It would be Catherine Back in Dukes of Hazard. The classic "daisy dukes", the long hair, and the high heels were what I tried to emulate. I still dress like that today. Second would be the girls at school. I would try to mimic their style too.
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It would be Catherine Back in Dukes of Hazard. The classic "daisy dukes", the long hair, and the high heels were what I tried to emulate. I still dress like that today. Second would be the girls at school. I would try to mimic their style too.
My 3 older sisters and in a way my mother as she molded them into what they became. They always knew exactly how to dress for the occasion and were not afraid to show their femininity yet stay stylish.
Add Loretta Young to my list, she was chic & elegent. I also admired that 1930's films " Clothes Horse" Kay Francis. Both were admired by my mother who once again influenced me concerning style, class, & taste. Both of these ladies had those virtues, at least on screen.
Several teachers I had in the 60's. They dressed so they showed off their best assets without looking ****ty. I want to emulate them.
I don't know that there was ever 1 particular person. I have always admired the well dressed and put together professional office look. That is certainly not something I see a lot of in my normal travels. So perhaps it is the ladies I have seen on TV such as the Today shows Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira. It is also some of the ladies I encounter when I work in the larger cities who still dress up to go to work. My one variance from the above examples is that I almost always wear nylons. My legs are just too ugly without them, they are "man legs" after all!
I too cannot attribute my taste to anyone lady but growing up in the 60's and 70's definitely had an influence and watching movies from the 50's when women dressed so elegantly probably was part of it. I still love those retro styles immensely.
Elizabeth
Mr. Fredrick. :D
Fun fact: he invented the push up bra
I've been reading Cosmo, Woman's Day, Elle, and Vogue for years. I like the Cosmo girl style, but I'm a bit big for outfits that tight and skirts/dresses that short, but I like the general attitude. I also like one called BBW (Big Beautiful Women) which I have been reading since I was in High School.
My favorite designers are Donna Koran and Calvin Klein. I have others I like as well, but those are common in my wardrobe.
I also like to shop at Avenue, Catherines, and Lane Bryant - all have great plus size fashions that work well on most of my sizes.
OMG ! So many interesting posts and influences. Thank you ladies. MUAH !
I love beautiful long ball gowns/ evening gowns/ long silk nightgowns, so it was always elegant actresses from the golden years. Ginger Rogers, Veronica Lake, etc.
PrettyFlowingGown,
Thank you for adding those two lovely ladies, especially Ginger to the list of influences.
My Mother, my older sister, my younger sister, Donna Reed, and Barbara Billingsley in that order. Oh and of course Ingrid Bergman!
Ilsa,
Thank you for sharing your major influences.
I'd like to share one more and that would have to be Grace Kelly. She was the epitome of everything feminine.
For me, it has been my age and physical size. I'm 70 and I'm 6'1" with size 14 feet. I have found that dressing age appropriately with the intent of "blending in" has helped me the most. One day. I just went to the shopping mall with a clipboard and recorded how various women m=about my age seemed to be dressed. I was amazed that very few of them wore dresses or skirts- mostly slacks and jeans. The taller women never wore heels and nobody wears too much makeup, it seems. This helped me in creating a style all my own that seems to work pretty well for me.
For me it would be every woman I have ever observed, particularly those that are tall like I am.
I have taken cues from everyone I see to find what I feel looks good on me, makes me feel good and that I enjoy wearing. Refining all this input is the fun part of the process, and it's certainly helped me limit the buy/try/return cycle that I was in all the years I was in the closet. Of course it does help to be able to shop and try things on first 'cause what looks good on the rack doesn't necessarily look good on the body.
my wife! she's beautiful and dresses classy.