My Mom, the Style Icon

Harlem rooftop fashion shoot, 1942

2012-01-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

Lorraine Duffy Merkl, author of the acclaimed novel Fat Chick, usually publishes her personal parenting anecdotes in places like the New York Times. So I was honored to have her share her own mother's memorable style exclusively for this here little window shop.

Lorraine writes:

"My love of vintage comes from growing up looking at photos of my now 88-year-old mother Angelina (Sacino) Duffy.

I have boxes of pictures with her in cocktail dresses, suits with peplum waists and shoulder pads, peg pants and all that was in vogue when she was a young woman.

This shot, taken on the roof of her apartment in the Italian section of Harlem circa 1942, is a particular favorite of mine. I love the strappy shoes, trousers, formfitting top to accentuate her small waist, and most of all the 'Take that Betty Grable' attitude.

Even though her family did not have a lot of money, my mother always managed to look stylish, because as a gifted seamstress she made most of her own clothes."

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

To kick off 2012, a submission that double-popped my eyeballs then sat unfairly in my inbox for too long. Resolution: no stylish mom left behind in the new year.

Walt Young, part of the rif-raf on the water fountain posing with his family in 1962 in the German Alps writes:

"My mom, Elfriede Katherine Hoffman Scheuerecker Young, was born in Wurtsburg Germany in 1928. She grew up in Nazi Germany and survived several bombings from the Allied forces. She was blind in one eye from the flash of a bomb that almost killed her and her family. She worked from the age of 14 in war torn Germany to help her family survive and was a translator at the Nazi War Crime Trials since she spoke fluent German and English.

In the late 40's, she met my dad, an African American soldier from Bogalusa Louisiana. They fell in love, married, and raised 5 children at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in certain states in the South. When the Federal government under President Kennedy decided to integrate the south, the Army gave my dad orders to transfer to Jackson Mississippi from Darmstadt Germany. He stopped at the Pentagon to plead his case with the Army brass that this was a suicide mission for him and his family but his pleadings fell on deaf ears. We proceeded to drive down South to Mississippi but were chased by Alabama rednecks and took refuge in a military base in Selma Alabama. The Army brass came to their senses and redirected us to Fort Bragg North Carolina.

The picture, above, was taken in New York City, in Columbus Circle, around 1959, and features my mom holding my brother Al with me standing to her left.

My mom retired from the State of New York in 1994 where she was the executive secretary to the head of the Tug Hill Commission in Watertown, NY. She was an officer of the NSA...National Secretaries Association...and was the president of the German American club here in Watertown. She passed away in April of 2007.

She was a great woman who made many sacrifices for her family and who enjoyed life to its fullest."

The best unintentional ad for Coca-Cola

2011-08-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

Honeymoon pictures of parents are gold mines. Dressed in their new travel wardrobes, celebrating their first rites of adulthood (people married young before we came along) there's a candid glamour not found in posed wedding photos.

Natalia's parents, who turn 80 this year, were just kids playing adults when they married in Chile, in 1959. Juan put on his best spats and let his new wife, Maria Teresa, an Ava Gardner twin, pour one out for him.

Natalia writes: "They've been together since they were 13 and 15, respectively... one could say that's a lifetime. My mom has always been a huge inspiration to my siblings and myself, both professionally and personally. She's never had formal studies, but back in 1973 (military coup in Chile) my dad was kicked out of his job for political reasons, which made them start from zero and build their own path. She helped him out with a little accountancy office they decided to start up at home. I also remember hearing she cooked lentils and beans for at least 10 years 'til things got a bit better - I bet it was a hard time, but no doubt it made them grow stronger as a couple. About this particular picture, I can say that it never stops amazing me: they look as if they were posing for a Coca-Cola ad, don't they? Gives me a huge nostalgia for those happy, full of life days."

Original hipster: Maribel

2011-08-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

Big news: MMTSI was featured in Chile's leading daily newspaper. That means we'll be getting a tour of Chilean fashion from bygone days. First in line: Angela shared these two unbelievably cooler-than-thou photos of her mom, Maribel. The year is 1987. The location is Chillan, Chile. The look is 30 years ahead of its time. Memo to the girl at the free outdoor Catpower concert in Prospect Park: you're wearing Maribel's blouse.

Giveaway alert: Benefit Cosmetics + My Mom Style Icon book

2011-07-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Moms do beauty well. This is not a generalization, it's a fact. They practically invented make-up. Our generation just took some of the work out of it. Miss June Miller, mother of Benefit cosmetics co-founders June and Jean Ford, who was featured in my Lucky MMTSI column in (appropriately) June, inspired her beauty guru daughters. We had a cool idea to partner up and offer two copies of My Mom Style Icon along with their new chacha tint lip and cheek stain which makes beauty touch-ups a lot faster than mamma's make-up routine.

Folks in the US can enter to win the giveaway (ending 7/27/11) by commenting on this here post and answering the following question: what's your favorite makeup tip from mom? The winner will be randomly selected but I still want your mom's advice.

Mickey blue dress

2011-07-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Kelly Cooney Cilella, of Los Angeles writes:

"The picture is of my mom (in blue) and her mother-in-law/my paternal Grandmother (in red & white). The photo was taken in Florida on a family trip around 1977. My mom Mickey has always had fabulous style. At the time of this photo, she was raising four kids all under the age of 8 or 9, yet she still managed to put together a look worthy of Style Icon status. The woman knows how to accessorize. A year or so after this photo was taken, I was born, and shortly-thereafter my mom was diagnosed with breast-cancer. Every year on my birthday, she tells me that I’m the reason she’s still alive. She made a promise to herself that she would see me turn sixteen. I am happy to say that she has been in remission for over 30 years. She has seen all 5 of her kids graduate from college, marry amazing people, and start having children of their own. She is the proud grandmother of 13. And today, as she turns 68, she is still the most stylish woman I know."

Happy Birthday Mickey! You're an inspiration!

Those summer nights, '80s style

2011-05-30T20:17:00.001-07:00

It wasn't until I turned 30 that I realized just how much my mom and I had in common: we both loved her style. At 17 Sophie Vandenbrouck is light years ahead of me. She writes:

"This is a picture of my mom, Adriana, when she was in her 20s. This photo was taken somewhere in Mexico by my dad. There is no date on the picture but it must have been taken around the 1980s. I found this while organizing my old school stuff, and I gasped as soon as I saw it. When I showed it to my dad he stared at it for a second and then said only, "I remember that swimsuit." I showed it to my sister and she insisted on making it her profile picture, but I got to keep the original picture. This picture shows off a carefree side of her that I never knew but I know existed from her stories of her youth. I feel like we would have been good friends if I did know her back then."

Hepburn in a hammock

2011-05-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Maria Nieves Zedeño sent in this photo of her mom Maria "Meni" Mercedes Tibau in 1973 in Salinas, Ecuador

Maria writes: "This was her second honeymoon. My mother was a poet. Writing defined her and that she did everyday, even though
her main job was at home with us. "Meni" was an insightful and encouraging mother and wife. A bohemian to boot, she also adored everything Hollywood, specially Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Audrey Hepburn. In this photo, she is channeling Hepburn in the French Riviera: Navy buttondown, stripped reggata pants, a headband, and gold sandals. Simple, summery, and totally chic."

Watercolors and whites

2011-05-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

Meredith and Heather Blake contributed these two brilliant artifacts from the Blake matriarchy.

Meredith writes: "First one is of my parents, Joe and Jane, on their wedding day in 1975. It was at the National Cathedral in DC. My dad's pants were way too short. This is actually the best shot. My mom's dress came from Garfinckel's, a now-defunct department store in DC. I love the high neckline and antique lace--despite the years that have passed, the look feels fresh given all the strapless satin numbers so many contemporary brides wear. Though maybe Kate Middleton (and my mom) will change things...

"The second one is my grandmother, Bernie, on her wedding day in 1927. Check out the amazing finger waves! She was anything but a Zelda Fitzgerald type, but I love the flapper look on her. I have a strand of pearls from the necklace she's wearing in the picture."

Back in the Saddle

2011-05-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

April Goettle of Lyons, Nebraska, is the daughter of a cowboy and a rodeo rider. This is one of two photos of her parents together.

"This photo was taken in Montana when I was maybe 2 or 3? probably in 1976 or so. A family member found me through Facebook and e-mailed the photo to me. My mom, Kathy, and dad, John, were only married a short time, and I only have one photo other than this of them together, so this was a special gem.

"My mom epitomizes a Montana woman- she's an avid horsewoman and was a top rodeo rider in high-school and college. She was also a great seamstress- she learned from my great-grandmother, who made everything, even her own stockings! My guess is she made both of our dresses in this photo, as well as my dad's western snap shirt. After seeing this photo for the first time, I understand why I love saddle shoes! I love that without trying my mom is the focus of this photo..."

Life of the party

2011-05-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Susan Stratton sent in a series of photos of her mother Alpine Walker Dykes from the 1940s.
"Here, she is a young student from Florida State University, which was all all-girls school at the time. She had come down to the University of Florida (all boys school) with friends for a picnic day to meet some boys. Not having brought the right clothes, she borrowed a guy's jeans and T-shirt and really rocked the look with her tiny 98 pound frame. She was an early adopter of the current "boyfriend jean" craze. She was intensely social all her life, and here she is in the midst of the party drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette and looking effortlessly stylish. I'm guessing that his was 1946."

