Angela & Marjorie

I've decided to do a few posts about fashion inspirations in my life which include women in my family, musicians, actors and fictional television characters to name a few.  Without sounding too shallow, fashion has been a integral part of who I am and how I view the world. I felt that I should start with my first fashion icons.

This is a photo of my dad with my Grandpa Bob and my Grandma Angie.  My grandma has always had a unique style.  This picture is from late 1964 (just a guess) and from her hair to her slacks, Angie is the perfect picture of modern sixties fashion.  As a child I loved slipping on her over-sized bangle bracelets and her multitude of colorful, clip-on earrings.  She never leaves the house without a fresh coat of lipstick and some eyeliner which I always find amazing. I'm hardly ever that organized! Even when she's preparing a gigantic holiday meal or babysitting grandkids, my Grandma Angie is accessorized to the T. Her collection of perfumes always transfixed me when I would visit. I'd often sit and look at myself in her antique mirror as I tried on rings and held baby dolls.  I constantly see pieces of jewelry that remind me of her in popular stores and I thank her for her effortless sense of style she passed down to me. 

This is my Grandma Marj at my parents wedding in 1989.  Although her style is different from Angie's,  I have picked up many of her fashion nuances and eye for sparkle.  My fondest memories were hiding in her closet and trying on high heels.  I thought she was a movie star with her elegant dresses, diamond jewelry and red nails. She had a story for every shoe, every earring and every purse. I desperately wanted to go to fancy dinners so I could wear clothes like hers.  Even now I find myself drawn to sequined anything and loud accessories that scream Grandma Marj.  I remember she always wore a necklace with a big, golden coin on it that I played with every time she would pick me up.  Her blonde hair was always done, even at the pool. Up until I was in the 5th grade, Grandma Marj and Grandpa Dean went to Palm Springs in the winters which I thought was even more glamourous.  To me, she will always be a Hollywood A-lister, especially with her fashion.

Both my Grandmothers have made me appreciate details that make fashion what it is.  I feel as though without them I would be stuck in a hollister haze or an Abercrombie coma, not knowing up from down! As I've matured, my style has too, and I always go back to my memories of playing dress up at my grandmothers' houses when making important decisions ranging from what to wear at the beach to my first prom dress.