My next subject can only be described as exquisite.
We met when I arrived here at a mutual friends art gallery. The three of us bonded over art, creativity, fine wine and a few story telling tears.
A woman of fine taste, immaculately presented, softly spoken, generous and of very good humour. Her life is colourful and creative, her home an absolute treasure trove of the finest art collection. This lady is so elegant one might feel intimidated, she makes a dull room look instantly beautiful. I personally just enjoy her presence for the person she is and wonder at the sight of her, she herself is her own work of art.
I do believe she has been on a journey to reach the serenity that presents itself to us today. Her quiet persona and wonderful presentation have grown with her own confidence and belief in herself. I imagine a 20 year old Courtney, perhaps not so self assured and maybe still trying to discover her own distinctive style.
Name: Courtney
Occupation: Fashion designer
1.Where were you born and raised?
Saigon, Vietnam – Raised in California, USA
‘We are very close, I grew up in a family of 11 kids. I had an older half brother and the rest were girls’
‘My Mother, I found out that her first Husband wasn’t able to have children, she made up for that with my Father. She came from a big family too. There were three boys and seven girls. She was the third oldest. She always loved a big family, my Mother was the type of person that loves to cook for the family, loves family gatherings, she was the person that taught us that family came first.’
‘She passed in 1978, I was eleven. It’s hard because growing up as a young woman you want your Mother around.’ ‘My Mother had stomach Cancer, when we found out, when she was diagnosed she didn’t have a lot of time left. She managed to live ten months after that, she survived by eating a little oatmeal because she literally didn’t have much stomach left, when she died she was only 65lbs, she was all skin and bones. She was the most nurturing Mother. I remember she wore these long maxi houses dress, she would hold her stomach but still be dusting and cleaning and we always had nice meals. I found out later that my Mother was actually a restauranteur.’ ‘All the kids would sit around the table as my Mother made these amazing family style meals and we couldn’t even talk the food was so good.’
2.Tell me a childhood memory.
‘I have so many good memories and it is mostly about my Mother. We were on Wake Island and this is when we were coming into America and she was pregnant at the time. We were sitting on the Cot with her under the tree next to the barracks and she would rub her stomach and we would touch her stomach. She would say to us ‘You know I am so very happy that we all made it, this baby is going to be named happiness. And my baby sister’s name means Happiness in Vietnamese.’ Thats probably one of my fondest memories.’
‘My Father was in the forces in Vietnam, we had to flee the country as otherwise he would have been put in jail and our family would have suffered. He was a Captain in the Army and when the fall of Saigon happened in 1975, if anybody that had served in the Government the Communist Party would jail them. My Uncle was put in jail and his family suffered for years.’
3.What is your favourite season and why?
‘I don’t have a favourite but colour wise I love the Spring, I love flowers, so yes, I love the Spring.’
4.Tell me about someone you love.
‘I think besides my Mother I would have to say Harold, my better half, or my best half. He is another nurturing soul, he motivated me and encouraged me to go back to school and fulfil my dream to be a Fashion Designer, at my age now I think I did it more to fulfil me, to say I did it.’
‘He has been with me through thick and thin, for my family as well. He has been a great Father to my kids, he is a great friend to everybody, a great son. a great husband..I could go on and on and on.’
‘He was my sisters next door neighbour, I actually met his wife when she was alive. I have always seen how he was with Cathy and Austin and I said to my sister that is the kind of husband every woman should have. Towards the end of her life he was always taking care of her, they were best friends, she fought two types of Cancer. Hodgkins and later on Breast Cancer. They had Austin who was a miracle baby because she wasn’t supposed to have children. He is just a really good person.’
5.What words of wisdom do you have for the reader about life?
Live, Laugh, Love.
6.Dreams for the future?
‘Peace for the world, Peace for the future.’
I love to listen to Courtney talk about her life, she expresses herself so well. With the love and loss of her Mother, the love of her own beloved family, her husband, Courtney’s eyes fill up with emotion and her feelings are all encompassing and quite apparent.
Courtney dresses in a style of years gone by, a woman still young and beautiful but with a heart of a different time. A romantic soul with dreams and hopes that seem so far from the people of todays society. Her time in Saigon has stayed with her even if she doesn’t remember it well, she was very young when they left for their own safety, but they left behind a country steeped in culture, tradition, & of heritage and honour.
Despite her envious ladylike demeanour a wonderful humour is ever present, she has a great sense of fun, loves to be social and can clearly enjoy herself.
I have met many people who choose to express themselves in the ‘vintage’ style that Courtney’s has made her own but none of them can carry the air of a ‘1940’s’ Lady the way she does.
Ever the lady on the inside as well as the stunning lady on the outside.