"In the above picture, around 1945, my mom poses in a costume she made herself for a dance class. She was in the teaching program at Florida State University. In the bottom picture, she is posing with my dad, whom she met while student teaching. She always had great legs and knew how to vogue for the camera."

"She passed away a few years ago at age 90 and I and my brother Al miss her vibrant personality every day."

The monorail model

2011-05-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sarah Lipscomb writes:
"My mom was friends with a couple of photographers in Houston. Their names were
Ogden and Jim- They were a fun loving gay couple who launched a photography
business together back in the 60's. They used my family to model for them all
the time—especially my mom because she was so beautiful. Hobby Airport tried
to start a monorail and the photographers used my mom to help promote the
concept to Houston. She is standing in front of it in the photo. The monorail
never came to fruition but the photograph lives on to help us remember
that time. My older sister was 2 years old at the time, so she was a
young mom but she looks like a glamorous jet setting career woman on her way to
somewhere fabulous. Instead she was probably headed to the grocery store to pick
up dinner and vacuum cleaner bags on the way home."

Soulmates

2011-05-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Julie Hearne writes:
The picture is of my mother, Sharon Thompson with my dad, Wendell Hearne. It was taken in Dallas in 1965. I love the picture because Mom not only looks stylish, but confident and beautiful. This was the time they both knew they would be together, as they are now. Only in her forties did people begin to assume that my mom wasn't my sister...

Waterfalls and Wide-brims

2011-05-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hannah Sung sent in two incredible photos of her mother, a bona fide style icon.

"I found the two photos I love best that showcase my mom's rad 70s style. The one with the hat was taken in Korea and the photo of the winter white outfit was taken at Niagara Falls soon after she moved to Canada to marry my dad."

According to Hannah's mom, the white outfit was donated to the Salvation Army which means someone somewhere has this outfit hanging in her closet with a $3 tag hanging off it. Not fair. Any information on the whereabouts of Hannah's dad's glasses might offer some consolation.

This photo also has me wondering if there's an archive of Niagara Falls honeymoon photos somewhere. Maybe in an area restaurant or in the landmark's museum, a wall of brand new couples, decade after decade, standing together in front of an icy, white explosion. Wouldn't that be something.

Your Mom in My Mom Style Icon

2011-05-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

Here's an idea courtesy of the must-read blog A Mom Less Ordinary: turn your copy of My Mom Style Icon into your own scrapbook by pasting your mom's photos on the inside covers of the book. Add a few stick-on photo corners for a old-school scrapbook look. Snap a photo of your personalized book with your mom's pictures and I'll post it on the blog.

You're Invited: My Mom Style Icon launch party!

2011-05-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

Family business

2011-04-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of the blog tour and we arrive at Another Day to Dress Up. You might remember blogger Megan as Modcloth's blogger of the moment. She's one of those people who makes vintage look easy. I'm medium to full-blown obsessed with everything in her etsy store, especially this. So now it's all becoming clear where she gets it. She's a fourth generation style icon. See her great grandmother, an original flapper, above.

And her grandma.

And her mom (center)

It's just in Megan's blood.

Check out more photos from her family archive here.

Mom's fine china

2011-04-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

It's day two of My Mom Style Icon's weeklong blog tour (first stop was Kendi Everyday), and we just struck gold. Jen Lula of the blog jen loves kev posted a few amazing photos of her mom along with a giveaway post. Let's talk about her mom's Steampunk lace dress and Baltimore record nerd glasses on her mom. Don't even breath a word about the fact that she's on a plate. Its.too.cool.

Prom dress, paid forward

2011-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

For prom season, submission that exhibits what being mom style icon is all about:

"Here is a picture of my Mom (Elizabeth Lanahan-Dodd) in 1960 in a prom dress that she made. It was a gorgeous pink satin material,there was pink netting at the top off the shoulders and small silk flowers placed around the dress ever so delicately. Her picture reminds me of the Hollywood starlets waiting around before the start of the Oscars.

Later when my Mom and Dad were raising the family they always put us kids first. Along comes my 6th grade production of The Nutcracker and I was the Sugar Plum Fairy. All the kids in the play had to have parents provide the costumes. My mom made the ultimate sacrifice, she cut up her beautiful prom dress into a smaller ballerina costume for me. I will never ever come close to repaying her for what she did for me. Not to mention my siblings constantly ripping me for 'Oh if it wasn't for The Sugar Plum Fairy needing a costume, we would still have Mom's vintage prom dress!'"

Happy mother's day Mrs. Lanahan-Dodd!

Prom king and queen of my heart

2011-04-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

You can't look at this photo and tell me Ali Kruse's parents weren't the most popular couple in school. Catherine and Richard met in English class their junior year of high school in 1974. Ali's mom Catherine says: "Rich had long hair and came to my house to pick me up in a very loud green Mustang Fastback (1967, I think), with the word "Mischief" printed on the side. You can imagine what my parents thought of him."

Holy crap. This is my favorite piece of information ever submitted to the blog.

She continues: "Of course we both thought each other looked very cool. We fit in with all our friends. And yes, I did make my dress."

Catherine fashioned the belt and halter portion out of window curtains and kept her dress long.

"You can't see it from the picture but I had the highest platform wooded sandals I could find."

They didn't stop her from hitting the dance floor: "I was voted "Best Dancer" in our class."

Things haven't much changed since prom, 1975, according daughter Ali: "My mom looks exactly like she did 35 years ago. My brother can't tell us apart from a distance."

Blazer Time

2011-04-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm taking notes from Shaunya Hartley's mom. Oatmeal colored blazer, popped collar, glossy lips. Yes please.

Not surprisingly, Shaunya's gorgeous mom gave birth to a vintage savant who runs a the blog Vintage Shaun and the kind of vintage etsy clothing store that will make your hand-me-down loving head explode. Just look at this blazer by the 70s label Carlyle she's currently selling.

I'm still holding out for the oatmeal blazer though.

Furry with a fringe on top

2011-04-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Usually a leopard print coat upstages every other outerwear in eyesight. Unless there's a red, heavily fur trimmed floor length overcoat and matching hat beside it. Eden Folwell's mom was a fashion warrior, with the ability to turn a virtual santa costume into something elegant and downright flattering. Kids, don't try this at home.

Eden writes: "It's 1974 and this is the way my mother dressed on a daily basis. Wigs, fake lashes, all a normal part of watching her get dressed."

I wish there was archive video footage so we could all watch.

Teen angel

2011-04-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

One of the most impressive things about vintage mom style is how much of it homemade.
Susie Mutschler, 34, submitted these photos of her mom Trish as a high school student in the late 60s. "The pictures were taken in my one of my mom's many childhood homes (she was an army brat and moved around quite regularly) in Elmhurst, Illinois. My mom was the oldest daughter (and third in line) of eight children. She was incredibly crafty and sewed both of these outfits herself. She eventually took her sewing to a whole other level and made award winning quilts. As children we appreciated, and consistently wore, her home sewn outfits until she branched off into underwear and swimsuits!"

The first photo was just before she left for prom. The second could be any day during her teenage years. Look at that exasperated what-do-you-want now expression. Amazing. "My mom was an incredible woman. She was endlessly creative and artistic. Later in life she worked as an educator and many of my memories are of my two sisters and I teasing her about the teacher clothes she wore (some with matching pins) and the mom jeans she sported. She was always up for a shopping trip to update her style - mostly because she loved spending time with her girls. These pictures remind me that my mom was beautiful, creative and a style icon I can only hope to emulate."

Holy smokes! It's Edie Adams

2011-04-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

When I opened Josh Mills's email submission of his mom, I knew the rest of my day was shot. Several hours into my internet research of Edie Adams, I'm still mesmerized. Adams was one of the great american entertainers—a Tony award winning Broadway star, an Emmy winning comedian and a shrewd pitchwoman.

Josh writes: "This photo is from one of her Muriel Cigar ads that ran for close to a decade. She was always pretty sexy and the guys noticed the twinkle in her eye when she said, 'Why don’t you pick one up and smoke it sometime'. Muriel sales went up tenfold when she became the pitch-woman for the brand."

Here she is in a 1965 commercial for the cigar with Stan Getz, you know, the jazz legend.

In addition to commercials, and leading roles in Broadway musicals, the Julliard graduate had a thriving film career, appearing in Billy Wilder's The Apartment, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and my personal favorite, "Love with the Proper Stranger" a film that tackled abortion and one-night-stands from a female perspective all the back in 1963. Still, much of her career was spent on TV. Here she is on the series finale of I Love Lucy, helmed by her fellow female comedy star.

She had impeccable timing and a knack for parody but funny wasn't usually what the entertainment industry sought out from women. Early on in her career she won a chance to perform along side Milton Berle, but there was a caveat: "I was permitted to sing so long as I wore a bathing suit," Edie once recalled. But one man took her talents seriously. Husband Ernie Kovacs, the celebrated comedian, joined forces with Edie as a comedy team performing on variety shows together. Here they are together on the Dinah Shore Chevy show.

When Ernie died in 1962, Edie was just 32 years old. Upon his death, "Edie collected, acquired, preserved and jealously guarded video tapes and kinescopes of the shows he created and in which they both appeared more than fifty years ago," writes Josh who now controls both Ernie and Edie's archives. "Edie devoted many years of her life to planning the return of these shows to the air and home video."

