Loving Liberty... Liberty of London available now at Target

A classic Liberty floral print: cheery and yet elegant at the same time

Stylish organization aides from the Liberty of London for Target collection

Practical pretties from this collection for our home and stationary too

The pretty but not-really-my-style Liberty of London for Target dress I put back on the rack, sigh...

This afternoon I headed over to Target to see the much-awaited Liberty of London for Target collection and was completely charmed by the offerings. I have been a big fan of all-things-Liberty for years and so when Mother and I were touring around London a few years ago on a Scotland/England jaunt, we made sure to set aside some time to get ourselves over to its iconic Tudor-styled building. We happily spent quite awhile there at the Liberty store and I still enjoy my couple of purchases... and also enjoy the memories of being with my late mother there doing her favorite thing in life besides playing the piano, shopping of course. Good times!

We also spent hours in the Victoria and Albert Museum where we ensconced ourselves within its incredible visual presentations of decorative arts throughout the centuries with my favorite thing there being the amazing Morris room. Men like Arthur Liberty and William Morris nurtured the Art Nouveau movement which, if you've read some of my Postcards from Paris posts, you know is a style that resonnates strongly with me. I prefer elements of this design movement in small doses with a lot of space, light and actual nature surrounding its highly stylistic presentation. Similar to how it is presented within the terrific Musee' d'Orsay of Paris where James and I spent a lot of time around last week. A little does indeed go a long way...

In our nearest Target, on the gateway towards Hilton Head Island, you could certainly tell that all of the Liberty of London areas in the store had been heavily shopped however, I was able to pick up a few items of this brand which are both pretty and practical. One of my column checks had arrived earlier in the mail and that's my totally-fun-money so it was off to see some Liberty in-person in the good ole' US of A today after a meeting and errands...um, yes indeed.

As you can see in the pictures above, I purchased very "usable" items such as stationary, picture frames (one of which already has a picture in it from our Paris trip) and one of those heavy plastic platters I always seem to be taking loaded down with baked goods or a cheese, cracker and fruit assortment either to friends' houses, our church's various events or some oyster roast, dock party or picnic going on around here year-round. I also picked up a neat file box organizer and coordinating clip board to use for the fashion shows and events I produce for a national retailor I work with: they're both elegant and will be easy to keep track of as well.

I tried on but put back the dress pictured above. Absolutely LOVE the print of it but the style is a bit more on the "cute n' flirty" side whereas I'm more of a classic-romantic typa' gal. I knew that ultimately a dress like this would see a whole lot more hanger-time than wearing-time so even though I didn't want to pass on it, I did. Over a decade ago, James and I divested our household of about 2/3rds of its furniture n' things with purposefully jumping off of the acquiring and upscaling cultural bandwagon to march to a different, and much more satisfying to us, tune. We simplified down to where what we have around us now is authentic to us and meaningful as well as useful. Hence we're really strict about having just "stuff" for stuff's sake and this dress, as pretty as it is, would just be really another bit of stuff hanging around.

(As well, for the men, there are neat Liberty of London ties and boxer shorts that I saw today at Target. I don't think that I could get James wearing floral prints but it could be a neat look for other guys and the ties, in my opinion, would be so lovely for Easter Sunday dressing-up.)

But practical items that are Liberty-of-London-pretty which I'll be putting to good use, oh, that's a whole 'nother thing isn't it? Ah, so perfect for spring and the whole year through...

Postcards from Paris part four "Tres Chic Triangular!"

Garden just outside of Napoleon's Tomb- an example of living architecture

Obelisk shapes abound around Paris- here's one near a bridge spanning the Seine

Controversial I M Pei designed pyramid at the Louvre- I actually like this contrast

The most famous, and most obvious, triangle in all of Paris- and lovely to see day n' night

When walking around Paris, it's kind of hard not to notice all of the terrific architecture, monuments and gardens lending this city its stunning style and grace...

