On top of her game

Allow me to introduce you to some new, fashionable friends.

Meet my friend, Jane:  The Grande Dame of Style!

photo provided by: www.petergonzalesphotography.com

If you know Jane, then you also know that she is one of the best dressed women in New Mexico. An artist at the core, Jane views fashion simply as another opportunity to creatively express yourself. I often find myself excited just about the thought of what she might be wearing for the day.  She’s fun to look at! (She’s got good genes and good jeans!) I recently sat down with Jane to see if she would provide us with some insight about how she has developed such a  great sense of style and if she was willing to offer us some guidance in this area:

MTT:      Do you think it’s even possible to define your fashion sense in just one word?

Jane:     ECLECTIC! I might wear a vintage Chanel or Escada jacket that I have owned for many years over a Worth New York dress from the current season. Then pair these with my favorite cowboy boots and jewelry pieces that I’ve made; which often incorporate beads and findings I’ve picked up during my travels.   Somehow it all just “works.”

MTT:      Well, it IS true that you possess a unique talent of putting looks together.  Clearly you are not afraid of fashion. (Usually I run right home and try to emulate whatever I’ve just seen Jane wearing.) Who would you say have been your biggest fashion influencers?

Jane: I am my biggest influencer.  I know my own taste.  My style has changed vastly over the years and it really just comes down to where you are in place and time. My best advise to anyone is to give yourself permission to let your tastes change throughout your life.

MTT:  Jane, I’ve seen you in everything from an edgy leather jacket with Hale Bob jeggings and studded motorcycle boots to elegant Valentino evening wear.  I wonder what you would say if I asked what is the most favorite outfit you have ever owned?

Jane:     My family owned ranches in New Mexico and we showed horses. I also rode in the rodeo. I think my most favorite outfit would have to be what I wore as a young girl at this time in my life.  I had purchased a pair of Levi jeans and I soaked myself in a hot bathtub for a very long time so that I could achieve that “perfect fit.”  I then wore these jeans with a turquoise satin shirt and turquoise cowboy boots, a white Stetson hat and a leather belt my Father had tooled for me. THIS is my most favorite outfit.  I felt so special in it!

MTT:  Can you remember anything that you once wore that, when thinking back upon it, was just totally “cringe-worthy”?

Jane:     Oh, yes! Shift dresses from the 70’s…way too short, complete with super bouffant hair comes to mind first.   That uniform I wore at the University of Arkansas….an A-line skirt with a Peter Pan collared shirt. Just no real imagination in that.  And any concept of the NECESSITY to wear pantyhose makes me cringe. 

(MTT: I’m listening to Jane but also remembering my most cringe-worthy outfit.  Huge bell-bottom green corduroys worn with high-heeled clogs from the Wild Pair, a red jacket with my name ironed on the back,  and a tall, plastic comb in my back pocket that read “Curves Ahead”….uuggh..)

MTT:  So, surely you have some secret local resources.  Any that you might be willing to share?

Jane:     Absolutely! Any fashion advise offered to me by THE Diva of Diva D’Luxe; Viola. She is just so fabulous and I value her opinions. I’d also say any services offered at Bair Medical Spa… LATISSE®, Juvéderm ® and Botox®… they are my local resource and those are my favorite treatments, and the skincare/hair product section at T.J. Maxx- great deals to be found there.

MTT:       Thanks, Jane! I’ve just got one last question before we end… (and before I head over to T.J. Maxx to scour for deals) …what is your most adored “go to” item in your closet that  you think represents New Mexican Style?

Jane:     Without a doubt—- My Old Gringo (OH MY GOD!) boots.  They go with everything!

OMG- I see why!