Without her partner in life and business, Edie turned to new projects to stave off debt and heartache. This is where her business acumen came in. She bought an almond farm. That's right, almonds, and in 1967, developed a chain of beauty shops called “Edie Adams Cut and Curl”, that still exists today. She also set up Ediad Productions, Inc., which owns the rights to early 60s music-variety television series featuring jazz greats Andre Previn, Louis Armstrong, Bob Hope, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz, Sammy Davis, Jr."

In 1982, 20 years before her death, she was asked by People Magazine for advice on love. Her response?
"You have to get independent first and then find someone who is not threatened by you...Every time I get lonesome these days, I start another business."

For more photos and stories from Edie's life, check out Josh's archive, at edieadams.com.

The Inherited Hauteness Contest

2011-04-20T08:25:00.001-07:00

It's 4/20. You know what that means? It's the first day of the official My Mom Style Icon/ModCloth Contest.

(cue fancy royal horn blowing)

Introducing the Inherited Hauteness contest, sponsored by Modcloth, the online destination for all your favorite mom-inspired fashions. Share your fashionable mom photos and in the process score a chance to win a signed copy of My Mom Style Icon the book and $100 ModCloth Gift Card.

Here are the steps to enter:
1. Between now and May 4, log into your Tumblr account. If you don’t have one, take 3 seconds and make one.
2. Post a vintage photo of your mom sporting her old school attire.
3. Add a caption briefly expressing why your mom is your style icon.
4. Tag your photo with #ModMoms.

Just the facts, m'am:
Contest dates: April 20 - May 4
Only one entry per person allowed.
Modcloth will randomly select two people to win a signed copy of the book, and one person to win a signed copy as well as a $100 ModCloth gift card.
For more rules and regs check out the Modcloth contest post and then 'accidentally' click on the link to their store and spend the next 2 hours shopping. Just be sure to maintain a concerned expression and occasionally flutter your fingers over the keyboard, so your boss thinks you're hard at work.

The Jewel of Kansas

2011-04-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

When this photo started downloading the first thing I saw was the hand-painted sign and I knew the lady standing underneath it would blow my mind. She didn't let me down.

Bernadette Rose Zacharias, 28, of Lawrence, Kansas writes:

"This is a photo of my mother, Kathleen Prosise, that I believe was taken in 1975. In this picture she is standing in front of the jewelry store she owned with my father, of which she hand-painted the sign herself! My mom was a California blonde translocated to kansas, she was a painter, jeweler, and of course a style fanatic. This look, the combo of a sweater-dress (braless, of course!) go-go boots and fluffy cotton candy hair remained a signature for her even after I was born. I always think about her when I get dressed."

Idea: vintage carriage as accessory

2011-04-15T06:27:00.000-07:00

Is that weird? Lisa Conner's mom makes it look so cool.

Conner of Denver, CO sent this incredible shot of her mom Gail Owen Freeman in the mid 1960s:

"My mother was raised in a small town (Lubbock Tx to be precise), and met my father, a New Yorker, when he was stationed in San Antonio, TX -she was finishing up college there. After a whirlwind romance, they got engaged and then married, and she hightailed it out of her dusty small town life for a glamourous life in NYC on Park Avenue with him. She fully embraced city life and was so excited to flex her fashion muscles in a place she found thrilling, exciting and glamorous. My mom was simply out for a stroll with my brother, her first born, at Central Park, and look how she is so done up!

She was fully into the role of being a Manhattanite--real leopard coat (matching pillbox hat left at home)--as much as it bugs me that it is real, it was passed down from her mother-in-law, and back then there was not the stigma attached to it as there is today (and should be!). She has some big tortoise glasses in her hand. She always had a penchant for oversized sunglasses, hats and fantastic accessories, and does to this day.

I wish she had more of her wardrobe from back then. No doubt I'd be pillaging many finds. Sadly, she was storing all of her gorgeous clothes-much of it couture-in a house next door to them that in the eighties, and someone pulled up with a van one night, broke in and stole all of her dressier clothing, couture, gowns, jackets, etc. What was worse than losing the monetary value of all those collectibles was losing the memories and the collection that connected her to memories of her exciting past. Each outfit had a specific set of memories as to when it was worn and what was going on in her life at that particular time. Each garment was a milestone in the museum of her past."

Get the look: clamshell '70s belt

2011-04-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

Renate Raymond's mom wore this supercool clam buckle belt in 1970. Want it? Renate is selling it for $26 clams on Etsy.

Minidress + hardhat= yeah, baby!

2011-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

This picture makes it impossible not to reference Austin Powers. I don't care if quoting Mike Myers' movie characters is dated and unfunny. Jennifer Janesko's mom Rita makes me think the 1960's world of beautiful women in mind-bending colors, patterns and hemlines, wasn't just the stuff of '90s movie parody. We're not worthy.

Jennifer Janesko of Kansas City, MO writes:
"The photo was taken sometime between 1968 and 1970 in my parents first home in Kansas City. It's my favorite because it combines my mom's love of fashion with her sense of humor. I wish she still had this dress, I would borrow it! I spent a lot of my youth at the mall and I will just go ahead and blame her for my love of shopping. Today, I am starting my own fashion line. We still shop together, except now, I don't have to page her when I get lost."

The book trailer is up!

2011-03-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

A trailer for a book? That's right: I have seen the future of publishing and it looks a lot like my parents. Jessica Dimmock and Mark Jackson took time away from making real movies to film a promotional video for the book based on this here blog, My Mom, Style Icon (Chronicle Books). After several back-and-forths with agents, and one very heated negotiation involving the promise of lox and bagels, we also got my parents, Monroe and Marilyn, to join in the filmmaking fun. Above is the official trailer. Below is the extended director's cut. Please forgive my disgusting fingernails. They were not ready for their close-up, nor will they ever be.

Nuh-uh Award Winner: Thelma Muskin

2011-03-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've given away another Nuh-Uh Award. The prestigious honor is bestowed on a photo of a mom that makes me go Nuh-Uh audibly when I first see it. The sound, though guttural, is the highest form of compliment, meant to convey that I'm blown away by the rare combination of beauty, accessories and chutzpah exemplified in a single photograph. Obviously, this shot of Harriet Glazer's mom Thelma Muskin in 1955 made me utter those two syllables. I'm sure it made you do the same.

Rocking the head scarf, proper

2011-03-13T12:31:00.001-07:00

Loves me some Brett Michaels but the bandanna looks a lot better on Katherine Johnson's mom.
Johnson writes: "This is a photo of my mom in 1965. She made the bandana chic! These days one just can't seem to rock a head scarf like they could back in the day. I love this photo because she looks so put-together, even wearing a parka in this outdoor setting (I think it was taken by my dad while they were camping)."

Good Day, Sunshine

2011-03-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

It's hard not to fall in love with Summer Flood's mother in this photo. Flood, the blogger behind A Mom Less Ordinary writes: "Linda Jukes Davison, was 26 in this picture - taken in November 1973 by my dad when they were dating. Not many people could rock an orange jumpsuit! I'd love to know what shoes she wore with that. I like to picture cork wedges...and, yes, all that hair is real. It would have been her 63rd birthday on September 28th, so I'm feeling a little lonely for her."

The original bob

2011-03-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here's your next haircut, courtesy of Claire Howard's mom Betty in the early '60s.

Mama Cass and the sparkles

2011-03-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

I fell into a serious Mama Cass hole last night. I watched about 350 videos of the singer on YouTube, if my search history is accurate (plus or minus a few cat paws on the keyboard.) When we think about female fashion icons of the late 60s and early 70s, witchy groupies likes Patti Boyd, Pamela Courson and Marianne Faithful come to mind. But Cass Elliot, who was in fact a mama, was one of the major sex symbols of her time. Always over-the-top in jewel-tones, oversized bows and caftans, Cass didn't shy away from looks that celebrated her figure rather than downplay it. She dressed as boldly as she sang and it drove her fans bonkers. They threw room keys and flowers at her onstage. She was the Tom Jones of lady crooners. Or rather he was the Mama Cass of male crooners.

A very important letter

2011-03-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Cecily Allen, daughter of Renee an Wesley Allen,
You may be in possession of the coolest parents ever. First of all, the above picture was taken at someone else's wedding (in the mid-70s) and your mom wore white. Two words: my hero. The crocheted shawl? The strapless peasant dress? The mood ring? The man who un-ironically and unapologetically wears ruffles and a bow-tie? Yes Please. All four.
Love,
Piper (but I feel I speak for every woman)

P.S. This photo rocks too

P.P.S. Cecily writes: "This photo was taken in 1973 or 74 in Martha's Vineyard, Ma. I love this outfit from the bangles to her top that I would kill to have today." No lie.

More P's and S's: Visors. Bring them back.

Everyone called her Kit

2011-02-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

Peggy Younger sent this unbelievable photo of her mother, Kit (nee Catherine). The oversized collar bow is definitely a look that needs bringing back. Indie designers, you're being nudged. Another thing that needs bringing back is Kit's beauty regimen. Her shaped brows, matte lips and thick lashes have the structure and subtle tone of vintage Liz Taylor. There's nothing subtle about Kit's eyes. It takes a strong pair of peepers to beat a giant bow for attention, and Kit's got them.

Peggy writes: "The black and white portrait photo is one of my mom that is so completely Mad Men I can't take it. It was taken during the early 60's when she was a young 20- something working as a secretary in NYC. She told me she had it taken for a boyfriend at the time who was in the service."