One aspect about life that I personally so enjoy is the connective, thematic element within it. This was something that I studied in the Masters of Humanities degree I just finished-up last December. My Master's Thesis was along these lines and its title was: "Towards a Synthesis of the Postmodern Individual Aesthetic Within an Environmentally Globalized Worldview- cultivating our societal construct's coexistance with the natural world." Yeah, a bit of a long title but a great project that I had so much fun developing, researching and writing about. What various connective threads go along throughout not only history and cultural evolvement are always ever-fascinating to me but also quite interesting are those threads wending along within the literal nuts. bolts, bricks and morter that physically make-up a place. I'm a huge fan of the Art Nouveau movement with its dwelling on the beauty and design functionality of nature reinterpreted for human utilization and inspiration. I brought home a book about Art Nouveau sites in Paris and already am enjoying perusing through it. Seeing in person one of the iconic Metro entrances styled in Art Nouveau's verdigris green patina was a definite highlight of this past week in Paris!

I may write another postcard just about Parisian Art Nouveau but this postcard is actually about the sighting of triangular shapes around the city. I kept noticing this all around- obviously with the Eiffel Tower being the iconic, and most noticible, triangular shape in Paris but also other things as well.

The triangle showed-up again and again in the shaped boxwood and other dense foilage around Paris; literal living architecture. A clever and very cleaned-line use of nature that added both a modern feel to place and time as well as harking back to the formal gardens of the past influenced by the Italians and then carried-over into both France and England as a style trend.

Psychologists say that individuals are influenced to some degree by the physical shape that they are as to their inclinations towards preferring one shape over others. In general, then according to this, tall and thin people would be attracted to tall, thin columns perhaps whereas maybe people who are smaller on the top half of their bodies but flare-out larger on the bottom half may be visually-attracted to triangle shapes. Interesting theory!

However it's been played-out over time and no doubt a myriad of influences, there's a definite triangular ethos going on here in Paris...

Postcards from Paris part three "French Inspirations for Fine Living"

The terminal we spent two days in...not too shabby of a place to be "stuck" within

The airport's free magazine and Air France's free magazine as well... tres' chic oui?

Luggage carts that are aesthically-pleasing as well as very functionable

Fine food and wine, flowers in abundance, fountains and monuments galore', fashion that's drop-dead elegant, fragrance displays of perfume in every other shop window and being fundamentally artistic in everything from architecture and paintings to airport luggage carts and department store packaging... yes, the French certainly DO have a truly wonderful sense of fine living!

James and I were amazed to see this aesthetic everywhere we went: from the most chic and expensive areas of Paris to the more mundane, every-day kinda' neighborhood spots and even at the Charles de Gaulle Airport and in the Metro subway as well. This is very inspirational indeed. Life is meant to be lived as Auntie Mame says, "Live! Live! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" (in the movie version with Rosalind Russell that I like best) Even if it's a humble home, constrained circumnstances or uncertain transitioning time period within one's life, enjoy such pretty simplicity as a well-made salad, freshly-ironed sheets or a bunch of roadside daisies put into a glass container... yes, life can be easily embellished for one's enjoyment without pouring money or obsessive amounts of time and energy into doing this. It seems that the French understand this well from Paris to Provence and, from what I hear, all other corners of their country.

I just loved how every corner one turned in Paris, there seemed to be, for lack of a better term, "prettiness" all about... it wasn't confined to their large museums or huge monuments and expansive public parks, beauty and a depth of visual interest was literally everywhere.

Take for instance the Charles de Gaulle Airport. Though it does need an exterior revamping, the inside however was modern, fresh n' clean feeling and had surprising elements of clever design which the above photos illustrate with the domed, sky-lit terminal and also the stacked-up luggage carts. After spending two days there trying to get out on a flight, any flight, back to the States, James and I got to "know" this place fairly well. In addition to upscale eateries and wonderfully decadent chocolate shoppes', there were also boutique stores of Dior, Hermes, Prada and so forth- talk about stylin' in the airport! These jewel boxes of designer boutiques put the Duty Free shops to shame ;)

Having traveled around the globe a bit (20+ countries so far since we added, unexpectedly Belgium and Holland/The Netherlands to this trip as well with eventually flying out of Amsterdam to get back home), a lot can be told culturally by the design, current condition and amenity offerings of said country's airport. Discounting the outside of the main Paris airport, its inside fortunately speaks volumes as to all-things about what is French Fine Living.

