garden of glam

Fashion is constantly borrowing and recycling trends from previous generations.  When I was little my parents bought me a book of fashion through the decades and I wore the pages thin soaking in the beauty of defining fashion movements, recognizing the similarities and the thread that tied it all together.  Changing accents, modernizing silhouettes, altering hemlines, and updating fabrics are all done in an attempt to keep things fresh and fashion moving forward, however in a bizarre way fashion is just as much about its regression as it is about progression. I have witnessed cropped tops, flared jeans, leggings, and flannel cycle in and out obscurity in a relatively short time.  So what is the driving force behind the cyclical nature of fashion?  I believe it is style.

While fashion is beautiful and inspiring it would be stagnant without style.  Style is much more than the clothes, but instead the interpretation, this interpretation is what really makes fashion interesting.  The stylish taste-makers throughout history that have defined decades of sartorial bliss are what inspire future greatness, this is what propels fashion forward.  Street style is a force to be reckoned with today.  This is partly due to the fact that we are living in a digital age, but also due to the fact that street style is real, it is relatable, it is a unique. Street style is the ultimate manifestation of looking towards the past to elevate the present.  So in order to understand where we stylistically stand today we must examine what brought us here.

In honor of mother’s day this post is dedicated to the truest icons, our mothers and their infallible interpretation of fashion and their exceptional styles.  For this post, my friends compiled vintage pictures of their mothers in the height of their sartorial excellence.  This special Mother’s Day post will serve as a road map as you navigate your way through the history of fashion.  I would also like to thank everyone that shared pictures with me and a very special thank you to our moms for setting the standard for true grace, strength and impeccable style.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Rita, 1948

Rita, 1949

Rose, 1984

Rose, 1977

Kathy, early 1960s

Kathy, early 1960s

Ila, 1976

Sandy, 1977

Cherry, 1954

Cherry, 1953

Nusia, 1940s

Rubina, 1940s

Susana, 1970s

Susana, 1970s

Sylvia, 1958

Sylvia, 1974

Adrianne, 1974

Adrianne, 1970

Jinny, 1978

Myrna, 1964

Patti, 1970s

Kathy, 1971

Ann, 1989

Miri, 1970

Miri, 1970s

Denese, 1971

Denese, late 1970s

Erika, 1983

Betty, late 1950s

Lynn, 1958

Lynn, 1967

Lynn, 1967

Lynn, 1975

ILYMTTCT