Look of the day: Tomboy chic

2011-02-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

Bowl cut, bow, stripes and slacks. It's 85 percent scrappy young Kristy McNichol, 14 percent sultry Phoebe Cates. Leave it to a Brazilian woman to make tomboy style sultry. That woman is Guilherme Baggio's mom. The photos above are from the mid 80s, as a very young mother living in Brazil. Guilherme writes: "This is my mother: every morning with a smile, in spite of a little bit of the existential sadness. These days, she's a chef de cuisine and works at her gas station in a little city of Brazil."

Jack Tripper's dream girl

2011-01-26T21:31:00.000-08:00

Mom style icon Teresa, in the mid 70s, is like a human dagger through Jack's heart. Pearls, pink silk and a Venice beach tan. Can you imagine how many misunderstandings she'd inspire?

Happy Birthday Audrey!

2011-01-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today style icon Audrey Ireland is 82. Daughter Kerri Jones traced her fashion roots back to Beverly Hills in the 50s...
"The daughter of a theater seamstress, she grew up in Liverpool, England, then left in search of a new life at age 21.
Upon arriving in los angeles, she met and married an architect that worked for Warner Brother studios, and lived a life of hollywood parties and glamour. She always looked like a starlet because she bought all her clothes from Beverly Hills second hand stores}. She had a style that all her 'hollywood' friends envied..." Read more about this lady starlet at tenthingsblog.com.

Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore!

2011-01-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

"This is a photo of my parents, Gary and Marcia. I'm not sure exactly when this was taken, but it was early in their marriage, so when my mom was 18 or 20 and my dad was 25 or 27 . . . I think he looks like Buddy Holly in those glasses and my mom is oh-so-French in that striped shirt."
Janette Wilkes
Columbia, MO

Harry Raupp, Dad Icon

2010-12-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

I recently lost a dear family friend. Harry Raupp was a poet, an engineer, a gifted musician, a Beatles interpreter, a sing-along purveyor, wonderful dad to Aimee and Harry Jr. and devoted husband to his high school sweetheart, Kathy. He was also a great friend to me, even though I was about 30 years his junior. A huge supporter of this blog (and anything I ever wrote) he put up with countless frantic emails I'd send him asking for hi-res scans of his gorgeous wife for the book.
Today, I discovered an email from Harry I'd never opened. He'd sent it to me two months before he died after a visit to New York, where I was lucky enough to spend the day with him and show him around my neighborhood. Attached were three pictures of himself through the years. The photos show a strong, handsome, old-school-type virile man. The kind that's pretty rare these days. But the email he sent with the pictures reminded me of another side of Harry, and a quality he possessed that's even rarer. No matter what, he was always the first to say I love you.

From: Harry Raupp
Date: Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 2:35 PM
Subject: Da shots
To: piperweiss@gmail.com

Hey Pipe

Your dad suggested the picture of me and my buddy, someday to become brother-in-law, in front of a 1938 Cadillac with Weehawken High in background. Easter Sunday 1965 . I am holding a pink spaldeen.

The other shot is with my weight lifting buddy Alex Suvino. We lifted together in the basement of my parents house. Looking good me thinks.

Last one I call "psycho dad". We are living in one bedroom lakefront apt at Sullivan's marina. Easter Sunday, Kathy trying to get dad ready to go to Hoboken to visit her granny - me being the kid.

Love you

P.S. Had a blast with you in Brooklyn

We miss you, Harry.

Cocoon Caftan: where are you?

2010-12-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Sydette Brown's gorgeous mother was ahead of her time: "My mother, Glorya B. Hartley is my fashion inspiration. Everything that I know about fashion, I owe to her. Being a curvy woman, her size was never an issue for her and she passed that self loving comfort on to me. She was a "Plus Sized Model" before it became mainstream. She taught me about fabric selection and wearing what works for my body type many years ago."

She was also a designer: "My mom was a great seamstress with an eye for all things fabulous. She would see an outfit on TV or in a magazine and make it for herself, or for me. She taught me not to be afraid of fashion, but to embrace it."

And a giver: "In the photograph, taken sometime in the very early 80's, she was asked to be a model in a fashion show , in it she is wearing one of her "creations"... a beautiful Cocoon Caftan made from a sheer graphic print fabric. I wish that she still had that piece, I'd love to wear it today! However, soon after the fashion show a random woman admired it and longed to have one just like it, and being the loving, generous person that she is, my mom gave it to her. Right there on the spot."

Oh to have a Glorya original. If that lucky beneficiary is out there and still has the dress, please take a photo in it and share with us!

Debra in the '70s

2010-12-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Caroline Barth writes:"My mom Debra, is the most beautiful woman in the world to me. I find it to be quite the compliment when people say, 'You've grown up to look just like your mom.'"

No joke. This is the kind of photo that makes you fall instantly in love. Beyond the fact that she's grilling up a fine herd of chickens barefoot in my #1 favorite type of plaid, her dewy, dreamy-eyed beauty bleeds romance. Also, someone must have climbed a tree to take her picture. Now that's devotion.

Here's the likely tree-climber with his bride.

Sometimes, she did local fashion shows, no doubt collecting a steady stream of admirers.

And you know what that means? She was a prime candidate for a NOT YOUR FATHER photo.
Writes Caroline: "This dashing fellow pictured alongside my mom, is not my dad, but actually my dad's dearest friend. I'm not sure of this picture's actual date, but I would say circa 1978. My mom stays true to her classic self. I love her white shawl and black clutch and belted blouse. Perfection mom, like always."

The first flash of marriage

2010-12-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

Wafa Musitief sent me this photo of her parents on their wedding day after finding out about the site in Lucky Magazine.
Unlike the coaxed expressions in most wedding photos, Rebecca Hamid and her husband make the first moment of marriage look as complicated as it really is. The realization of what was just done, and what it will mean in their future is smoked onto their faces. I love how he looks in shock, gripping her shoulder as if he were steadying himself. And I love how steady she seems, even though she's only 19.

Here's what Wafa sees when she looks at her parent's wedding photo:
"Every woman wants to look beautiful on her wedding day. But in my mother, Rebecca's case, she not only achieved that; she also was able somehow to create a timeless elegant look that still takes my breath away every time I look at this photo. I recall vivid memories of her over the years, and the innovative fashion statements she always made whether on the street or at a parent -teacher conference. This is the marvelous woman who taught me the importance of tailored clothes; the woman who always chose the perfect sleek winter boot. My mother insitinctively knew how to dress in shapes and colors that highlighted her natural beauty, and grace. This picture is the perfect example of this, and one of the very first fashion statements she would make in her life. Every day I get up to dress, I remember I am carrying her legacy on with me."

Blonds have more fun with orange

2010-12-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

Sara Branley writes: "Meet my amazing mom, Karen. The youngest of four, she didn't grow up in the wealthiest family. But her innate creativity and resourcefulness didn't let that stop her love of style. Like my grandmother before her, my mom has great talent with sewing and making clothes. She made almost all of her outfits like this awesome one here. Inspired by a mix of styles, she took the simplest patterns and made them amazing and fashionable."

I am one LUCKY cat

2010-12-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

That's pretty much me, but cartoonified. Lucky Magazine has made My Mom the Style Icon the back page of every issue starting this Decemeber. The first, on newstands now , features me own mums MARILYN in Cannes in the 60s. The magazine's genius editors even round up a few genius ways to get the look.

If you want your mom to be featured in a Lucky back page, you can submit your photos to Lucky or to me and I'll pass along. Also check out the rest of the magazine. Brilliant new editor in chief Brandon Holley gave the glossy an extra shot of adrenaline. You end up feeling like you shopped without actually spending any money. And lets be honest, it's all about the dopamine (AAD, yo)

Mommy and me: an 80's odyssey

2010-11-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Suleman Anaya writes:
"This is my beautiful mom, Lucy (short for Maria de la Luz), born 60 years ago in Mexico City. She was in law school when she met my dad, a physics student from Pakistan. They fell in love, married and settled near Frankfurt, Germany. These photos, taken mostly in the early 80's, show my mother's incredible sense of style, a modern mix of simplicity and class that came completely natural to her. She did not shy away from making a fashion statement, either: whether it was a pair of shock-pink trousers, dramatic Jackie O shades, a big fruity brooch on a pinstriped tailored suit, or just looking fierce in mad sleeveless nylon overalls, she always added an extra touch that took her from being merely chic to being truly in vogue. 30 years later, my mother is still gorgeous, fit and full of energy... a real model of elegance."

This is pretty

2010-11-08T23:44:00.000-08:00

Lauren Naimola writes: "Here's my awesome mom in the 70s in a mid-western field rocking a very nice menswear jacket and cute strawberry blond hair."

When women rode bikes and everything was wonderful

2010-11-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Leili Ratti writes: "I would like to submit my beautiful mom's picture. I have this framed in my living room and people always ask if that was me with black hair. I look just like her except I have blond hair. Since the clothing always goes back in style, no one even questioned her clothing. They thought it was me. My dad took this picture of her on his motorcycle as he was cruising around with her in his hometown in Italy."

I've received a lot of photos of the early 70s of moms on bikes. They're some of my favorites. And a total excuse to complain about how my generation got the Ed Hardy end of the stick. Why don't they make bikes and the women who ride them like they used to? Now all that comes to mind is Gretchen from the Real Housewives of OC. It's not even that I want to ride a bike, I'd just really like to see a woman who looks like this on one.

Is your mom's Facebook page awesome?