One of the Gang! ...thePreppyMafia.com

thePreppyMafia.com: "We are tagging more of our favorite bloggers (but know we love ALL of you)!
You’ve been crowned a socialite by The Preppy Mafia! (THANK YOU Wendy :)
The rules-
Click on the above button and paste onto your blog/website
Answer the below questions
Pass onto 10 bloggers that you Love, go to their blog and let them know they’ve been tagged

1. Who is your style icon? Grace Kelly....absolute elegance absolutely all of the time... and as well the late Queen Mother
2. What is your favorite socialite lit book? It's an old-school one: The Portrait of A Lady by Henry James
3. Favorite party theme? Out here where I live, a by-the-water oyster roast that's islander-lowcountry casually chic
4. Go to Halloween costume? Something historical; my favorite so far was being, "a lady in the Tower of London circa 1600's" in medieval dress
5. Extravagance you cannot live without? Flowers in the house year-round and fairly frequent international travel
6. Living person you admire? Various family members
7. Greatest Fear? Stepping too-near a snake in our woods here; have done it before and really dread doing it again
8. Trait you deplore in yourself? Doing too much within, as ever, way too limited amounts of time
9. Which talent would you most like to have? Being an amazing watercolorist
10. Greatest Achievement? A happy marriage of 19 years and strong friends-partnership of 21 years n' counting with my James... and a far second, my MA in Humanities degree

Bloggers I love... and this is not in any sort of order, just randomly typed into the numbered spaces here:
1. Wendy at Manor Lane
2. It's a Golden Day
3. Summer is a Verb
4. Horse, Hound and Home
5. Madras and Pearls
6. Grit and Glamour
7. Tickled Pink and Green
8. Kappa Prep
9. Monograms and Manicures
10. Chin Up, Pretty Smile, Give 'Em Hell
11. Chinoiserie Chic
...and I think I'm leaving some other folks off of this list by accident but with major Paris and Amsterdam-jet-lag going on today... well, blame it on that I guess ;)

Here's to great bloggers and also a great Preppy bloggerhood that I so very much enjoy being a part of! "Collars Up!" is a wonderful thing and I'll add, "Plus put your pearls on!"

Post cards from Paris part two "Fashion Spotted on the Streets"

A Parisian ad that's everywhere throughout the city... and very Paris chic' fashionable bien sur!
Typical couple: she's in a stylish black outfit with large handbag and he's in what seems to be the Parisian male "uniform" of jeans and a black shirt
Layered so nicely here and again, the large handbag ever on the arm it seems
A terrific military-styled a-line wool red coat paired with military look tall black boots and another guy with the jeans and black shirt look going on
On the one hand, classic black ensemble' and on the other hand, two more-artsy outfits


It was so much fun this week to espy fashion interpretations along the streets of Paris! For the most part, it is overwhelmingly black, black and more black 24/7 around this city. Black is also paired with dark gray, light gray, brown and cream as well. Occassionally there's a color shot via usually a long scarf worn straight down or wrapped around the neckline. Every once in a while, a bold, true red evidenced itself which was neat to see- mainly in tailored wool coats.

Leather riding boots are everywhere- I've never seen so many worn all around a place. Black reigns here of course but the boots' heels run the gamut from completely flat to riding boot practical to higher heels. Silhouettes overall are quite form-fitting and structured with the main difference being in pants: Americans wear their trousers and jeans much looser and boot cut as well whereas Parisians (and the myriad of Italian tourists here) wear their jeans super-tight and their trouser pants just a bit less tight.

Accessories wise, one's handbag is either huge or a classic quilted and chain-strapped Chanel. Tote bags aren't seen much at all unless they're leather and nicely styled. Scarves are all over the place with everyone wearing them: women, men and children. Jewelry as far as I can tell is fairly classic with opera length pearls being popular. Occassionally I have seen jewelry layering or a statement necklace but it's been the exception rather than the rule.

Hair styles are neat, makeup minimal excepting either a smokey eye look or bright red lipstick but not both at once it seems. No one that I saw wore any nail polish at all and fingernails were short. One thing I really liked about Parisian women is that they seem to age gracefully and not be trying to remain ever-youthful; their elegance far outweighs the wrinkles and gray hair in evidence. A definite testimony for bypassing Botox and plastic surgery! Another thing I noticed is that most of the women I saw were modestly attired even for an obvious evening-out. Their subtly sexy looks left more nicely to the imagination with just a tiny hint of cleavage or short slit on the leg- very surprising but also very classy. This even went for the young girls as well. Funny that the greater skin-baring I noticed was with groups of Italian or English girls who were obviously "on holiday" and partying it up big time: spilling out of their tops and wearing the shortest skirts possible. Next to the subdued French girls, these touristas looked a little too tarty. Less is more unless it's less-fabric eh? "Bien sure," say the Parisians it seems.

