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla always denotes elegance. The most far-out decor for lunch, including enclosed booths with mammoth pillows and a ceiling of stained glass and beading can be found at the Triton Restaurant, 6011 El Cajon Blvd. La Escondida restaurant in Tijuana is elegant, and the poshest doctor’s office, with magnificent artwork belongs to Dr. Colewell and Laughlin, at 9900 Genesee Avenue.
21. Needless to say. posh personalities abound here, but a select few would have to include Dr. Harold Torbert. the physician and wine expert. Professor Herbert Marcuse for his innate elegance. Roger Leach for his taste, and the ever ubiquitous Ms. Teddy Lewis who helped with this guide. But the poshest lady I know in terms of her unique self definition remains Madeline Kumler.
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