LINDA RONSTADT

OK, this one is a little unfair: many folks have featured Linda as a style icon, so I would hardly call her "unlikely." As I look through the list of people I want to feature, however, her name just keeps jumping out at me. I've decided to break with tradition (that is, if the previous four posts constitute a "tradition") and feature someone whom many already admire, Miss Linda Ronstadt.

Linda became a sex symbol in the 70s and 80s, with her off-the-shoulder disco dresses, roller skates and silky short shorts, but in the 60s she was more of a nature child: cotton shifts, big hoop earrings, scant makeup and bare feet. She even staged the cover of one of her early albums in a pig pen. That's a girl after my own heart.

As the sun starts peeking out of the clouds here in Portland, I'm craving this summery, flower child aesthetic (though I don't like being barefoot, so my rendition would likely involve a pair of cowboy boots). Let's bring on the warm weather garb and start willing the rain to go away!

Here's a tribute to Linda in her early years:

Her look started to evolve into more of a tight-jeans-and-t-shirt routine - which she still rocked, mind you - when she left The Stone Poneys and started collaborating with the big boys.

As I type, the lyrics for the Stone Poneys song "Different Drum" are swirling around in my head, so I'll close with those:

I ain't saying you ain't pretty
All I'm saying is I'm not ready
For any person place or thing
To try and pull the reins in on me

Go Linda!