JULY 2017 24 | FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM GIVING IN STYLE CONTINUED or because of her shining smile and the positivity she radiated. My mom was incredibly flexible with me and literally allowed me to wear whatever I wanted as a child. Luckily for her my choices were never overly risqué, but there were times when they were odd and I can only imagine what other parents were thinking. Even when playing dress-up in her closet I would find new ways to wear her clothes. I would take items, like her sequin halter- top, and pair them with articles of my own, Then I’d strut around the house feeling empowered to express myself through fashion however I saw fit. And much like my mom I loved to find old clothing items and reimagine them. At one point I “borrowed” several pairs of her leg warmers, which were not yet the rage at my school, and began wearing them daily. This trend actually took off so it was great that I found all the fashionable supplies I needed in my mom’s closet to keep up with this fad, as we usually didn’t have much money in my formative years. I remember a time in elementary school where I had three of the same outfits in different colors, a tank-top and matching short set. Those three outfits were all I would wear for a few months. My mom never poked or prodded me to wear something else. She just kept washing them and allowing me to choose from my three-color options. That was what I was drawn to wear at that time. One Halloween while living in California my entire class was supposed to dress up as clowns for the day. First, I didn’t like clowns, but more importantly, I didn’t want to conform and dress the same as everyone else. I told my mom this and that I wanted to dress up as a ballerina. Without hesitation she helped me fashion a ballerina costume that I proudly wore on “clown” day. The photos of a few dozen kids as clowns and me as the lone ballerina are still among my favorite. They remind me that I had the flexibility to develop my own sense of self and my own independent thoughts on style at an age when most children were not given this same fluidity. My mom truly believed that I should have the opportunity to just be me. My mom had a style of her own in the way she dressed and thought. She had a heart of gold and was drawn to all things brilliant and shiny. She made no excuses for her for personal style. She owned it and that made her a woman that was noticed in every room she entered. She believed strongly in the power of self-expression and the right for each person to convey their own personality in whatever way made the most sense for them. She was a crusader for acceptance and self-love. She believed beauty was something that radiated from inside out. In her rules of life, kindness was king. I was fortunate to have learned these valuable lessons and to have them incorporated into my life. The lessons have become part of the woman I’ve grown to be. I feel blessed to have had such a remarkable role model. While her presence will forever be missed, I know that she alone was the greatest influence of love and light and style that I will ever have. For that I am grateful. @tylerjbutler Tyler Butler SOCIETY AND FASHION WRITER

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