Advanced Style

I have been desperate for inspiration. Lucky for me, it was thrown my way last week from a friend who turned me on to a blog named Advanced Style. This blog features women of a certain age (ok, women who are 70+) who travel the streets of Manhattan in the utmost of style. I was instructed to check it out, with these parting words: Mama Ruth has got to get on this thing. After perusing the site, I heartily agree. This is right up her alley. So, while her flight plan is not quite Manhattan, she carries herself with the utmost of style. It has often been remarked to me by several women in town that they can't believe a 93 year old wears heels that high and that often. Mama Ruth has very few rules in life but there are a few style tenets she lives by:

1. She is always dressed up. Always. Why? Because you never know.

2. She always wear jewelry. Her standard package consists of 2 necklaces, earrings, a watch, some kind of bracelet and her signature look of one large citrine and one aquamarine pointer finger ring. I mean really, who wears a ring on the pointer finger to begin with, never mind both? I beleive it gives her super powers.

3. She has a story that goes with each piece of jewelry. It typically starts with "Sidney bought me this when we were in..." or the ever popular "I practically paid nothing for it....".

4. Everything comes back around. So keep it. Forever. Or at least for 93 years. In her trove of a closet, you can find the wedding dresses she wore to my mother and aunt's weddings (and she wore two at one wedding), the dresses she wore to all of our bar/bat mitzvahs (again, there were several costume changes), her collection of St. John holiday wear (and by holiday, I mean the High Holy Days), tons of vintage Lilly Pulitzer and numerous lifecycle dresses: weddings, brises, baby namings, etc.

5. Fur is in. Never mind what PETA says. Her mantra goes something like this: anyone who eschews fur has never owned one because they keep you damn warm.

6. She wears slacks, not pants. She also uses the term dungarees. As in, I tried to find a pair of dungarees for CityBaby but don't know his size.

7. Wear lipstick. Pinch your cheeks before you leave the house (it brings the color back to your face). Use handcream regularly. And, stash a few dollars in every purse you own in case you need to run out of the house quickly. You never know when you'll need folding money, for a cab or cup of coffee.

With these simple, seven rules you'll always be prepared for what life has to offer. And, you'll always be in advanced style.