Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Strength and style - The Austrian/American

Lifted from The Selvedge Yard Ricky Lauren, Austrian-born and the quintessential living image of American east coast aristocracy in the Ralph Lauren brand. Always smiling. Always the stylish woman beside the man. She has neither sought nor shunned the limelight; raised three functioning kids; seen her husband through a brain tumour; good economies and bad; and god knows what else (can you imagine the young women who might have set their caps for him?). There's tremendous strength in being a mother and she conveys every ounce of it. Nowadays, it's not enough to be a mother and for most it's not even an option, but Ricky could dabble in something (as many a famous consort has done ... Mrs. Trump) and has placed a firm hand in the 'no' position. When the two speak of parenting it is with the gravitas that responsibility warrants. As Jackie O so famously said, "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much." (Read more from Jackie here)And the many photos of the family together and living independently productive lives attests to some grounding in reality and good behaviour. And then there's the style. Consistently RL yet making it her own. Feminine when need be
masculine when fun - sharing the same sense of sartorial adventure as the famously stylish...
Her hair is totally her and has worked as time has passed. I think Ricky could easily go full-on grey and still look fabulous.
She wears jeans with casual grace and
even if they're torn
she still bears the striking stature of the family matriarch.
And that's strength and style.

6 comments:

  1. She's got a good look, very chic - guess it helps when you're married to Ralph Lauren!

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  2. Yes, can you imagine the closet? Who needs a closet when you've got a retail empire at your disposal!

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  3. And don't they look great together? Apparently happy together as a unit.

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  4. I like her and you're right she does always seem to be smiling...love the 3rd photo of them together.
    Great post....I've just found you via Chic At Any Age...now following ;-)
    Catherine
    www.cashmerelover.com

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  5. Grey Fox: They do look happy as a unit - despite all the money. Nice to see a functioning family and while both parents always deserve credit, I suspect mom has been paying some extra attention while dad is off in the studio.

    Catherine: Welcome Catherine. So glad you've found me. I love Chic At Any Age. Apologies for the delay in welcoming you. I've been a slacker blogger of late.

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  6. Just found your blog, and want to make just one comment re Rickey Lauren. FYI, I think she also holds a social work degree and may do "very private" professional counseling.

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