Overall, I was very impressed with the classic nature of Parisian Street Fashion. There were precious-few Preppies around but a whole lot of Continental Classics who would make Coco Chanel very, very proud...

Post cards from Paris part one "Streamlined Elegant Simplicity"

A variety of architectural styles layered with elegance creates an ever-classic Paris vista
A beautiful breezeway just down from our hotel- love the ornate urns paired with simple clusters of daffodils
Simple yet striking display outside of a garden store using a highly decorative statuette and the humble but classic tin watering can and window box planter topping a simple metal table
Clean and neat order within a flower stall offering up a bevvy of wonderful potted plants
The avenue area leading up to the Eiffel Tower where I'm enjoying its tree-lined elegant sparity
Pink and Green as interpreted by Parisian cafe' styling: pink seating and green shrubbery with very clean, spare structural lines

Paris in the Spring is a truly beautiful thing! James and I are so enjoying this week of all-things-Parisian-elegant...the food, the wine, the chocolates, the fashion, the architecture, the language, the arts and so forth. Most striking to me right now is the elegant simplicity and neat-styling glimpsed all around this city.

Turn any corner, stroll down an avenue, peek into a shop window or espy a little tucked away garden and what I'm noticing is an oh, so elegant paring-down as to what is essentially elegant and not a smidgen more. This is so refreshing to experience coming from a cultural norm in America where if something's pretty, hey, it's considered even better super-sized, collected in mass amounts or layered n' layered. And I completely understand this layering impulse with coming from a family where things-layered such as clothing, chintz fabrics and sterling picture frames on a side table are just standard modus operandi: the proverbial English Country Home look reinterpreted through the ages as an integral part of what is Southern Preppy.

However, I am finding myself really inspired by this more-streamlined and orderly Parisian lifestyle elegance. I've been streamlining, and "opening-up" our household here on the island gradually over the past couple of years but after this time spent in Paris, I may amp it up a bit more upon returning home.

Here are some quick photo snaps taken while James and I have been sauntering around Paris that illustrate this elegantly spare and clean-lined Parisian lifestyle ethos... tres' jolie oui?

And now...Spring fashion trending for the Preppy Male

The ultimate Male Preppy...the whole style and lifestyle package...ah, absolutely perfect!

Sharp suiting with a lighter golden touch for Spring 2010 from Brooks Brothers

Vineyard Vines has the perfect mix of proverbial pink and green for guys

Great tweaking of the classic Sperry shoe offering in its Venetian styling

Gotta' love a fresh, springlike kelly green gingham check button down by Ralph Lauren

Fly fishing theme kacki shorts from Land's End....why not? From whales n' ducks to flies and yes, cute, bright flies at that ;)

Wonderful brights for the waist with this Ben Silver canvas and leather belt selection

It's wonderful having two followers who are guys and hopefully more male readers here as well who visit this blog from time to time. I've written a couple of blog posts that include the male side of things within all-things-preppy and perhaps the "Dixie Fried Guys" post did the male preppy the most justice in coverage so far...

As with the female Preppy, there are great Spring 2010 fashion season preppy clothing, shoe and accessory offerings that either continue along classic styling or give a tweak or two in a fresh and interesting way. Most of the men in my family and extended family are subdued kinda' Preppies. You know the type: anything navy, kacki and quietly tailored. Pink surfaces only as a soft-hued oxford cloth button down underneath, you guessed it, a navy blue blazer paired with a coordinating, small print or striped tie and kacki pants with the standard dark leather loafers and matching leather belt. "Flashy" are the left-hand gold rings worn in a paralleling of the plain gold wedding band on the other hand: either they're class rings from The Citadel or West Point or they are one of our family crests. And besides a Timex watch or, for the fly-boys in our bunch, a heavy-duty chronograph watch such as a plain TAG Heuer perhaps, well that's about it.

