My Mother, My Style Icon

My mother is my style icon. She loved her shoes, her dresses, and had a standing weekly appointment at the hair salon. I love my shoes, my dresses, and my collection of salon products. One of her favorite phrases was “you have to suffer to be beautiful”. Of course, her idea of suffering is different than mine. She wrapped her hair in hair nets nightly to keep her up-do in place while she slept, while I prefer to flat iron my hair daily. She squeezed into girdles to maintain a smooth look under her clothes, while if prefer 3x weekly Pilates classes. Somehow I think my suffering is a little more extreme, risking burns to get a sleek hairstyle, and contorting my body into positions that are meant to strengthen my core.

So is being stylish a trait we learn from our mothers? Do we knowingly or unknowingly emulate our mothers? My mother’s style icon was Jacqueline Kennedy. My mother loved knit suits, pillbox hats, and never met a pump she didn’t like. Although I do love a tailored suit, being a child of the 80’s, I incorporate a little rock n’ roll influence into my personal style. But as I get older I do realize that I emulate my mother’s tailored sense of style, therefore, my mother is my style icon.