Lessons From (Little House on) the Prairie

I'm back in it's up to you, New York, New York after a lovely week visiting my family in South Dakota. Let me tell ya, it is a whole new ball game out there. I've been every year and every year I'm always astonished at the bigness of the sky, the flatness of the ground, the creepy proximity in accents to Western New York, and the absence of covered wagons and cowboys. Little House on the Prairie really stuck with me as a kid. South Dakota isn't exactly a hotbed of trendy fashion, but Little House on the Prairie DEFINITELY should be:

1. Braid it UP. Emma Watson is totally rocking the Heidi braid, which was one of my favorite styles back when I had long hair. Easy peasy.

 

2. Small floral prints can be worn like a neutral, i.e. with practically anything. This mannequin looks tee-rrific.

 

3.  Ankle boots and lace up boots are wonderfully flexible; they can be casual or fancy and say, "I'm a fashion-forward person who knows what they're doing." They always seem to be the mark of trendiness, which I don't really understand, since they're always in style, totally defeating the point of a "trend." Anyway. Wear 'em with jeans, dresses, skirts, or pajamas and you are guaranteed to be stylish.

 

4.  If you're not feeling particularly great about your outfit, find a cowboy (or cowgirl). He/She is just as guaranteed to make you look stylish as your ankle boots. Marlene Dietrich is wearing a TERRIBLE outfit. But she's got Cowboy Jimmy Stewart on her arm, which distracts from the awfulness of whatevertheheckshe'swearing and informs her audience that she must be pretty swell to get a good-lookin' cowpoke like Jimmy to stay around.

 

The moral: when in doubt, consult old movies and your childhood books for fashion inspiration.