My Aunt or Be True to Yourself

Below is a picture of Clara Estelle. Isn't she lovely and the picture of the well dressed 20's girl? She is an old hat display that came from the storage room of an old department store. I named her for my aunt Clara Estelle, who also was her own person and dressed in vibrate colors with sweeping skirts and wore bunches of jewelry. I inherited my aunt's love of dressing differently than everyone else. I like one of a kind items, like we sell in the store. Although this Clara Estelle looks a little more prim than my aunt, she still reminds me of her. I always ran my aunt's name together as in Clarastelle, no e between the a and the s, and it stuck with the family. Now that I am older, I realize just what a lovely name my aunt had.
Don't you just love the hat? I have to confess that I took one like it, in black with feathers, home with me. I sometimes wear it in the winter and I positive comments. Life is too short not to enjoy it (life). Like my aunt, don't be afraid to wear what your heart tells you that you want wear even if you're the only person wearing it. I have so many women come into the shop and say that they would love to wear hats but they won't because nobody wears them anymore. I tell them to go ahead, wear the hat. Some do. They are kindred spirits as Ann would call them. My aunt had her own sense of style and, even though I did not get to see her very often as she lived in Georgia and I lived in Ohio, I remember that about her. I think she would appreciated this hat that Clara Estelle is wearing. I hope she looks down from Heaven and appreciates my nod to her influence on me.
Stephanie