
I spent this morning switching from my winter to summer wardrobe, and any other year this would have been a routine task, but my mom bought all my best clothes, literally, and when she died in March, my pipeline to sale items at Talbot’s and Land’s End dried up.

My Personal ShopperI feel INCREDIBLY guilty for even having this thought, but there it is. Yes, I am a 45 year old woman who never goes clothes shopping, or at least I never did. Mom did it for me.
So today, as I cried my way through blouses and sweaters and every single favorite pair of pants I own, it occurred to me; she knew me so much better than I was willing to admit. She even knew the clothes I would want to wear, mostly to work. I think she liked shopping for her “career girl” daughter. Mom always said she would have liked being a reporter. I think she enjoyed sending me off to work every day “put together.”
When she would stay at my house during the week, and I would come downstairs with an outfit on, she would invariably say, “Goodness, Jennifer, that’s cute!” I would reply simply, “Glad you like it, Mom. You picked it out.”
So here I am, facing the latter half of my life without my stylist. All I can really be is grateful for the amazing gift of her time and considerable fashion sense. In the meantime, there is one silver lining. I now can take ALL the clothes I don’t wear to Paul’s Place (her version of Goodwill). When she was here, she would always convince me to keep MUCH more than I actually wear!
Thanks, Mom, for yet one more example of your extraordinary unselfishness. This one — and all the others — make me think I will never stop crying.