"my mother's perfect
little black dress"

heavy as lead"i visited jeannette
in rome this fall.

I caught her
as she was finishing
her latest photo bookmy mother's clothesindeed a departure
from the grit and grime
of downtown nyc

jeannette captures the moment
of going through her mother's closet
and finding no other place
but the bed, the chair,
the rug or even
the window

to document the
many garments
of her mother's
life in fashion.jeannette
has always been a
jeans and white t-shirt
kind of gal.

while her mother
was a high society
coca cola belle with an
illustrious wardrobe of
ysl, bill blass, pucci,
and norman norell.jeannette's mother
was slowly departing
this world with Alzheimers
but was able to piece through
her incredible designer collection
and share a final story about
each item she owned
and loved.fashion may seem frivolous,
but in ellie's case it was a passion,
a creative outlet for a georgian
housewife who truly saw an
art in "playing the part"

"she was not a socialite,
that's the wrong word.

she was a woman who used
her influence to get things done."

an excerpt from
my mother's clothes
jeannette montgomery barron