style icon #3: isabella blow

i think i was in the sixth grade when i discovered isabella blow. during a field trip to the county library, i snuck off into a corner with such contraband as kurt vonnegut's mother night and a recent issue of vogue. i was thumbing through the pages detailing the as-yet unattainability of high fashion and couture runway shows when a face in the crowd leapt out at me - it was her! there she was, surronded by a sea of shoulderpadded sweaters and bulky mens jackets, sporting her trademark black bob and a large feathered chapeau. she commanded the image, overshadowing even the emaciated runway models. i had never seen anything like her and the image stays with me to this day.

as i aged and graduated from sassy to taxi, miss blow returned to my loving gaze. who was she? she seemed to abhor the normality and conventionality of the other socialites yet she was always there, always be-hatted and stealing the shot with her effortless grace and toothy grin. she wasn't beautiful but she was intriguing and mysterious. i wanted to know her.

my hat obsession can most certainly be attributed to her influence. i sought veils and feathers, height on the head was truly akin to godliness in my fashion book. when i ran my cigarette girl business, many a hat was copied from miss blow's own collection, especially my silvery antennaed lightning rod ensemble.

i didn't learn very much about her until her untimely death in may of 2007. she had been diagnosed with overian cancer, but her death was a suicide, ruled as an overdose by the british medical exainer. even being an icon, the woman who discovered phillip treacy, alexander mcqueen, and models sophie dahl and stella tennant couldn't cure mental illness. she had long been under treatment for depression and the health decline was more than she could bear.

isabella blow's funeral was attended by many of her close friends in the fashion community. in tribute to the darling, formal and flamboyant headwear was requested. even on an occasion as sad as that, her zest for fashion and eccentricity took center stage. isabella, i will always think fondly of you when donninga hat. you started it and you did it best!