2010-10-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

I've been writing for Yahoo! Shine for a few months. (don't believe me? here's proof)

Recently I posted an article inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Advanced Style, which features absolutely gorgeous senior style icons of today. It got me thinking, if our mothers can dress brilliantly, they can probably Facebook like geniuses too.

Does your mom have a killer profile photos? Does she write on walls like Mark Twain? Does she introduce you to groups you didn't even think could exist? Is her all-around profile savvy a revelation? If so, send me screen grabs and tell me why you love her Facbook page. Email me at momstyleicons@gmail.com and I'll post in homage to your sweet ma on Shine.

Patchwork sweaters of the 70s!

2010-10-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

It's Fall in New York. People have been saying that for weeks, but today, I took down all my sweaters from the unreachable shelf in the closet and put them pack in the drawer. It's like groundhog day for me and the cats.
Only, I didn't see my shadow, I saw an empty space in the drawer where new sweaters vintage sweaters should be.
And first pick in the lottery is the 70s patchwork sweater-- modeled exquisitely by Andrea Bell's gorgeous mom, Virginia. As the era of free love waned, the period of creative knits dawned.
Here are couple awesome ones I might buy for Fall. Mental note: wear with middle part like the beautiful Virginia. Mental note P.S.: Must color my gray roots first. Ugh.

This one on etsy has suede patches over the boobs. Hello new favorite pickup line: "Ever felt suede before?"

This one has little leathery leaves on it for crying out load. Gimme.

Look at these sweaters. I'm pretty sure I'd seen the one on the left at a found art museum. Only schizophrenic geniuses confined to 15 hours of arts and crafts at a mental institution could create that. If I was another type of human I'd buy this book to attempt to make these sweaters. But I'll probably by the book to look at the photos on ye olde porcelain throne and fantasize about the bizarre Sister Wife relationship between the three models. Why are you judging me?

Origins of vintage

2010-10-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

Meet the women behind the woman behind Mystique Vintage, a dreamy antique clothing site with blazers, dresses and textiles from the 40's through the 80s. (There's even vintage paper!)
Genevieve, above, circa 1944, serves as muse for daughter Karen Broshears' site. And it's no wonder: look at those coke-can curls, and over the shoulder "charmed I'm sure" pose. If I was wearing a hat, I'd take it off.

Karen writes:
"I remember finding these snaps and a ton of others of her, her sisters, friends & even some old beaus in an old shoebox in the attic when I was a teenager myself. I couldn't believe my eyes. She brushed them off as "that old stuff". Somehow even though she was a proud but poor daughter of immigrants and hadn't a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of she and her sisters and pals all managed to look like glamour dolls most of the time. What I'd give to have her '40s "factory girl" wardrobe today."

The Shoebox Photos

2010-09-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Painter Jenny Belin found a stack of old photos of her mother in a shoebox, three years after her death. The photo album rejects, as Belin calls them, shined a flashlight onto a private part of her mother's mind.

"In so many ways my mother was and is still a mystery to me. August 20th was the 13th anniversary of her death. I still miss her a lot. I know that I always will. Missing her is a process and also a puzzle.

10 years ago I made 58 paintings, all about my mother, inspired by photographs that I found in a shoebox she kept in her closet. Unloved rejects that never made it to her albums, the photos that intrigued me most were from when I was very young.

I wasn't even three years old the first time she had cancer. It wasn't that my mom was ever secretive with me about her illness. She was protective. I understand it better now, what drew me to those images. I was confused by them because they didn't accurately represent my memories. At the same time I found an honesty that I didn't see in the pictures that were my mother's favorites.

3 years ago, I felt that smiley happy family photos were completely phony. I feel so different now. For one thing, I absolutely love to see photos of my mother smiling."

See some of Jenny Belin's portraits here.

I heart mom

2010-09-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

Forget the original skin homage to mom, Joshua Conkel took his mother loving to the next level. He sent in this photo of his brand new tattoo. It's inspired by this incredible picture of his own iconic mother, Theresa, at 13.

"This picture was taken sometime around the mid 60's. A few years later she'd become a radical feminist, I'm sure, but when this was taken she was still as fresh as the driven snow and adorable as can be. I should also mention that she hates this photo and will probably be angry when she sees I've tattooed it on my body. Angry and touched, I hope."

Nuh-uh Award: In the category of hair

2010-08-15T17:44:00.003-07:00

Guess who just won a Nuh-Uh award? Jane Glaus's Swiss mother in law Clara. "This photo was taken in 1970," says Jane. "She's 75 now, but she still dies her hair jet black and backcombs it. She has green eyes and hardly any wrinkles, even today."

Parents in love

2010-08-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

Maaike Penris' parents have been together for over 30 years. So to Maaike, they just look like, well, parents. But this is what they look like to each other.

Writes Maake: "This is my mom Anne Penris-van Amerongen with my dad, Ap Penris. I think it's taken around 1977/1978 in Spain. We are actually from Holland, but my parents used to go to Spain in the summer. I love my mom's dress and flipflops, the bag I think must be somewhere in her closet, I must look for it!"

That hippie dress and the choker gold chain is where it's at. But dad's style regimen is far more complex.

"He liked to roll up his jean cuffs and is hair was curled by my aunt who was in hairdressing school."
Hot.

You're Looking at the Dutch Gloria Steinem

2010-08-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

What makes someone cool? If I knew I'd be cool. But off the bat, I'd guess it's taking something accessible to everyone and making it your own, and as a result wholly original. That's what Merel Rolf's mom did with mod sweater dress and goggle glasses. Go ahead and purchase them, you won't look as good. It's something about her smile and posture and her shag of hair, like she got dressed to kill and then totally forgot what she was wearing because her mind was on bigger things. And they were. AnneMarie was a founding member of the Dutch activist group Dolle Mina. (a documentary was made abut them recently)

Founded in 1969, Dolle Mina, were a gang arch feminists with a brilliant sense of humor. To say they were ahead of their time is an understatement. Their cause centered around equal rights in healthcare. Their tactics played the Dutch media like a string guitar. Vying for medical coverage for women smokers, they protested with clever signage that said "women had the right to get lung cancer too." Which is funny. But what? Insurance didn't cover women with lung cancer? A sub group fought for the legalization of abortion, "Boss of our own Bellies" was their slogan. In a time and place when women really didn't have rights, they tackled major issues with innovation. They occupied a business school that refused women students and held a public bra-burning, they tied pink ribbons all around the city in protest of the fact that only men could use public toilets.

Public toilets, people. AnneMarie is not perplexed. Instead standing in a square in the Hague, she looks like she knows a really good secret: Things are about to change. I like your style, AnneMarie.

Finding Pucci: An epic journey

2010-08-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Natalia Wein's may have mom, hailed from Mexico, but her style was 100 percent moon. In the 1960's she wore a psychedelic dress by the designer Pucci, who was also busy designing outerwear for NASA astronauts. Laura Wein was equipped for mission to chardonnay buzz. My personal favorite challenge.
The story, which has already been a roller-coaster, gets sad when we find out what happened to the dress. See Jimmy Hoffa's body for more information.
"My grandmother gave all her stuff away," says Natalia. "So I have no ‘vintage’ clothes in my closet."
She inspired me to change that, with a mission to the internet. (Formally known as Apollo 2.0).

This original Pucci mini-dress from the same era as Mrs. Wein's is up for bid at RubyLane.

This signed mod mini may actually be Natalia's moms' but now it's $450 at artfire.com. (sorry, girl)

PSA: Dangers of Wearing a Playsuit

2010-08-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Kids, when you where a leg-baring jumpsuit to a business function, you could end up attracting the wrong kind of attention: a mariachi band.

In 1977, gorgeous Sharon K. Huys, of Mishawaka, Indiana, went to an annual convention with her husband in Switzerland and ended up fending off three besotted serenaders. It's one thing to look adorable in a fluer de lis collared onesie. It's another thing to pair it with white go-go boots. When you see someone who looks that awesome (at a convention for Movers no less) you just want to grab your squeezebox and play a fast-paced Spanish rendition of "She's Hot Legs" while making intense eye-contact. I hope Sharon recovered from the incident and it didn't deter her from wearing the look again.

Secrets of a Seamstress

2010-08-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

Mary Cotter submitted this photo of her lovely mom in the Bronx Botanical Garden: "Sometime in the mid-1940s posing for my Dad in a dress she most likely made. She was a seamstress and did piece work when she met my dad. She refused to sew again after she stopped working (long before I was born) but, after much begging and horrified by my botched job she did alter my wide-leg pants into punk rock ones with zippers in the 1980s. She was a serious fashionista and when she died my sister and I found 10+ pair of grey pants, organized by shade, most with the tags still on. We also got to go through her wig closet. Yes, a wig closet."

FASHION TIMELINE: Gillian's Journey

2010-08-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Jane Fairhurst writes: "Oh the early 60's were such a fabulous time for fashion! And my English mother Gillian was a gorgeous young thing. This picture was taken in the summer of 1963 on a vacation to Tossa Del Mar in Spain. My mum is 21 and holidaying with her handsome fiance Kenneth, the young doctor she met as a nurse in the operating room. They later got married and immigrated to Toronto, where to her horror things were not as swinging as 60s Britain.

With her are her parents Margaret and Harold. They are 39 and 45 respectively (everyone looked much older back then somehow). They had just returned to Britain after a 5 year stint in Nigeria, and would soon move to Uganda (just in time for Idi Amin!) and then South Africa (Apartheid riots!) and then back to retirement in Britain, where they longed for Africa for the rest of their days. My grandfather drove a tank throughout WW2, and spent most of his time on the front. They called him lucky Harry. Lucky because he survived...

