The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

What My Mother Taught Me About Style

Despite the fact that my Mother and I have somewhat different tastes in clothing, I believe she taught me everything I know about great style.

When I was growing up, my Mother loved to sew, and she produced some beautiful creations for herself as well as me and my sister. As a young girl, I'd accompany my mom to Minnesota Fabrics (it's closed now, but used to be at the HIP in Chicago), and Vogue Fabrics (also in Chicago), where we'd spend many happy hours paging through pattern books, looking at bolts of beautiful fabrics, and picking out pretty trims, ribbons and buttons.

My Mother didn't care about the latest trends - she just shared her sense of awe, amazement and delight at the multitude of colors, shapes, textures, and fabrics that the world of fashion held. And if you knew my mom, you'd know I'm not exaggerating - she approaches most things in life with childlike curiosity and wonderment. And it's kind of contagious.

My Mother also taught me how to shop for quality shoes, and while I don't always follow her rules (she abhors cheap, plastic shoes and will settle for nothing less than genuine Italian leather), at least I learned them well. Growing up, she'd take me shoe shopping at Salamander, a family-owned shoe store in Chicago's Lincoln Square, where the friendly shoe salesman would measure my foot and proceed to bring pair after pair of European brand comfort shoes out for me to try.

Mother would bend and flex the shoe in her hands, carefully examine the stitching and contour of the arch, then she'd make me put them on and press the toe to see if the fit was just right, and then make me walk around and around, stand on tip-toe, rock back and forth - all of this to make sure the shoe fit PERFECTLY before a purchase was made. And I must admit, my feet were never sore even once under her watchful eye. Mother did make me wear socks with sandals (she's from Europe), which was mortifying back when I was a child but now as an adult, I see it on the runways and think, "Mom was a visionary!"

Mother taught me not to be too "matchy." I was sort of borderline OCD as a kid, and I insisted that everything match just so. But my Mother would gently try to persuade me that wearing different shades of blue in the same outfit was not only OK, it was preferable.

Mother taught me not to wear too much makeup. Or too much jewelry. She taught me to always wear sunscreen or a hat in the summer, and a warm coat and boots in the winter (never forgo your health for vanity). Most of all, she taught me great style could not be purchased for any price - great style meant being a lady, standing up straight, crossing your legs, revealing your thoughts not your thighs; your smarts, not your sex appeal. My Mother praised my oftentimes questionable taste (let's be honest, I was a disaster from grades k-12, but she still maintains that I looked great). My Mother taught me to be myself.

And of course, throughout it all, my Mother taught me how to be a savvy shopper. Oh yes! She is the original Budget Babe, a frugal fashionista extraordinaire. She never spent a fortune on clothing, but she was - and still is - fabulous, beautiful and a class-act all the way.

Happy Mother's Day!!

xoxo,
BB

What style secrets did you learn from your Mom? Share in the comments.

Comments
my mom always shopped the sales at marshall field's in chicago and i remember my dad would laugh at her when she bought winter stuff in spring. but we had great winter clothes the following year. like your mom, mine opted for quality. when all my classmates shopped at goldblatt's, mom spent the same amount of money at field's and got designer clothing. all the things we got were classic and the cashmere turtlenecks she bought me (made in italy, not china) were worn for nearly 20 years - no kidding. she was the original outlet shopper before there were outlets. bytheway, my mom wants me to take her to the talbot's outlet in park ridge (suburb of chicago) this week bcuz she's never been. she's 87 and still hasn't quit looking for bargains.
:-)
#1 maggie z on 2008-05-11 10:09 (Reply)
What a nice Mother's Day remembrance of your mom! Love her shoe fittings and sandals/socks rule - too cute! We also sewed the majority of our clothing, but with my mom's Xtreme frugality we only had as many clothes as we needed, no extras. So to acquire a store-bought top or new shoes in the Fall or at Easter was SUCH a treat...oh, those memories! Even today, when I buy a new article of clothing it seems very, very special to me. My mom taught me the value of appreciation.
#2 Suez on 2008-05-11 11:45 (Reply)
I love what you wrote about your mom. Some of my nicest memories from my childhood was when I wore sweaters and items that my mom had knit for me. To this day, I don't really know many people who like to wear wool because it's itchy, but I grew up wearing them so I don't mind at all. Also, my mom was really good at tying my bows on my little dresses for my music recitals, she would always transform them from an ugly crooked bow to a beautiful and classy bow. It's all in the mother's touch!
#3 Kay on 2008-05-11 16:07 (Reply)
Such a sweet post!! Thanks for sharing!
#4 onbrickshy (Homepage) on 2008-05-11 20:05 (Reply)
Haha! I grew up in Evanston and was CONSTANTLY making trips to Minnesota Fabrics with my mom. Also the Vogue Fabrics on Main Street in Evanston - possibly even more often. Mom made every formal dress I ever wore with the exception of my wedding dress (too much pressure!) and she helped me make the most of my slightly pudgy teenage figure by stitching together beautiful dresses for me all throughout high school. I remember an empire waist dress in a gorgeous blue fabric with hot pink lilies - it looked like a watercolor painting. My mom taught me that a girl's figure looks best in girl-clothes: skirts and dresses work better than pants for those of us with some junk in the trunk. I ignored this advice for AGES, but have finally come back 'round.

Thanks for sharing your mom-memories with us!
#5 Sal (Homepage) on 2008-05-12 08:27 (Reply)
Thanks to everyone who shared memories of their Moms! We may have resisted their advice at one point or another, but they've all left a lasting mark on our style.

I wanted to add that my Grandmother also greatly influenced my fashion sense...she was a pioneer in my mind because she always preferred slacks to skirts...never wore a babushka over her short cropped silver hair...wore a leopard print bikini and wide brimmed straw hat when we'd go to the beach...had the most gorgeous jade and opal rings...wore a beige trench much of the year...and she had this amazing navy with white polka dots, ruffle front chiffon short sleeve blouse...hmmm, those are back in style today!

xoxo
BB
#5.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-05-12 09:20 (Reply)
I really loved reading your post about your mom- it was really sweet and moving!

My mother liked to dress my older sister and I alike when we were little- of course by the teenage years this pretty much stopped as its not the cool to be dressed the same as your little sister- and yet now as adults I find my older sister can't resist the temptation of stealing my clothes... lol! We may not look like twins now when we dress, but our sharing back and forth of ideas and styles definitely harkens back to those days of matching lilac dresses!

I also have really fond memories of my mom and grandma taking me shopping for new clothes during the after christmas sales- there was this one boutique that would put everything on sale between christmas and february- and lucky me, my birthday was at the end of january! So needless to say they would spoil me and get me stocked up on the next years wardrobe all at once!
#6 Peaches on 2008-05-12 11:05 (Reply)
Wow, your mom and my mom have lots in common when it comes to fashion advice! My mom's #1 piece of advice to me was to wear very little makeup just to accent my natural beauty (mascara and blush). She also doesn't follow trends, but rather sticks to the classics that are always in. Last but not least, my mom is queen of thriftiness (well, maybe behind you and your mom) and she never buys anything at full price. Well, I don't always follow her lead there, but I do try to get a great deal whenever possible.
#7 Anna (Homepage) on 2008-05-12 19:58 (Reply)
Leave a comment
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed.
Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
Standard emoticons like :-) and ;-) are converted to images.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.