Well-worn Tux and black dress shoes are their formal evening attire standbys and for less formal events as well as Sunday morning church, there's ever the Brooks Brother suit with silk and leather braces and of course classic wingtip leather shoes. I miss my Grandfather Wylly's amazing seersucker suits worn in the summertime with his light buck shoes! He was a man of Warren G., Harding and William Howard Taft porportions yet just like these former presidents, Grandaddy always wore his clothing well. My late Uncle Ralston also was a great dresser. Maybe it was because both of these men in our family were bankers perhaps, during a time when bankers looked quite the part? My own father lived in his navy pinstripe suits while he was an attorney as well as a treasurer for a Fourtune 500 company. When "Business Casual" was implemented right before he retired, his acknowledgement of this was to wear a less-formal tie with his suits. Now he's gotten so islander-casual that I forget about his years and years of wearing business suits.

Being in the coastal lowcountry south, I absolutely LOVE seeing seersucker suits and blazers, madras pants, shorts and shirts along with the more tropical bright color hues out and about around town here. Sunday mornings in the warmer months, our church is filled with seersucker as well as tropical-weight tan suiting and then for the much more casual evening service, you can espy super-bright fishing shirts tucked into kacki pants or shorts with the occassional Sperry flip-flop sandal in evidence as well. Yes, for the 6 o' clockers at St. Helena Episcopal, coming in right off the boat or dock for an evening service is par for the course around these parts...

My own husband is usually one of these Preppy males attired in a fishing shirt look. We now have a wardrobe for him of fishing shirts to fish around in and then also have fishing shirts that are just to wear out n' about town. I even have a few myself since their light-weight, moisture wicking and net-panel breathe-ability is truly wonderful during our lowcountry's truly henious heat n' humidity in the middle of summer.

Preppy Males always, to me, look so elegantly attired whether dressed-up or completely casual...it's a great look and a great Spring to find some fun things to add into their wardrobes!

A rose is a rose is a.... Rosettes for Spring and Beyond

Demi Moore at the Oscars in a 21st Century classically feminine gown: rosette, ruffles and a gentle band-layering of the bodice ='s beautiful!

An offering from Anthropologie that's cleanly-flounced: one could add a rosette at the waist or collar if so desired

An offering from Talbots that does add a rosette at the waist via a belt

An offering from J.Crew that centers the rosette atop a verticle ruffling

An offering from Lilly Pulitzer which embellishes rosettes along the hemline as well

"A rose is a rose is a rose," the pithy statement by Gertrude Stein written years ago is wonderfully applicable to this spring season's pretty trending of feminine, but not fussy, rosettes.

Of all the various frocks and ballgowns worn to this year's Oscars, my hands-down favorite was the one worn by Demi Moore. This entire look was just frankly beautiful and I was surprised that it was Demi Moore looking so naturally pretty and event-appropriate at the same time. Over the years, her fashion choices have improved quite measurably for the most part; maybe it's part of not having to "prove herself" and/or "parade" in quirky fashion statements to get some needed press coverage and maybe it's also part of just being happy with the woman she is. I hope that it's mostly the latter...

For awhile when I was busily being a business manager, I shied away from wearing things considered more-feminine and relegated myself to classic tailored pieces, business suits and all subdued versions of the proverbial Little Black Dress. To this day, I still tend to "uniform" myself when I need to present a more serious professional and businesslike atmosphere or simply don't want my clothing and jewelry choices to distract from my work, public speaking or whatever else I'm focusing on producing and communicating to others.

However, over the past few years of living back within the lowcountry coastal south, I have gradually integrated more feminine pieces and accessories into my wardrobe that I so very much enjoy now wearing out n' about town, to church, to dinners with friends, at girls'-lunches, while gallery-hopping, antiquing and so forth. As well, after having already had a 15 year business management career and various charity boards career, just finished up my masters degree, been a professional columnist for over a decade now, having caregiven for various family members while running multiple households and so forth, I guess I just don't feel anymore that I have-to "prove" my seriousness or smarts (yeah, yeah, er...such as these are) by presenting a more tailored look 24/7. And maybe as well, it was turning the big 40 a couple of years ago that also loosened my preppy classics and tailored menswear look a bit more into the decidedly feminine ; most likely I am now at the half way point through my life so, heck, why not have a bit more fun within my wardrobe?!

