I Got It From My Momma

I have many fashion icons: celebrities and public figures who inspire my fashion choices. My love for fashion, however, can be traced back to one person: my mother. My Mom always instilled in me and my sister a sense of power and confidence with fashion. She empowered us to express ourselves and find our own sense of style over following popular trends. So where did this understanding of fashion come from for my mother?

My Mom says she is not a fashionable person. I wholeheartedly disagree. I think this sentiment, however, comes from the fact that fashion was not a priority for her growing up. My Mom lived in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay and attended an all-girls Catholic high school. Access to shopping stores was limited and, well, unnecessary as she wore a school uniform most days of her life. My Mom's greatest exposure to fashion came from her television. She loved the fantastical, glamorous gowns and costumes worn by Cher on the Cher Show. It was like a dream world, however, far removed from reality.

At age 18, my Mom left Maryland to attend the University of North Carolina (Side Note: My Mom is ridiculously smart and was an extremely accomplished student...sorry but I have to brag). She majored in journalism and soon become a vital player for the school's daily newspaper The Daily Tar Heel. It was during this time, as she began laying the groundwork for her professional career, that fashion became a more conscience part of her everyday.

Like many fields at that time, journalism was, for the most part, a man's world. My mother soon realized how she dressed would affect how she was perceived (a struggle with which most woman are still familiar). She began to look to professional women in her field not only as career inspiration but also fashion inspiration. Jane Pauley and Jessica Savitch were two of those women. Their wardrobes consisted of tailored suits and menswear influenced pieces and my mother followed suit, literally.

Outside of her time as a journalist, however, my Mom favored more traditional feminine looks and details. She loved florals and flouncy sleeves and ruffles. Soon, her wardrobe and, in many ways, her identity were split. For in order to be taken seriously in the workplace, she often had to hide her femininity. Fashion, therefore, was the first line of defense.

My Mom says she never really learned that much about fashion, though, until she had me and my sister. It was through dressing us that she found the joy in fashion. She enjoyed helping us discover our own identities and expression. My mother always encouraged timelessness over trends, asking us to think about how we would feel about an outfit years from now in a picture.

My mother also recognizes the changing landscape for women in the workplace (while still acknowledging its struggles of course). She feels there is more freedom for women to be fashionable and to use it for power and confidence. The need to blend into a man's world is no longer the object. Women are now using fashion to stand out.

I am grateful for my Mom's fashion journey as it has directly shaped my own. So thank you Mom for not only encouraging my love for fashion but also helping me realize its power. When someone asks where I get my style, I always reply, "I get if from my Mom."