Happy Birthday Bernice

Thank you for stopping by Bernice in Milwaukee, a blog dedicated to the celebration and promotion of fashion in Milwaukee. I hope that this will be a fun place for locals to find information about fashion and style, specifically here in Milwaukee. If you know of an event or you have a fashion related question, please send me an email (berniceinmilwaukee@gmail.com) so that I can share the news or point you in the right direction. This blog should be a fun outlet (for me and you), a communications tool, an event promoter, and even a place where we can laugh at ourselves. I hope that you will share the link with your friends and family. The more people who send me event info, leave comments, post questions, and share favorite stores and links, the more we can all enjoy this site. This week I will post every day, just to get the ball rolling. In the future, I plan to post two to three times a week. If you can not survive every day without hearing from me, follow me on twitter (@berniceinmilw) for even more fashion fun.

Bernice in Milwaukee Background
True style icons exist everywhere, even in Milwaukee. Bernice was my grandmother and the best kind of fashionista, before anyone knew what that was. She was well known amongst her circle of friends for dressing in bright, fun colors (pink was her favorite) and running between social engagements in dangerously high heels. In addition to her other many talents, she served as a fashion inspiration for all of the women in my family. Today, March 21, was her birthday and therefore the perfect day to launch her namesake blog. Bernice never missed an opportunity to express herself through fashion. As her granddaughter, I hope that this blog becomes an opportunity for us all to do the same.

I imagine many of us have been influenced by women (or men) in our families and their fashion sense. I have wonderful memories of my grandmother taking me shopping, an annual event, and prodding me to put the brown sweater down and veer towards the jewel-tones. I spent countless Saturday afternoons on the floor with my sister watching Bernice and my mother don St. John’s knit dresses at Zita’s. All of these memories and experiences helped form my personal fashion style. In fact, I’d like to think Bernice would be thrilled I am currently wearing a purple sweater dress. I hope she’ll give some allowance for it being an H&M standard instead of a designer original.

Please share, how was your style influenced by a family member?