"This is a classic picture of my Mum taken in Manchester in September 1963, 2 months before she immigrated to Canada. What a gorgeous coat! And I still have that purse. And the hair.....she owned a special extension to make that beehive so high. Even today, she still backcombs her hair in a high short style reminiscent of those early days."

"Fast forward 1971, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I am the happy child in the grass. I can remember how dry it was and how it pricked one's bare feet. I think my mum looks fabulous here. Everyone is happy. Mandy the Corgi and even I have the same expressions on our faces!"

Sows Ears and other lessons from mom

2010-08-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

When Jill Love transferred her family's old slides into photos recently, she got to know her mother all over again.

"I've learned a lot about my mother since getting all of the family slides and scanning them. She was really into hats and sunglasses… and her friends.

She is now 80 and every bit as beautiful. She has taught my sister and I so much about class, style, grace. It's always been healthy, positive, and fun to learn about beauty from her. She taught us early on to wash our makeup off before bed, no sunning, use sunglasses and lipstick no matter where you go, the value of a girlfriend, and so much more. We let a few of her beauty secrets go, however, such as wrapping our beehive in toilet paper before bed to keep it from being mussed up."

"My parents raised us in a small community where my mother was definitely a glamor icon; cocktail parties, dance club, etc. She used to say the funniest things like "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear… even if you sew beads on it." I guess that meant you either had class or you didn't."

Fashion Fuel

2010-08-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Meet: Susan McKeever's mother Claire. She's a babe.

"The picture above is from 1959 when she was 16 years old and working in a petrol station as an attendant. She was a rocker girl, and a big fan of James Dean and Elvis Presley."

"This pic was taken 1967, looking very Mary Quant meets Vidal Sassoon, and here she is standing outside a typical irish cottage. We were on holiday deep in rural Ireland and I am grubby little kid walking towards the camera. I had been chasing chickens around the yard and she had just called out to me to come up and get ready for going to mass. This was taken on a Sunday morning."

Wedding of Last Century

2010-08-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend saw the "Wedding of the Century" with glowing bride Chelsea Clinton walking down the aisle wearing Vera Wang and a former U.S. President.

But this month, 42 years ago another, equally memorable wedding took place.
Chantelle Macune writes: "These are pics of my parents' wedding in July 1968. Mom still looks the same. Their names are Ed and Edie Jones and they've been married for 42 years....quite a track record nowadays."

Despite going with Vera Wang, speculation was abound that Chelsea would choose a design by Oscar De La Renta. If she did, it may have looked a little like Edie's delicate lace, high-necked gown. The elegant Grace Kelly confection may be from '68 but it looks like it's right off the 2011 Oscar de la Renta Bridal Runway Collection.

The Bold and Beautiful

2010-08-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Holy McMoly! Nancy Brzyski's mom, Concetta Mazzeo Carbone, was always bold, fearless dresser. Thankfully, color retouching and photography came of age just in time to her looks justice.

"This is mom in in the mid to late '40s in what I like to call her "Ava Gardner" picture. This was done at a photography studio. I love the dress and the use of the flowers."

"This was inspired by your flowered hat post. My mom took a millinery class and she actually made this hat! This was Christmas 1963 (as you can tell by the tree) and I thinks so looks so proud and beautiful."

Genetic Research Contribution #421

2010-08-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Fashion expert Bertie Bowen provided us with photographic proof that style is genetic.

"My parents were fashion crazy and used to save up and go to 'Kenny Market' in London as often as they could to search for coolest clothes and jazziest accessories then bring them home to Bedford, the small town I grew up in. I guess its about the only thing the had in common (they're the most opposite people i know!) These days I am a stylist and I live in London. Its just a shame Kenny Market no longer exists."

"The photo above of my Ma, Linda Bowen must've been taken around 1976 as she is with my big sister. The mixture of diagonal stripes and florals are amazing! Plus that bob, wow!"

"This picture is of my mum with my uber cool, Jimi Hendrix look-a-like, my Pa, Glen Bowen. I love their matching high waisted jeans." [ED.NOTE: Glen just earned a post on MMTSI's Husband Blog: Don't F*** With Dad]

Swiss Mrs.

2010-08-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Marlen Tafoya-Stucky's marvelous mother Monika in Switzerland in the lat '60s. There is nothing neutral about that floral hat.

Miss Margaritaville

2010-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Before Key West became the perfect place to write a lonely, alcoholic anthem, it was the perfect place to have your honeymoon. Instead of Parrotheads in Hawaiian shirts...

the look was striped shirts with white beanies...

...strapless one-pieces and head scarves

...and elegant summer dresses.

Damn you Jimmy Buffet! (but also thank you because I do love that song)

Diane Gabbard's collection of photos from her parents 1953 honeymoon in the Keys, is evidence of the golden age of Magaritaville.

"My mom, Shirley Frost Poston worked at the phone company until they made her quit when she married my Dad, James, in January 1953. They had 9 children (the first 7 in less than 9 years!), She was a part time model before she married and always loved clothes and I always thought she looked like a movie star. (ed note: she totally did).
My Mom turns 80 years old on August 5th and still looks like a million dollars."

Happy Birthday Mrs. Poston!

How could you, mom?!!

2010-07-12T09:17:00.001-07:00

There are some things we can forgive our moms for: spanking, nasty tasting vitamins, inviting that drunk woman to our Bat Mitzvah that totally monopolized the karaoke machine. GRRRR.

But some things are just inexcusable. Lauren Sherman's gorgeous mom Michelle owned this mini-dress --princess sleeves, sharp color, embroidered bib-- and gave it away! Granted she was only 18 (celebrating her sister's birthday party) when it joined her closet family, but isn't there a thing called mother's intuition? How could she not know she'd have a daughter who's a freaking editor at Fashionista--who looks at runway photos and lookbooks day after day knowing the best dress ever made was in her mom's possession? Oh the humanity.

Because I have a heart, I found this similarly bell-shaped dress on ModCloth.

But it's not the same. It'll never be the same.

CONTEST: MOM, THE HOME STYLE ICON

2010-07-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

The timeline of mom's style goes a little something like this: mom dresses awesomely, mom meets guy, mom has you, mom dresses you awesomely, mom renovates kitchen.

Home has always been mom's fashion surrogate. I'm having that stitched on a pillow this very minute. [Faster you ingrate pillow stitchers!] It's just a fact: having pre-teen kids triggers interior decoration. Look it up, scienceheads.

So in honor of summer, when home renovations and mom's creative decorating side flourish, MMTSI is doing a giveaway with CNS Stores. We're turning an eye towards our mothers' home fashion sense.

Send me vintage photos of your mom next to her outrageous furniture. Anything from an old Hollywood chaise, to a Bauhaus vanity, from a Tiffany lamp to suburban 70's wallpaper (thanks to Mrs Davisson, above). You can email to momstyleicons@gmail.com or tweet to @momstyleicons.

I'll post the best shots and pick a winner to receive $80 from CNS mega-furniture outlet. (see terms and conditions here). If you've got a heart, you'll give the prize to mom.

NOT YOUR FATHER: Thankfully

2010-06-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

In this edition of not your father, we meet a mom posing with a studly young Elvis impersonator.
Scott O'Brian writes: "Here's a great pic of my Mom, Miss Patrica Baustian, taken in my grandparents' back yard from June of 1968. She was 21 years old and living it up in Hillside, Illinois. Accompanying her is her best friend "King", who was named after Elvis, of course."

Mom hair for summer: a guide

2010-06-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

If you watch the Bachelorette, (and I know you do, cowards!) then you know hair has gone to the dogs. If we are to believe Ali is the sweetest, most beautiful girl on the planet, then we're are also to believe that bleach blonde extensions that belong to the tail of a sick calf is also the only thing a man wants to run his fingers through. I CALL BULLSHIT.
Then I called Siobahn Benson, hair-cutter to the stars (of my life) for help. I pleaded, is there any way to bring back the hairstyles of moms of yore? Here's her guide to updating some of the looks on this site for summer.

First up, Megan McKeever's mom looks beguiling in pigtails in 1969. But is it doable in 2010?

Siobhan says: Oh hayls yeah! The look is straight of the Prada ad campaign. It's great for showing off the eyes and cheek bones and works best with oval faces. Just make sure the rubber bands are loose and your part is a little off to the side to avoid winning a Cindy Brady lookalike contest.

Sounds simple enough, but what about for those of us (ahem) who are prone to summer frizz. Can we "own it" like Rosa Smurawa's mom even if the 80's are long gone?

Siobhan says: Uh-huh. This is a great look for someone with the confidence to wear big hair. Cut your hair in rounded layers--that allow the hair to stand up on its own. It's great for any face shape as long as you have attitude to back it up (or a face like Halle Berry, no big whup)

Okay what about this slightly longer lady-bob circa late 60's England? Emily Materick's mother had it made.

Siobhan says: Fo sho. Consider exhibit Gaga. This A-Line blunt bob with bangs never goes out of style. Girls in London are STILL rocking this. But be forewarned: big eyes and a heart shaped face are a must for this style, otherwise your features get lost in the bangs.

Have I mentioned that it's very hot outside? It is. How about a pixie cut like Andrea Silcox's mom? Her cut was in 1969 when hairstylists had Mia Farrow as an inspiration. Now our pixie muse is Victoria Beckham's angular chop that might just slit your throat if you get too close to it.