I don't plan however to devolve into the mindless-cookie-cutter-frilly-feminine-suburbia looks as associated with The Stepford Wives of course. I also don't plan to go towards that pseudo-Victorian-countryish-feminine look as well as sported by women who seem to wish that the turn of the century, as in going from the 19th to the 20th Century, never happened. These are stale and stultifying and don't represent the fresh femininity of the 21st Century woman who balances quite well her tailored classics with her feminine flourishes. Yes, she can run a boardroom, manage a household and cultivate her own rose garden along with wearing a rosette or two on the collar of her business suit, at the waist of a party dress and so on.....

.....so here's to 21st Century women and all-things-pretty this spring season and beyond!

The evidence of...a penchant for Pink & Green

At work today a fellow Prepster and I were chatting about some new pairs of really neat Sperry Topsider flip-flops that have come into the store in various colors with wonderful madras plaid detailing. One of my very first blog posts was titled, "Sperry Soliloquy" and featured a picture of my feet happily wearing my favorite old pair of Sperry summer sandals.

We then got onto the subject of both his and my love of wearing tons of madras, our commonality of Savannah and Bonaventure Cemetery along with going to the Punch and Judy store for clothing as children and we also chatted as well about the brilliant pink and greens of Lilly Pulitzer attire. My late mother wore a lot of Lilly Pulitzer and a picture of her in one of those dresses is on this blog's sidebar plus within another early post as well. I WISH I could find a picture of me in one of my Lilly dresses from awhile ago but so far, no luck. I do wear a bit of Lilly in the summertime when I've got a golden tan going and my hair's doing the sun n' sand n' sea salt breeze uber-blonde highlights but last year, when it became must-wear-sundress-attire for the younger women in our church here, I kinda' pulled back from toting my Lilly out since it was certainly tropical hued bright enough within our light and airy sanctuary. Lilly Pulitzer's terrific in small, scattered doses but can be literally overwhelming if everyone and their mother literally is kitted out in it. Hence, my own mother and I never wore, to my memory, any of our Lilly togs together excepting our bathing suits from time to time.

And so it is, in my opinion, the same needed discernment as to the pairing of hot pink and bright kelly green as well. Whether within an outfit or within a room, this truly Preppy color combination needs some careful nuancing to work well and not go P.I.E, Preppy In Extremis'...as outlined in a post from last month all about "everything P.I.E". However, I got a really good laugh at myself this evening when I turned on my bedside table lamp just a few minutes ago for there are indeed just... ahem, hmm, quite a few er, Pink and Green items either on or right nearby this small table and so I took the picture above to share with you this laughing-at-myself moment....

Clockwise from the top: a picture frame with one of my favorite pictures of my parents in it circa mid-1980's and yes, mother's in one of her Lilly Pulitzer dresses and my father's per usual in his navy pinstripe suit with tortoise shell glasses. One of the many Tervis Tumbler drinking glasses I fill again and again with water- this one has the South Carolina palmetto tree and moon motif. A green needlepoint key chain with a pink-hued fly fishing motif. An organizational workbook with a writing pad that I keep underneath it. Finally, believe it or not, a Bible who's leather cover is green with two whimsical pink leather flowers appliqued on top. (Now if only The Book of Common Prayer came coordinated with this, wouldn't that be super cute? ;)

And so, there's the evidence of some of my Pink & Greening...and after espying a darling dress in the store today that just arrived which is a sleeveless sheath that's cream-white to the waist then kelly green for the skirt with a hot pink ribbon bow waist tie...oh my, so it continues...

Thinking Summer Shoes...the latest renditions of Preppy Classics

Leather thong sandals in a wonderfully modern-elegant version by Ralph Lauren

Lighter clogs for summer scuffin' around town, country and beachside by Dansko

Prepped-out in Pink n' Green n' Madras are these delightful boat shoes by Sperry

A version of the classic espendrille topped by a cute bow, this offering by Keds

Gotta' get a chuckle out of these menswear-look tennies in bright pink by Izod

Oh, what junior higher in the mid-80's couldn't be without these by Dr. Scholls?

