Who's That Girl?

Hardly Francoise

I was asked by someone with a superior eye for detail if I had a picture (or pictures) that I carried from one mood board to the next*.

I've had this particular photo inside my closet doors since we moved in 12 years ago, and I started fresh. Thanks to Houston humidity, I'm sure the door would pull off its hinges if I tried to remove it. Can't remember where it came from, don't know who she is, don't know where she is or "who she's wearing".

By now I've given her an identity as real as any. She's an artist, probably a graphic designer, taking the summer off and visiting India, Indonesia, Thailand and China. She's traveling alone, though she makes friends easily. We don't see her backpack, but she travels light. She is so chic that she is carrying a fringed suede bag light years before anyone else. She's a red-headed Francoise Hardy, so if she has a name, it must be Francoise. She's not American; she Australian. I think Australians have a great spirit of adventure and won't let being isolated stand in their way.

Nothing bad ever happened to her. She never lost her passport or met the wrong guy or took the wrong bus. She never stubbed her toe or got a stomach ache or worse. All her hostels were hospitable. She never passed up a souvenir because it was too big or too heavy.

The only thing I own that looks like hers is a pair of flip-flops, but if I ever find those pants and that perfect t-shirt, they're mine.


*see allwaysinfashion.blogspot.com/2015/01/in-mood-for-fashion.html