James Perse, he of the almost embarrassingly soft and perfectly fitted jersey knits and basics (and ever-expanding lifestyle line) will be hanging out at your Downtown Nordstrom from 1p to 3p on Saturday July 26, aka tomorrow.

That’s the clean-cut James Perse there, in blue, with Perse the Elder, his father Tommy of Maxfield, the legendary, supermodern Melrose Ave portal of avant-garde style.

Kind of crazy, huh?

I guess if your dad was the guy generally credited with breaking Commes des Garcon and Yohji Yamamoto on the left coast, you might respond by going all straight and narrow, too.

I’ll confess that I can’t stop looking at that photo, which I stole from this LA Times piece on the couldn’t-be-more-different (ala young republican Alex P. Keaton and his hippy pops Steven on Family Ties) father/son duo.

As soon as you’re done here, you must go read it.

As the LA Times piece reports, Nordstrom was the first department store to pick up Perse’s clean, minimalist line when it launched seven years ago, so no wonder Perse stops by when he’s in town.

You’ll note the Times piece also hints at the possibility of a boutique hotel under the James Perse name. That’d be something to chat with him about as you sip a specialty cocktail and grab a passed appetizer at Saturday’s event. Can you even imagine the sheets, towels, and robes at a place like that??

To use the vernacular of the Perse family’s native LA, I die.