A Signature Life

I picked up Diane von Furstenberg's 1998 biography whilst shopping at her Soho store last week.  It was something she said in a 2012 Gap Kids campaign video inspired me to buy it:  
'A little girl the minute she is born is already the woman she will be. So to empower a little girl is to empower the woman she will become.'                                            -Diane Von Furstenburg  

'i started as a very young girl with an idea.'

Now that I've read her biography I'm seriously determined to meet this woman.  Her book is interesting for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that she talks about her insecurities.  She also talks about her European parenting style. Here are some quotes that I highlighted:

'I design for every woman: taste is ageless.  Flirtation and seduction are ageless.  Feeling attractive and confident are ageless–and so are many women's insecurities.  Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing a woman transformed by the way she looks in one of my dresses.'  

'I would always make a point of treating my children with respect as individuals.  I pride myself now on the fact that I never lied to the children.  We shared our lives, be we were all independent.'




The chapter entitled The Woman I Always Wanted To Be  describes her rationale for taking her 2 children out of their NYC schools and installing them at private schools in Connecticut.  She saw the advantages of a little boredom:  

'Every day was super-managed with one activity after another, leaving them no time to simply be.  I wanted my children to develop their imaginations and their personalities by entertaining themselves instead of always being entertained.'



It was around that time that Diane's home in Connecticut became a hub of happiness for her kids and their friends.  I love her attitude about the untidiness that came with that: 

'I didn't mind the mess the children and their friends made in the house...It was more important to me to know where my children were and to know their friends.'

Here's a post I did last year about DVF's first Baby Gap collection:
http://www.poppyadventures.com/2012/11/why-bad-outfits-shouldnt-happen-to-good.html

Her 2013 collection for Gap Kids is called the Explorers  Collection:
http://www.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=94065


Read Bazaar's My List: Diane von Furstenberg in 24 Hours:
http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-articles/24-hours-with-diane-von-furstenberg-0313?click=main_sr#slide-1