Classic tennis wear worn both with our tennis dresses and cheerleading uniforms by Tretorn

Writing about my Pink and Green Memories featuring summertime attire, I got to thinking about the classic shoes that we used to wear back then and still do. In my closet are versions of the examples I'm showing above and in the brands that have been so tried n' true preppy for generations. I've pulled here just a few images of the lastest-tweaks with these that are out now and may be a fun addition into a Preppy's Spring and Summer 2010 Wardrobe.

Pink and Green Memories

Above: As a child "summering" on Tybee Island, Georgia

Above: Another summer during my junior high days

There are many wonderful memories I have of wearing pink and green but a couple stand out in my mind as the best of them: one of my favorite childhood bikinis and the scooped-necked shirt set of my junior high days.

First a bit of background to this story. I was the only girl of my generation. It must have been fun then for my mother, aunts, great aunts and grandmothers to purchase my clothes as well as dress me up continually because this is evidenced in the copious amounts of fancy clothes and darling sundresses, shorts playsets and other attire there are pictures galore' of with me standing there smiling for the snapshots. I don't think my brothers and boy cousins cared one whit about my wardrobe but I've been an enjoyer-of-clothes since I can remember and another great memory from my childhood is of the time that I was taken to Savannah's Lad and Lassie children's shoppe' for finding that year's new Easter dress with my mother and my two grandmothers. I must have been about 7 or 8 because it was while we were still living in Georgia and I was used to going over to this upscale store for clothing purchases from time to time. "The dress" was eventually found along with my hat, short white gloves and coordinating purse but of course however, there was a happy glitch this particular trip- Grandmother Wylly and Grandmother Collins both liked a few other dresses as well for me and so we left the store with 6 total dresses in hand and my mother totally bemused. She would bring up that story from time to time because within my family's Scottish ancestry ethos on both sides, to spend that much in money and with the amount of items procured within one swipe, especially on a child, was quite atypical even for an only-granddaughter.

And so it was, for this same reason, that I seemed to have had a wide assortment of bathing suits as a child as well. When we lived in Georgia, every summer Mother and us-kids along with a cousin or two would spend the hot, humid months out on Tybee Island. We'd rent an old-style beach cottage and lazily enjoyed the summer days with my Dad coming in on the train to spend weekends with us and the grandparents, my uncle, aunt and others tagging along some weekends as well. I'm still a plain, one-piece bathing suit kinda' gal however, with being the only-girl, I was given my share of bikinis as well. Above is a photo of my green bikini which had a tiny pink flower print on it. I actually can accurately date this photo as my late mother's handwriting on the back of it says, "Lachlan 6 1/2 Tybee July 1974". This was just two summers before we did the huge move-up-north and back then, I just assumed that every summer for the rest of my life would be spent out on the beach and along the back river ways around ole' Tybee Island.

Fast forward to my junior high days spent northwards and another pink and green favorite memory surfaces. This time it's about 2 scoop-necked tennis tops: one was pink with green piping and the other was green with pink as shown in the photo above. They both came from one of my favorite boutiques situated along our town's Norman Rockwell-esque darling little main street called Silver Spring Drive. The place itself was called, Les Moise and this was where I got my Tretorn tennis shoes, tennis attire and my ski togs plus my very first pair of skis: blue and white K2s and boy, did I think I had-arrived! Every weekend in the winter was taken up with skiing lessons n' plenty of ski bumming around for my older brother James and I and so to have my very own pair of skis, boots, poles and a cute ski outfit to boost- yeah man! Remember that this was the early-1980's and if you're familiar with the ski movies from that time period, skiing was THE THING back then...way bigger than tennis, sailing and golf combined for the pre-teens and teens of my era. So anyway, Dad and I had dropped into this shop to get me a replacement pair of Tretorns and there they were....these two, too-cute pink and green tops! Oh, how I automatically fell in love with the both of them and excitedly asked my father if I could try one on. He ended up buying both tops plus the tennis shoes and I was in heaven- such a happy, happy day. I wore those tops with kacki shorts, a-line wrap skirts and here in this photo with those typical 80's sport shorts we lived-in back then. I wish I still had those tops just for sentimentality-sake however, I do pick up every now and then a scoopnecked cotton top or two for summer wear here on this island and they always bring back this warm memory of my time with Dad at Les Moise.

Pink and Green is a prettily preppy style classic both for the young as well as the older adult and is also...forever within some of my favorite memories.