Siobhan says: Oh you don't want to send the signal that you're vagina's a food processor? For a softer look like Mrs. Silcox or Carry Mulligan, first be sure you've got petite features and a square-shaped face. Then don't spike or gel those front wisps. Trust they will land where they may.

Wise words from a hair sensei.
New Yorkers, let Siobhan turn your old cut into an old-school cut by going to arrojostudio.com or email her questions at sionyc@mac.com. Mention MY MOM THE STYLE ICON and get 10 percent off.

HOW MUCH FOR THE PICTURE?

2010-06-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Antonella Ravani,
This may sound strange but..
I want to BUY THIS PHOTO OF YOUR MOM, blow it up 10 feet, hang it in my living room, and throw a big dinner party with the toast of NY's art world and their much older, much richer lovers and maybe Alan Cumming and that woman from the Old Navy commercials, but I assure you I am totally of sane mind. I'm just saying, your momma belongs in the MOMA.

Here's how the placard will read:
Title: Donata Galizia, 1975
Artist: unidentified friend
The subject's daughter writes: "I was 5 and saw mom as the most glamorous woman in the world, and she still is... Mind you, we did not live in a big city, but in a very small town in the Italian Alps, making it all the more difficult to find things to wear "alla moda"! But my mom's innate good taste always made something special out of nothing."
Materials: Gelatin color print

Seriously, how much?
Piper

The fox in fox

2010-06-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

In the 1930's, people wore animals. That's just the way it was. I'm not about killing for the sake of fashion. If I were a fox I'd be pretty pissed off if my remains ended up flanked across the squat shoulders of a teenage Gotti brother. But if you're going to be worn, this the woman you want your carcass draped on.

Daughter Rhonda Moore agrees:
My mother Bessie Lee Moore was in her 20's when she posed for this shot with a fox stole around her shoulders. I believe the photo was taken in San Francisco, Ca. It's absolutely my most favorite photo of her, ever!

She was born in Jennings, Louisiana on April 22, 1912. Lived in Beaumont, Tx. where she attended local schools there through high school. Her family moved to Houston, Tx later where she graduated from Phyllis Wheatley High School (years later in 1972 I graduated from there, too). My mother had a beautiful soprano voice, and devoted her entire life to singing. She directed church choirs for over 50 years, until about age 82. She passed away on January 30, 2007.

My mother married Clarence Louis Moore, a nataive of Camden, Alabama, whom I must say was quite a 'dapper' dresser himself. [CLICK HERE FOR PROOF]

NOT YOUR FATHER: Unless you're Mariska Hargitay

2010-06-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

HOLY MUSCLE BEACH MOLY. Sometimes we find old pictures of our moms posing suggestively with strange men. Sometimes those strange men beget cast-members of the Law and Order franchise. Prepare for the most skimpily clad NOT YOUR FATHER yet:

Lisa Gerardi writes: "This is a photo of my beautiful Mom ( then) Joan Gerardi, in 1970. She's on the beach in Puerto Rico and she met Mickey Hargitay, yes, THAT Mickey Hargitay, Mariska's father, the body builder. Mom has always been beautiful and people have always flocked to her, and once they get to know her they stay!"

Kind of blue

2010-06-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Tricia Byers Roghair sent in this stately photo of her mom at 16 years old in a blue bonnet in 1964. From the photo we can gather that she knew how to pull off a hat like nobody's business. But there's more to Tricia's mom than fashion savvy.

Here are few things, via Tricia, you should know about her mom Patricia Diane Faucett Byers:

- She was married at 17 , the summer between her junior and senior years. Although she was not expecting a baby, she was not allowed to walk in the ceremony for highschool graduation.

-She married a plumber/pipefitter had six children, they traveled to Africa for humanitarian work over a period of ten years. She buried a son in the soil of Africa, raised 4 daughters and the youngest, a son.

-Today, in spite of her diabetes, she entertains many through her home and welcomes many in need.

Photo Album: Red hot mama

2010-06-08T05:42:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Jewell sent in a slew a photos of her mother, each one more color-soaked and eye-popping than the next. So I decided to post them all. Here's a little backstory courtesy of Suzanne:
"My mother was born March 15, 1922 and lived on a farm in Illinois. Later she became a nurse and joined the Army and after that the Air Force. She passed away December 1, 2005. She was a beautiful, fun loving, happy, Irish girl and always had great style. Joining the military as a nurse brought her to Germany and later on she married my father in New York. My father was retired as a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force and together they raised 4 children and we travel to and lived in many countries. It was an exciting life." The proof is in the pictures.

Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

2010-06-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, we talked about this. Buying vintage bathing suits is like purchasing used underwear and is by that logic grody. But Carolyn Landry's mother is making me reconsider, your honor. Take a look at Hannah Helen Leslie (and her friend) in 1927-- a time when shorts were built in to all regulation swimwear and policemen measured the distance between nether regions and knee on the beach. Oppressive? Yes. But all that fabric begged for a mean pattern you'll be hard-pressed to find on beaches today.
Point is, I'm making peace with the vintage suit purchase.

Here's one I'd like to get right now. For $75 clams this polyesther 60's rainbow suit is BEYOND (...the Valley of the Dolls). Plus the crotch region appears to have a shelf to store your keys, cash and whatnots.

BATHING SUIT SEASON: A RETRO GUIDE

2010-05-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

If you're shopping for suits this season, you probably hate your life. That's because they don't make beachwear like they used to. Thankfully, a few simple rules from our mothers can make the ordeal feel a little less like walking through a funhouse... in a fever dream... in high school...naked.

RULE 1: WEAR HEELS

A swimsuit and poolside cocktail are no excuse to wear flats. Especially if you're wearing a one-piece--that's practically corporate casual these days, so show off your gams, goddangit. For inspiration see Margaret Capstick Grillion, above, in 1958.

RULE 2: 'MODESTWEAR' DOESN'T HAVE TO BE TOO MODEST

Attention shy beach-combers and the Duggar children, covering up can still be done with flair. Take a cue from Maria Cullen's mom in Italy in her 1930's nautical dress.
"My mum had me when she was 42 so there was quite a lot of life 'lived' before I arrived on the scene - this dress formed part of the legend of what went on 'before'. It lived in the back of her wardrobe when I was growing up and was one of the clues to her glamorous and chaotic past."

RULE 3: SHOW OFF YOUR BELLY, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

If you're going to wear a baby on your body, make sure it's covered...in bright cherry red. Says Liz who was inside the brightly-colored tent:
"This is a picture of my mom from the summer of 1986; she's visiting her sister near Cape Cod. She told me she even called in sick from work to go to the beach that day! (Don't tell her former employers.)"

RULE 4: HIKE IT UP, LADIES

Nancy Armstrong writes: "This is a photo of my mom Louise Davis at the beach in 1939 just before she eloped with my Dad. Note the high waisted bathing suit and the no - padding top!"

RULE 5: GO STRAPLESS

Vi Auber had the right idea in 1956: a one piece really doesn't need any strings attached.

RULE 6: MAKE IT FLEET WEEK, ALL SUMMER LONG

Judy sent in this photo of her mom in 1944: "Sylvia Loveall Courtney is modeling one of the many outfits she made while living in Long Beach, CA, where she worked as a riveter at Mcdonnell Douglas. This outfit was made in navy blue and white with matching shoes for a nautical theme."

RULE 7: WRAP IT UP

I know a lot's happened between now and the 60's. Vietnam, Watergate, Women's Lib, the Lost series finale. But how did we forget about THE BEACH TURBAN- the quick fix for frizzy hair flyaways? Ericka Cady's mom serves as a reminder for this summer. "This is my mother in Sarasota Florida at Christmas time in 1968. A 25 year old mother of 4, all under the age of 7. Probably some form of alcoholic beverage in the styrofoam cup."

RULE 8: SALUTE YOUR SHORTS-- WITH A BELT

It really ties the whole outfit together.

RULE 9: GET YOUR 'V' ON

One pieces are way more glam when they've got a plunging neckline, yes?
Belinda writes: "My mother in 1972 at a beach name Eton in Vanuatu. This woman had given birth to 8lb twin girls then two years later a 9 and a half pound girl. Pretty amazing body I thought for someone who has had to grow something so big in it."

RULE 10: YES FRILLS

Seriously. Have a gander at the glamorous Linda Funk Vickers in the 1960's. Her layered bikini top is rack-er-ific. Moreover it's perfect limbo attire. You never know when someone's going to pull out the stick and the beach-side ska band, so you better be dressed to get low.

Nuh Uh

2010-05-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

I've been saving that headline for the photo of a mom that best combines bold retro fashion with bold irreverence. It also had to make me say "nu uh" when I first opened the attachment.

Let history note, that today Billie Henry is the recipient of the Nuh Uh Award.
Here's why: bleached blond hair, Bettie Page bangs, a high-waisted bikini, and an expression that says "You got that 30 pound cooler of beer? Good, because I'm smoking a cigarette."

Thanks to her son Mike, who witnessed the moment first hand on a beach in the 1950's

A lesson in hat arrangements

2010-05-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Margaret Ritchie writes: "My mom was a style icon in the truest sense! She modeled in New York City for a period of time in the late 50's and early 60's, before I was born. Our family has been able to hold on to this one photograph, but all the others from then have mysteriously disappeared…We all cherish this image of her!"
I cherish that hat. Not to mention that pose--which you have to be able to pull of if you're going to wear a hat like that. They're not mutually exclusive.
For those confident enough to carry a floral centerpiece on top of their brains, consider one do and one don't.

