12.27.07
Dressing my heroines for success
I’m a bit of a clothes-horse, an admission which comes as no surprise to those who have accompanied me on trips to my favorite store. I blame all this on my mother (can’t we blame everything on our mothers?) because she was determined my sister and I would dress well. A fashionable store in town would take trading stamps in lieu of cash for purchases, and so Mother didn’t grocery shop except on double-stamp day. I came to dread her “lick those stamps in the book” directives. I fear I wasn’t even appreciative when I had the stylish clothes those stamps bought. She also had a woman “who sewed” to sew clothes for us. Eventually, my sister and I became adept at doing this for ourselves. I find now that with the cost of patterns and fabric, it is most often more advantageous to buy ready-made. However, shopping for old linens is a hobby, and no cast-off tablecloths or bed covers are safe from my shears and thread. I adapted a silky bed coverlet into a bias skirt this summer and never wore it without rave reviews.
So it should come as no surprise that my heroines have wardrobes. I may not mention what they’re wearing within the book–and I rarely make a big deal of it if I do–but I know what’s in their closets because that defines them for me. As examples, we can take the six heroines of my Texoma Series.
Lyla: As the owner of a convenience store and the mother of a young son, Lyla dresses in comfortable clothes. She needs to clean up the spills in the aisles and cook breakfast for the hungry crowd. But come Sunday, she puts on her department store best when she plays the church organ.
Jemma: Real estate agent Jemma is right out of a Coldwater Creek catalog. She looks professional but approachable when showing her clientele around the Lake area.
Sara: Motorcycles and mayhem. Sara once bought at boutiques and the instant she gets the band’s credit card, she hits Rodeo Drive again. Leather and boots.
Bettina: Very British Bettina watches her coins closely. As a photographer, she’ll be shooting the clothes she’d really like to wear, but her wardrobe is practical.
Phillipa: As a professional cellist for a London symphony, Phillipa wears black. Her tastes reflect her upper crust upbringing and tailored is the name of the game.
Anya: Dancer and yoga instructor, Anya dresses to stretch and demonstrate.
Six heroines, six different personalities. I faced a similar feat in WEDDING BELLE BLUES, my January 2008 release from Wings ePress. WEDDING consists of five short stories centered around what’s meant-to-be (by the bride’s mother) a fairy tale wedding. Alas, the bride’s aunts have a way of interfering.
Mary Willa: Mother of two teenage daughters with wants bigger than her limited budget, Mary Willa has to fight to keep the girls in line with a nurse’s salary. Her divorce when the youngest was a baby marked the end of a tenuous estrangement from her family, but she struggles to do everything on her own. Her wardrobe is nursing professional and what she’s had in the closet for years.
Felicia: Flight attendant Felicia loves a bargain–at a boutique. She’s a shopper extraordinaire.
Penelope: Felicia’s twin is a school speech therapist. Her clothes are practical department store finds. As a young widow, Penelope watches her money. She has no interest in dressing to attract a man.
Mauri: The youngest aunt earned her MBA and her marketing whiz reputation in the same year. She shops only at the top of the couture food chain. She can’t be successful unless she looks the part.
Patrice: Mother of the bride Patrice married well and never lets her sisters forget it. Her wardrobe is polished and everything from last year is at the consignment shop. Patrice isn’t a banker’s daughter–and the oldest of five sisters–for nothing!
While I know what my heroes wear, unless it becomes a mark of their personality, I don’t dwell on it, although I admit a soft spot for a man in a bespoke tuxedo.
WEDDING BELLE BLUES is available January 2008 at Wings ePress, Inc in both print and ebook format.