I hope all of you mothers are doing something special today. I'm feeling nostalgic about all the wonderful times I've had with my own mother, and wish she weren't quite so far away.

I was inspired by Angie's recent post about the influence her mother had on her own sense of style to reflect on how my mother influenced me.

First of all, she and I have very different tastes, like apples and oranges, so tracking influence was difficult for me. She likes neutrals and earth tones. I like loud colors. She likes loose shapes. I am drawn to more fitted silhouettes.

She is an accomplished seamstress, however, and taught me a lot about construction and quality. We share a love of beautiful fabric...silks and wools and high count cottons make us swoon.

You can see I came by my love of polka dots naturally. No one, however, is going to get me back into a plaid suit or a sailor suit.

My mother is fun and quirky in all the best ways. Everyone loves her and my kids are her biggest fans (after me).