Have a Heavenly Weekend ...

[Thanks so much for your patience with me this week...I will start blogging regularly again next week, but will probably not be posting as many entries per week as before (I will shoot for around 3-4)...at least until my exams are over in March!!]

I was thrilled to find these photos of Amber Valletta from an early 90's Vogue! These photos hold a very special place in my memory, and I wanted to share the story with you:

I grew up in Oklahoma, and needless to say, when I was growing up, most of people around me could have cared less about fashion. I was a bit of the odd-girl, and I loved reading magazines and keeping up with the who's-who of the modeling world. I especially loved Amber [who had just started modeling in the early 90's], because she was from my hometown of Tulsa. Early one morning, I was in the airport in Tulsa with my family getting ready to go on vacation, and I noticed a tall blonde standing up ahead in the check-in line. I couldn't see her face, but I could see she was wearing towering high heels, a pair of worn Levis, and a chic blazer. She definitely didn't look like she belonged in Oklahoma! About 20 minutes later, I was standing in the airport bookstore at the magazine stand browsing through the most recent issue of Vogue -- with Amber Valletta on the cover, and a gorgeous black-and-white spread of her dressed as angel on the streets of New York. A woman walked up next to me and picked up a copy of Vogue and began looking through it as well. I looked up and realized it was the same woman from the line earlier...then I realized...it was AMBER!! Now keep in mind, I was about 13 years old, and this was my first encounter with a celebrity of any kind. And for me, Amber was a role-model of sorts -- someone from a small town who had made it big!! I have no idea to this day how I managed to get my shy-13-year-old self to do it, but I managed to say "HI Amber" and ask for an autograph (I know, corny). She cheerfully signed the front page of the spread (the one below): "Peace and love, Amber". I realize now how sweet it was that she was looking at her own photos -- she was new to modeling, and it was probably so exciting for her to see herself on the cover of Vogue! I wish I knew what happened to my copy of Vogue with her signature; it's probably packed in a box somewhere in my parent's attic. But, needless to say, Amber holds a special place in my heart! Doesn't she look look young and endearingly awkward in these photos!?

Have a heavenly weekend...

[Amber Valletta by Peter Lindbergh]