1970 Saudi Style Inspiration

I spent this past July in Abu Dhabi working until the early afternoon and spent the rest of the hours before sunset figuring out how to spend my time without melting into a puddle of goo.

I watched so bad it's good re-runs on TV, planned my solo August European voyage (read: made lists of boutiques and museums) and read every book within Abu Dhabi's city limits.

One of the books was Inside the Kingdom: My life in Saudi Arabia by Carmen Bin Ladin, the former Swiss-Persian wife of a half-brother of that Bin Laden.

The story was interesting enough but what really caught my attention was the inset of pictures of the gorgeous young Carmen and her family.

This one is my favorite. She looks so modernly disheveled it's almost surprising that this was taken in 1973. Seems like Summer '08 took quite a few cues from Summer '73....

I love the fit of the high waisted pants on the far right. The proportions are so glamorous. Fitted from the waist down, slowly crescendoing at the knee and ending with a wide flare.
After flipping through these photos I became obsessed with finding the perfect pair of wide-legged jeans to emulate Carmen's boho-luxe 70s style. And in London, I found them at the Oxford Circus Topshop.

I wore them in the summer and fall with the complicated straps of my black gladiator sandals peeping out the front of my jeans and a blouse tucked in with a vintage pendant dangling down my chest.

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SB

(p.s. apologies for the grainy quality of the photos)