A Blog for Great Ladies

When Mom died, my dad and I grieved together in kind of a fun way.  Every night almost he would take me to the vhs rental place (this was the 90’s, folks) and we’d pick out a new black and white movie.  We blazed through the Hitchcocks first, and then sort of chose female leads to focus on for a while.  So we’d watch all the great Audrey Hepburn movies one week, and then move on to Grace Kelly, Bette, Liz, etc.  

I wonder why my dad did that.  We often reminisce about how comforting it was to go through that ritual, night after night, but I’ve never asked him WHY exactly he chose those movies to be the theme of our recovery routine.  Maybe he just likes them.  But he also taped pictures of the great starlets of that era just outside my bathroom door so that they stared me down as I applied my makeup every day.  It was like a constant reminder to become something more than my generation was growing up to be.  Something that exceeds the current standards of what is feminine, dazzling, and punishing.  Cause Vivien Leigh delivers more venom with one cocked eyebrow than most of the current era divas, with their contouring and their snarky little quips, and “badass” stitched across the seat of their pants.  Vivien Leigh makes those women look inconsequential.  

So you can see where the fascination began.  I was raised, you could say, by Old Hollywood.  

That’s just a little background on where this journey began.  I’ve tried on and rejected many different styles of walking, talking, gesturing, etc over the years, attempting to mold myself into a great lady.  It always just felt pretentious.  Happily, I discovered along the way that becoming ladylike means becoming the best version of myself, my true self, with all my quirks and complexities.  This blog is about that process, and if it inspires other women of any age in any way, I’m satisfied.