Sorry that Tasha was not with us yesterday. She was feeling a bit under the weather so I gave her a reprieve from my ever intruding camera lens.
Not wanting to let the week pass without posting something on fashion though, I thought I would share some pictures of a few ladies who have left their mark on me over the years. I was introduced to many of them in old videos or through the Classic Movie Channel, or with the creation of specific culturally charged music. I still consider their contribution to fashion as one of the classiest ever. I am enamored with fashion from the 30's and 40's, where women dressed in tailored style, and presented a strong image all tied together with a silken bow. I hope you enjoy this blast from the past as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you.
Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O are my FAVORITES. The way they carried themselves, whether clad in cropped pants or an evening gown, was elegance at its best.
Jacqueline Kennedy
I first saw Lauren Bacall in the film
Designing Woman. I loved the plush apartment of fashion designer, Marilla, Bacall's character. Her clothes were to die for and the old familiar story of rough boy meets refined girl, delivered Hollywood style, captured my romantic, idealistic heart.
I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.
Lauren Bacall
I couldn't possibly post stylish women of the past without including Judy Garland. She, not like the above legends, created a unique fashion through her passionate love of song. And boy oh boy, could she deliver a note. When I first saw my mother-in-law's wedding picture, I was shocked to see how closely she resembled Judy Garland. See if you can pick her out from the shots below.
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
Natalie Wood was on the scene when I was really into love stories and musicals. She played the leading role in one of my all time favorite films,
West Side Story. I think I still know the words to most every song in that musical. I know, I know, this may be an ancient era for many of you... but it was a time of enchantment for me.
My mother used to tell me, No matter what they ask you, always say yes. You can learn later.
I discovered soul music when I was thirteen. My father attended graduate school in Berkley California in the early sixties.... just about the time Motown was becoming a huge name in the music industry. Diana Ross and the Supremes signed to the Motown label and their songs were playing across California like wild fires ablaze. Miss Ross was the model of hope for women of color throughout our nation. I felt Motown's music like no other and I fell in love with the big hair, big eyed, soulful sway of Diana Ross.
I think a responsibility comes with notoriety, but I never think of it as power. It's more like something you hold, like grains of sand. If you keep your hand closed, you can have it and possess it, but if you open your fingers in any way, you can lose it just as quickly. Diana Ross
I came to know of Grace Kelly not through film, but through the media's rapture with her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. She was just beginning her road to fame the year I was born so I don't remember her movies.... except for the black and white productions that I watched from time to time on Turner Classics. But I do remember seeing a picture of her driving a convertible with a long scarf about her head, then wound around her neck, tail flying in the wind. She had on dark glasses and I thought she was elegantly poised behind the wheel of a what was considered then to be the car of a playboy. Right then and there she became my icon for woman - strong, independent, playful and exquisitely wrapped. I am convinced that the original Barbie Doll was fashioned after Grace Kelly herself.
The freedom of the press works in such a way that there is not much freedom from it.
There are countless woman who have inspired my love of fashion and design.... but most importantly to me, my love of grace and elegance. Each of the above women possessed a presence that demanded attention, not solely because of what they wore, or the curve of their jaw or the flutter of their lash. For me, it was the way the walked... with confidence, grace and gentle assurance. I could feel them in the room with me, as if they were as they were the day they made the film I was watching or the music I was playing. Women of confidence and poise have inspired me to uncover the same within myself. To each of these elegant ladies, I say thanks. And to all those women now present in my life, I offer gratitude as well. You are a hopeful power of eternal grace.
May you be inspired by the elegance of another, a tree bowing in the wind or the song of your heart. May you have a moment to think of those who have left their mark on you and to offer your thanks. May you be blessed with relationships of grace.
Speaking of something.... I met the dearest lady this week at Clarehouse. Her name is Bernice. She is eighty three years young. She accompanied her husband to Clarehouse where he will live while Bernice, his only care-taker, recuperates from surgery. We spent about thirty minutes together while touring the facility. In that short time I knew I was in the company of an angel. I have lived long enough to spot them easier now. As she was leaving to run some errands I told her good by as I would most likely be gone by the time she returned. Bernice came to the reception desk and leaned close into me and said, "Now what was your name?" I told her my name and that being with her had blessed my day. Bernice said, "Oh I'm gonna be doing more than that, young lady, cause when I get home I'm gonna write your name on my list. Every mornin' I speak every name on my list. Done it for fifty years and will do it for fifty more or until I return to the dust from which I was formed." 
