STYLE ICON: Rhonda Malone
Today I would simply like to honor the most stylish woman I ever knew, she was my mother Rhonda Jean Malone, today is the seventh anniversary of her death.
She was a woman who looked beautiful first thing in the morning, she made at-home-casual look glam and taught me that feeling beautiful and looking good was our birthright. My mum was a working mum, she wore only a lick of lipstick and clear vanish on her nails but had a complexion to die for which made every outfit look good.
She worked for all of our childhood and in my eyes, she was a super beautiful super women. How she managed to mow the lawns, bake a cake and get three kids off to school still puzzles me today (not to mention get herself to work before 8:30am.)
In many ways my mum taught me that while she had her own sense of style she encouraged my sister and I to develop our own. Lozza – my sister was a surfer chick then, I was a sometimes hippy but between nine to five a working girl and I cringe when I type this…a suit!
Today there is a lot of talk on where people get their ‘style’ inspiration from, loads of blogs are talking about celebrity style. So in honor of my mother and all other women keeping it real, I want to embrace ‘style from real women.’ This series will start with my sister; a real style diva in her own right, who too has her own style journey, she kindly reminded me that “we got our own personal style from what surrounded us throughout our childhood growing up” so stay tuned or sign up for more on this post.
My mum was happy in her own skin and never wanted to be anybody else and I would like to think I have become that women too; but I must admit I have tried on many hats.
I felt my mothers style embedded in everything she did, the way she cooked and kept fresh roses in the garden and then sprinkled them all throughout our home.
I am still learning to find my place in the kitchen as a mother and a wife. And when I feeI a little lost I hold onto the memories lying on my mothers bed watching her have a ‘try on’ working out her new combo’s (outfits) for the week ahead – a trait that I now practice like a ritual.
Style is personal for everyone, Kate Hunter from Mamamia recently wrote an article; A stylish house doesn’t make me a stylish person, and I really appreciated that. We all have our own sense of style and like my mum we should embrace who ‘we are’ and be comfortable in our own skin.
View the full www.mamamia.com.au article here.