DO:
This Navy blue straw hat from Mainstreet Vintage, with an arrangement of purple and violet flowers is the closest thing to Margaret's mom minus the natural-born elegance. Notice, the mannequin has a Celtic back tattoo. The hat itself has a 32 inch circumference, so doorways may be a problem.

DON'T: This hat came up on a simple search for 1950's floral hats. Do I have to explain why this is the wrong choice?

I hope not.

The Picnic Picture

2010-05-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is Amanda Javorina's favorite picture of her mother. It was taken in the late 70's at a picnic while she was still a single lady. She writes: "My mom passed away in 1994 at age 37 and I found these pictures a few years after she passed.What I miss the most about my mom is that I don't know the woman in these pictures. I only remember her being sick. It's my favorite picture because she seems so happy and carefree. Plus the tank top she's wearing is amazing. "

Picture Perfect

2010-05-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

Deborah Britton Gildersleeve writes:
"This picture of my mother – Dorothy Jean Britton née Skidmore – probably was taken right about the time she married my father in 1945. She would have been about 21. Mother worked for my father – a WWII Battle of the Bulge hero – after he returned from the war. He was a captain, a recruiter; she was his office staff.

They would travel all over the world together – living in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and on numerous Army bases in the US. At each of these posts, my mother was always beautifully dressed – au courant and proud of it. As her mother-in-law once said of her to me when I was little – 'Your mother always makes a beautiful picture.'

These earrings were still in Mother’s possession when she died of Alzheimer’s two-and-a-half years ago. The dress was probably red silk shantung; she held on to one with the same neckline for years."

Hello Norma Jean

2010-05-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's the actual name of the starlet pictured.
Her daughter Martina B. writes: "She was always stylish and fabulous and while many say I look like her I've never had her flair for style. She passed away from cancer in the fall of 2008 and I miss her terribly."

Collar me jealous

2010-05-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Winnie Hawkins sent in this photo of her mom in a dress I will sacrifice a lamb for. Says Winnie: "She was born Anna Olson (Swedish) but changed it to Anne when there were so many Anna's in school at the time. She married my father and became Anne Tiller. A single mother of 4 after being widowed at 42. Always stylish whether working one of her two jobs or just home being "mom". She never spent much money on herself but just "made do" as with this dress which she made in her early 20's from hand-me-downs from the Red Cross when her family's home burned. She was the very best and I just wanted to honor her for the life she led and her caring ways."

While no one can make or pull off a dress quite like Anne, here are a few options for copping her look.

The Navy Blue School Girl dress on Etsy

A retro 80's version via Etsy

Modcloth's updated version

You can also add a vintage collar to any old dress with this handy Vintage Lace Handmade Collar

On the disco round

2010-05-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

In 1979, Elizabeth Fowler's mom got dressed up, tucked her kids in and went out dancing in her hometown of Manila in the Philippines. Based on her awesome shiny pink suit, this is what I imagine her next few hours looked like:

Says daughter Elizabeth: "When this photo [not the Grace Jones one, by Ron Galella/WireImage, don't sue me.] was taken in 1979, my mother, Lolita, already had four kids-- all of us teenagers. However, it was our mom that was more eager to go out dancing! She still lives in Manila and still loves to kick up her heels."

Memo to liquor advertisers, especially you Disaronno

2010-05-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

I know the bartender with the high school hair and the funky jazz and the sexy ice cubes rates well with women ages 49-51 in the suburbs of Cincinnatti but consider a more effective campaign courtesy of Barbara Bosi's mom.

At 20, she posed for a picture in front of a Campari sign in Torre Pedrera, Italy.
And that is how you sell a bottle of booze, ladies and gentleman.

Back to scheduled programming

2010-05-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

With Mother's Day now a fading memory of too many Bloody Mary's and lower back "I love mom" tattoos (what?), I will now reclaim the blog from reader's dedications. Sorry, the writing most definitely won't be as good.
To kick off our back-to-the-blog entry is reader Kristen's mom in the 50's. Color: Blue. Accessories: hallowed vintage wheels, red red red red red lips.
Reaction from Full House's Jesse Consopalis: "Have Mercy"

And the winner is...

2010-05-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Meet the Urban Outfitters/My Mom The Style Icon contest winner. After reviewing hundreds of submissions of drop-dead feisty moms, we decided this mom is the winner, hands down (see what I did there?). We would actually like to high-five (I did it again!) her dress which actually has a poem by Allen Ginsburg on it. Howl attcha boy.
For more amazing entries check out the Original Icon feature at UO

Something Blue

2010-05-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad, Nair and Anatole, on their wedding day. Photo taken at the reception at an officer's club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 29, 1955. I still have the dress which my mother dyed navy blue.
I love you, Mom!!
Rosa

Dangly darling

2010-05-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

What can I say? The photo is one of the cutest of my Mom. I still love those earrings, where are they? Chances are she still has them stashed away, I don't think she ever gets rid of jewelry, no matter how fine. I was about 4 and the year was 1973. Wish I could go back. Those were the days...

I love you Mommy! You knew how to do make-up and hair, you should have gone to Beauty School!

Love,
Laura

The Mommies of Weisstown

2010-05-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

To my mother, the inspiration for this site. And my sister, the mom-to-be (like literally any second-- in fact while I was writing the word second she have become a mom). I'm sorry I'm away but I'm with you in spirit, and in blog.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Love,
Piper

Fro Real

2010-05-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

I love this photograph, my dad has it with him every day in his wallet. Not everyone can say they look that beautiful with a fro. Fro or no fro, my mother has always been a wonderful and beautiful woman that put her kids first. May everyone enjoy this photo as much as I do, and may everyone stop to reflect on all of the ways your mother has impacted your life, to make you who you are today. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Tip of the hat

2010-05-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

My mom, Hane Kohn (now Hane Kolm Cornfield) in Prague in 1935 before they fled the Nazi invasion and escaped to Canada.
She's a healthy, vibrant 89 year old 'lady' in the real sense of the world. She loved fashion design, studied fashion in New York city, and began her career as a pattern maker/designer at the age of 60. Forever tolerating my temper tantrums as she fitted me with those gorgeous silk organza dresses. I now have champagne tastes on a beer budget.

Thanks, mom and Happy Mother's Day.

Love,
Carolyn

Back from the Abyss

2010-05-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."
- Honore de Balzac

Dear Mommy,

As I am writing this note, I am thinking about the past sixteen years and the other things I have written to you for this day. Some years, this day has been blissful and happy; others could have best been described as 'rough.'

I feel that the quote above is a sort of embodiment of our relationship. We've been to the bottom of that abyss and back, mom. And we made it. I know that I am stubborn, unyielding, opinionated, and seemingly do not possess the ability to keep my mouth shut. Thank you, thank you so much for putting up with that. Right now, I am filled with such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for your existence. I exist because you do. My very life is a monument to your untiring efforts, your never-ending thoughtfulness, your tender love.

When I started looking for pictures of you (I only hope you'll forgive me for rummaging around -- I swear I put everything back), I thought that the only 'stylish' pictures I'd find of you were ones from before I was born. I could not have been more mistaken. You knew how to dress and looking at these gorgeous pictures takes my breath away.

You are beautiful, mom, and your beautiful is an extraordinary of its kind. You were ( and are) so cool, mama. Seriously. You are showing me up. I am so, so lucky to share DNA with you. Except for the Gesmundo chubby cheeks. But you know how I feel about those. I love you. And I will miss you when I go off to college in the fall.
There, I said it.
With all my love,

Isabel
P.S.
This postscript is dedicated to my grandmother, Owa, who is the most generous and giving person I know. You have always been crazy stylish and I'm eternally grateful that you've passed that down. You're my inspiration for so many of things that I do, including learning how to play mah-jong. I love you so much, Owa, and I miss you!

The couple that decorates together...

2010-05-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

In honor of my Mom:
This photo of my mom and dad was taken in Cleveland in the mid-1940s. They came here from Johnstown, PA, unmarried at the time. They lived in a boarding house, and their first job was hanging wallpaper together.
Love, Teresa

Petite Sophisticate

2010-05-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

My mother Annette Pastere Laurie was only 17 and my dad Ray 20 in 1953 when this picture was taken at the popular Chicago supper club. Dad believes they went to see the Carmen Miranda floor show before he was shipped off by the US Army. My mother was always dressed beautifully and I guess that's where I got it from, that love of clothes and dress up. Love and miss you mom, Happy Mother's Day. Love, Debbie

Use Good China

2010-05-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

My Mother, Juanita (Wade) Bridges is stylish and wonderful in so many ways. The eternal optimist, she sees the glass half full and has always been supportive of me. A wise woman, she reminds me to use the good china, wear something nice, and enjoy life. Since my dad passed away and my husband doesn’t like to travel, we have seen the world together. We laugh like two teenagers at our inside jokes and adventures, so we’re not only mother and daughter, but also best friends. I’m thankful for my Mother and would like to wish her Happy Mother’s Day!
Love, Teresa

Traffic Stopper

2010-05-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is my zanie Mom! She drives a '65 Comet around all summer with these silly glasses! It used to embarrass me, but now I got a pair too (except they are uglier!) The top she is wearing was her mom's. My grandma made it.
Happy Mother's Day mom!
Love, Hattie