in sixth grade, my favorite outfit was my bright purple gloria vanderbilt jeans topped with my lavender corduroy blazer (interesting as i NEVER wear purple now.) i thought i was pretty hot stuff in that get up.

in the late 1970’s, gloria vanderbilt was one of the first fashion designers to create jeans especially for women and to establish an aspirational brand accessible to the masses. her signature was stitched across the back pocket of the jeans, along with her iconic swan.

at this point in her life, gloria’s glamorous, tragic adventures had been documented for decades. she had been a society heiress, a wife, a model, an actress, an artist and most importantly, a mother, her most treasured role. despite being repeatedly presented with heart breaking situations, she never lost her faith in love, as she shared when being interviewed by her silver fox son, anderson cooper:

“i’m always in love. if it’s not a person, it’s a flower or a sunset. love is all.”

we could all use a little more of that… rest in love, ms. vanderbilt…