“Trends
are in and out in a flash; fashion comes and goes; but style always stays.” Not
quite sure where I heard that and I know I have probably really made a mash of
it – even so, it is a good and true comment, at least for me. With all the energy
around New York Fashion Week it’s hard to avoid the buzz.
Popping in and out of
Twitter as I do I have kept up with a few of my favorite bloggers and designers
and was even able to catch a few “live” shows via the Internet. Isn’t all this
techno stuff just grand? For the 10 years I lived in New York, I loved how the
normally high energy in the city was kicked up several notches during Fashion
Week. It seemed the fashion folk were abuzz with everything new and exciting
and it was fun to be a part of it even if I wasn’t sitting at the cool girls’
table!
Over
the last few weeks I have been trying to muck out a storage unit that has been
filled with my stuff for 10 years – I got the unit at the time I moved to this
part of the country and just haven’t had the heart to really go through its
contents. I know, silly me…but there is so much of what was my life in New York
housed in that space I’m not sure I really want to admit that my time living in
NYC is definitely a thing of my past. (Someone call the shrink, please!) Anyhow,
while I was milling around in there I came across some old portfolios from my
early, early, early modeling days. I had been thinking that those books got
tossed in a long ago move; but I was wrong!
I’ve had fun looking at the shots
from the 60s. One belief I have always held is that we develop our personal
style pretty early on in life. For me, as soon as I was able to express my
dislike for lace and ruffles, my mom started making me clothes that were much
more “me.” And, then, once I was old enough to draw what I wanted, I was
assured that everything I wore was “me.” So even back then, my style was pretty
much set.
This
was a test shot taken by the most wonderful young photographer (Mervyn Lew) who
had a studio in Silver Lake (near Los Angeles). I remember that he had the most
glorious wood propeller from a small airplane in the office area of the studio.
I thought that was so cool then and still love the idea now. Anyhow, we did a
lot of indoor and outdoor shots – and the one above was a fav. I think it
captures the essence of who I was at the age of 16 when I wasn’t at the beach!
What you can’t tell is that the dress I am wearing has very clean lines along
with a tailored nipped waist, very Grace Kelly a la Hitchcock – the cotton
fabric was warm brown and black and we finished it with white piping at the
armholes and neck – adding just the right touch. Back in 1965 – if memory
serves me correctly (but don’t bet the bank on my memory, please) the brown and
black combo was a bit of a trend; and in my strange little world then and now, the black/brown
combo was and is a classic that I still love. I wear it in clothes today and I use
the combo frequently in my jewelry designs. The patterned agate and onyx
and the brown and black mother-of-pearl bracelets are just two of many that play off the combo.
To round back to my
original thinking, all those years ago I was pretty solid in my personal style –
and if you got a peek into my closets today; you’d see that my style really
hasn’t changed much. I think I feel comfortable with the lack of any severe
change; but there are times I wonder if I am stuck in a rut or really just strong
about my style. I wonder – do you have a personal style? And, if you do, how
has it changed over the years? I’d love to know how you feel about it all.
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