At yesterday’s Fall 2013 Ralph Lauren Girls Runway Show, located at the stables of Wolffer’s Vineyard in Sagaponack, NY, with Abigail on my lap, we sat front row (on hay bales), alongside Jessica Alba, Christie Brinkley, Edie Falco, Tiffani Thiessen, and Amy Robach–and shockingly none of the young Ralph models tripped over the names I just dropped. The show was followed by a performance from breakout star Madison Beer, which my own little Beer loved. Thank you to the truly beautiful Christina from ElizabethStreet.com for the invitation.

After I mingled with the women seated beside me at the show, I turned quiet, realizing it was the first moment I’d taken to relax, off my feet, no introductions, just me. Don’t get me wrong, I was thankful for all of it: the introductions and do you knows, the remember whens, and the “more wine?” bits in particular. But mostly what I enjoyed about the 2013 Fall Ralph Lauren Girls Show was how it inspired a sense of camaraderie and full-throttle girl power and pride.

My six-year-old daughter Abigail can be shy when presented to new people, clinging to mama. And as her mother, I fear that I don’t do enough to encourage her to deeply believe in her strengths and individuality, to feel confident in who she is, knowing that her voice, and her ideas, are worthy of being heard. Is “shyness” even linked to confidence? I wouldn’t have the answers, even if I’d Googled the questions. But I saw some answers at the Ralph Lauren show. The music blared, the guest audience leaned forward, then the beat, the wide gait, petticoats and animal print hightops hike down the runway with flouncy hair, the swish of a snow cap and fur pom-poms, and the clearest Americana smiles and struts. Normally, I’d say the show was “precious” but no, it was “powerful.” That little girl on this lap of mine, I saw it in her eyes, alive with excitement, sparkling with a vision of joy, the gears turning. There it is, role models, other kids displaying their confidence, coordinated outfits of self-expression, all paired with the music by a 13 or 14 year old artist, Madison Beer, free to hug, free to watch, enjoy, and to join, singing aloud, proud, like you mean it. Not all of us are meant to inspire others, to walk the runway, play the part. There are others of us who are meant to be inspired, to be the open analytical observes of behavior, to pick out the tiny telling signs of a day and to pull some meaning from it. There are extraordinary talents  everywhere when you know where and how to find them.


Like kids at a candy bar. Dylan’s Candy Bar, thank you for the sugar-coma induced children.

FALL 2013 ESSIE Colors
Essie For the Twill of It – a compelling rich maple with reflective olive shimmer
Essie Afterschool Boy Blazer – the academy blue that’s the prep-school’s chic must have of the season (I LOVE this, wearing it today)
Essie Twin Sweater Set – a vibrant crimson red
Essie Cashmere Bathrobe – a cuddly soft, true flannel gray
Essie The Lace is On – glistering, jewel toned pearlescent fuchsia
Essie Vested Interest – tweedy, woolen cool, gray teal with a sartorial style

Now, I have to run to a Spa Day in Sands Point with a group of mamas from L&A’s school. Very rough, I have it.