Lorelei and I

Marilyn and I

This #flashback Friday is “tres a propos” for this part of the story!
If you were here in November 2017, you may remember the vintage hairstyle challenge I took part in with @the_angelique_noire
It was the most fun I’ve had in forever!!!
As you may notice, this was my attempt at being Marilyn Monroe! (See 2nd image).
What you didn’t know was my (almost) lifelong relationship with her!

When I was 10, my father was posted to Angola. We arrived in beautiful Luanda, English speakers without a drop of Portuguese in our psyches.
At the time, VCRs had just come onto the market. So, we ordered our first VCR from a German mail order catalog, Osterman...(I honestly don’t know how I remember all these details!)
Our brand new VCR arrived with (a Walkman for me!!! Remember those?) three movies.
1. The Sound Of Music.
2. The King and I
3. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
So.....
Here was my 10 year old self, only child, in a new country, new school, no friends yet.
These three movies became my best friends for about 3-4 months before the next batch arrived.
I watched all three movies every single day. I could recite them all inside out.
Now, The Sound Of Music was not new to me, that’s everybody’s favorite movie! I loved The King and I too!
BUT.......!!!!!!!
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is what turned me googly eyes! My mother still remembers how entranced I was with Lorelei and Bonnie!
I can still remember how I felt.
At 10 I think I wanted to become a judge and a car designer.....I was OBSESSED with cars! I still am.
But I knew in my soul....I remember saying and feeling “when I grow up I want to be like Lorelei!”
I won’t say I knew I wanted to design clothes way back then, however, this was the vision I held for myself as a grown woman.
Yes.... 10-year-olds can’t wait to grow up! Sigh.....
This vision is what led me to become a designer.
I shouldn’t say this....but I’m being honest with you.
I became a designer because I wanted the clothes for myself.
At 20/21, I don’t think I had this GRAND purpose of wanting all the women in the world to feel beautiful....heavens, I was too young!

That Summer, I think it was 1980? 81? I was shipped off to Summer in Paris with my best friend. Upon my arrival, one of my very first requests to my hostess was my desire to visit all the Haute Couture houses in Paris. True story. She didn’t take me to Chanel and Dior. No. But she did take me to Galleries Lafayette where she bought me a beret....(so cliche....) and not capris pants but a pair of knickerbockers (they were all the rage!).
When I grew up, I had heard somewhere that when you want something for yourself, you create it for others.
I wanted beautiful clothes. I wanted to walk into a room and be Lorelei and Bonnie! And so I did!
I’ll never forget when I designed my first navy blue suit with the rolled collar and white lapels and cuffs! I created the black and leopard outfit for a shopping trip to New York....yes! I wore this to travel! The Capri pants with the sash.....oh....when I had a waist, it was one of my favorite outfits! (The waist will return one day, I pray.)
In the last photograph, there’s large print of Marilyn. My husband bought it for me. He knows how much I love her, but he said he bought it because of the words. He said those were all my words...isn’t he so sweet! Then he got himself into trouble...suggested I paint over Marilyn’s face and put mine on top! I was horrified!!! So she remains. My matron/patron saint...hanging in my dressing room.
I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for Lorelei.🌹