Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Dressing like Mom

This post is dedicated to my mom. She and I have our differences, but I admire her greatly. She came to the States by herself at the ripe old age of 21, and has always been a working women, raising three kids and creating a new career for herself after age 45. She is super involved in her community, runs a successful business, and looks great. She is one of the working women who ended up having it all* (and remains a slim size 2, even in her late 50s).
I wore a vintage 1970s tweedy "mauve" skirt suit today. It reminds me of the sepia toned photographs of my mom when she was my age. I wish I had a cool silk shirt too, but maybe that would be too costumey. I always get loads of compliments, including one from younger folks in hip hop styles. It's not a Mad Men outfit. It's my homage to my mom. (Plus, I love the 1970s fashions. There was a lot of ugliness, and polyester, but there was also a whole lot of cool).

(Ah, hotel decor)

The lining is just nuts too:

The skit is just a wee bit tight. Or maybe I'm just not used to wearing skirts on my natural waist? The skirt even has pockets. I adore this suit and I don't think it needs accessory but if you have an idea on how to make it more brilliant, I'd love to hear it!

*no offense to Liz Lemon

Larry Levine skirt suit (1970s?), $20 on ebay
tights: Target, $5
shoes: $45, Naturalizer
white button up: Loft, $25 (summer sale).

7 comments:

  1. What a great suit! Wonderful way to honor your mother.

    Thanks for your comment about my orange suit. I was lucky enough to find the skirt at that length, although I purchased it almost 10 years when skirt styles were a bit shorter.

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  2. Looking sharp Susan! You could probably play around with the top you're wearing with it, if you don't want to accessorize. You definitely don't have to do a button-down with suits anymore. If you did want to add an accessory, I think a pin on the jacket would look lovely, or perhaps - to stick with the 70's theme - a neckerchief?

    My mom was a career gal in the 70's too, and we have a lot of fun shopping for work stuff for me because so much of what was in then is back now.

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  3. I love it!! That suit is amazing. It does look like osmething our moms would wear :) And that is such an amazing story about your mom!! I wish people knew the trials and hardships our immigrant parents go through. It's not easy.

    Don't forget to enter to win a tankini of your choice!

    clothedmuch.blogspot.com

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  4. The suit is a perfect fit and looks like it is taylored beautifully. You left a question in my comment box a while back about different thrifting cultures, and I wrote a post about it today! Thanks for the great topic! :)

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  5. Oops, I guess you just left the comment today! For whatever reason I thought I had had it waiting for me in the box from last week. Oh well, you'll get an answer immediately! :)

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  6. Hey thanks for all the input. I think I am making a funny face but I do feel like a million bucks in this outfit.
    I have a silk blouse coming in the mail soon. I may try the suit (or at least the jacket) with a new blouse soon. Stay tuned!

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  7. it looked even more fabulous in real life

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