The Oldest One Was Madeline

 I had This uncharacteristic preppy, Jackie O phase a few years ago. I was knee deep in J Crew catalogs and clean bursts of color. It’s so interesting to observe how our style evolves. The shape our external takes as the internal struggles to find its footing. In 2018 I can safely say I have no interest in being on a boat in Hyannis Port, but this look very much appealed to me for a couple years. I think color blocking was very much a thing and I dug it. It felt fresh and effortless. It’s not me overall though, and I kick myself thinking how much stuff I bought and then gave away.

I had a tendency to buy one in every color if I liked something, so I had a Rainbow’s worth of options in pencil skirts abs v neck tees. While much of that phase’s clothing was ultimately donated (at least there’s that), this dress remains a lovely contributor to my wardrobe. It’s a red, white, and navy print. It’s a great, easy summer dress that works with anything from white sneakers to a neutral wedge to a nude heel. It’s indeed effortless and looks so. All I needed here were white summer slides and this straw fedora, another J Crew fave. I find that my best hats come from there. We took this shot near the Riverside water edge on the upper west side of Manhattan . It was a lovely scene down there; peeps lunching, strolling, kids and teens chasing each other, and a nice tree to sit under. This type of scenario is always most welcome in the midst of a concrete jungle, specifically a hot one!

The hat reminds me of a line in the Madeline books, an absolute fave of mine since I’m little. Hence the title of this post.  Now as Miss Clavel runs faster and faster, to the scene of the disaster, I’m going to relax knowing she will take care of everything. It’s all good; there’s someone in charge making sure we are in two straight lines, even as we cause a bit of trouble and disrupt our balance.

Wishing you a lovely summer day, LB