I remember exactly where she bought it — the faux fur jacket. It was at an event at Corazon in downtown Minneapolis. While I was signing books and selling paintings, my mom was trying on the clothes also offered. This was our environment! It was our friend Frederick who gave her the ooh-la-la in his best Minnesota accent. Of course she bought it.

I have that jacket now. For me, it’s not just fashion, but a time capsule of pure joy. A way to embrace the moment of art and books and friends. Where compliments flowed so freely. Swooping through the air like birds hopping on the wind. And didn’t it all feel like flying?! For that was the true fashion of these events. These gatherings of being yourself. These celebrations of creation and kindness.

When I first showed her some of my mom’s things, I didn’t just pass them on hangers. Of course I put them on. I am my mother’s daughter. She exclaimed that my mom was “à la mode” – so fashionable. I didn’t have her words for it — but I’ve always known.

I flutter in it still. The coat. The kindness. The compliment. The joy. The love. Ever in fashion. Ever à la mode!