TattleTalesFromABroad: The "It" Factor

When I was a little girl, my mother was the most glamorous woman I had ever seen. To me she looked like a movie star.

Heidi Goldman's Mother
Helene Goldman

She had a perfect figure, Marilyn Monroe blonde hair that never moved an inch…frankly it wouldn’t dare.

Even her hair stayed in line from the mini, but mighty Mom. She was always “dressed” in the fashion of the day, perfectly appointed with jewelry, furs and accessories that made me so proud to have her as my mother. She was my walking, talking Vogue magazine. I couldn’t wait for her to volunteer in my class so I could show her off to all of my friends.

I remember one day I came home from school, concerned. I told my mother we had to talk. The latest fashions had just come out.

In my ten year old opinion, she needed an immediate wardrobe update. She never blinked and eye. I insisted she had to have the latest and greatest fashion: mini skirts and go-go boots. She just had to!

I don’t remember her response, but the next day after school she lead me into her room and on her king size bed were dresses, skirts, sweaters, silk blouses, belts, pockabooks, (it’s a New York thing) and Go-Go boots Galore in every color…it looked like a fashion spread out of Vogue. And by today’s standards, this layout would have been pinned and repinned on Pinterest.

I couldn’t wait for PTA meetings and class excursions when she’d be a supervising parent-dressed to the nines. I must say she was a vision in stilettos, camel-colored pencil skirt and matching cashmere sweater, butter-soft brown leather gloves, jewelry of course, and hair perfectly coifed…certainly not the attire of a mom joining a classroom full of kids going to the planetarium or the Wonder Bread factory where each student received a sample of delicious white bread-the bread of choice those years.

The other mothers on the excursion looked matronly in their baggy pants and Keds, compared to my haute couture fashion-plate. It was the Jackie Kennedy years and my mother could have been her twin. She looked like she belonged on a run-way.

Whether she was class-Mom with a lot of class or just hanging out with the family at Jones Beach or in a snow drift, my mother always had her own sense of style.

Helene Goldman in sequin bathing suit at Jones Beach with proud daughter~Heidi Goldman

Heidi Goldman's mother, Helene Goldman
Snow Bunny

In the words of Coco Chanel: A girl should be two things: Classy and Fabulous. That’s my mother.

Heidi Goldman (bottom left sneaking a peek) at
Helene Goldman and brother Bobby

Heidi Goldman's beautiful mother, Helene Goldman

Heidi Goldman's mother Helene Goldman
before Heidi was a twinkle in her eye.

Helene Goldman ~ The Glamour Years

Helene Goldman~The year of the floral hat
Stunning!

Heidi Goldman's mother, Helene Goldman
Just Gorgeous!

Heidi Goldman with her beautiful family

Ralph Lauren stated, “Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.” So true and because of that statement I want to share with you my mother's most valuable asset and accessory: Hats? No. Gloves? No. Shoes? No. Haute Couture? Still no.

Something far more important...

My mother owns one special something that makes her more beautiful than most. It’s not haute couture which is in style today, but gone tomorrow. But what she does have is classic. And it’s not in her closet, unless she’s in there.

It’s her smile. Her smile brightens up even the darkest of rooms, radiating warmth and brilliance to everyone around her. My mother has a joie de vivre…A certain je ne sais quoi…The “it” factor. Whatever it is baby, she’s got it and then some!