My style icon: Glam Ma (Oma)

On the eve of mother’s day I thought I’d introduce you to my style icon. She doesn’t have countless instagram followers, she’s not a model and she’s not a stylist. She only ever wears designer clothes (because she has designed and made them), she dresses for no-one but herself and is amongst the most fearlessly stylish women I know.  Of course, I am talking about my beautiful mother and “glam ma”, or Oma really, to my boys.

Glam Ma

For as long as I can remember, my mother has taken care with her dressing. Not just care, but an avid interest. As a seamstress she knows fabric, she knows construction, she knows what works and what doesn’t. Fashion was never a frivolous past-time in our house. It was part of my mother’s commitment to art and to creating a beautiful life.

She was constantly frustrated at what was available in the shops. In the eighties, there was precious little on the Brisbane fashion scene. Even less for a statuesque woman of over six foot. She couldn’t find what she wanted. So she made it. That’s pretty much how both my parents roll. You want it? You make it. Don’t know how to make it? You find out. An attitude adopted well before countless DIY blogs and YouTube tutorials.

I tend to be quite fond of rules. Even more so of procedure. These are not traits I inherited. My mother never met a rule she didn’t want to break. As a kid I craved a Brownie uniform and all those cute little badges. My mother abhorred uniforms, felt deeply suspicious of anything with a vaguely military feel and thought that if I truly wanted badges, I could make my own. I never went to Brownies.

The other day, my gorgeous and generous mother helped me as I organised mothers day craft at our school. I had the procedures for each grade down pat, complete with timings. My mum eyed the print out suspiciously.  “What if I am helping a very creative child who doesn’t want to follow this?” she asked. There may have been a withering look and tense words on my part. There was a shrug of the shoulders on hers.

The point is, she’s been proudly out of the box ever since I can remember. And she gladly recruits like-minded souls on her creative way. Which is why we sometimes clash but also why I adore her. I am not quite so rogue, but I love that she is.

She truly is an original.

Glam Ma Definition

6 thoughts on “My style icon: Glam Ma (Oma)

  1. virginia sliedrecht says:

    That is so lovely Robyna, I am crying as I am sitting here reading it.
    The apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree.
    You are indeed a Glam-Ma and I could not be more proud of you

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