Stella Abravanel Saltiel

Stella Abravanel Saltiel

This is my mother, Stella Abravanel Saltiel, when she was very young. Younger than I ever remember her, I cannot picture her that young. The photo was taken in Thessaloniki in the 1910s. My mother was short, thin and very intelligent and had a happy disposition. She was always very elegant, always very correct and well dressed. She was very small and she used to wear shoes size 34. At that time the shoes were always made for you. You didn't go to the market to buy shoes; you went to the craftsman who would take your measurement and make them for you. Often the shoes were not well fitted, they were very tight or short and your feet would have calluses all over. She liked to wear whatever was in fashion. I remember that once my grandmother Abravanel was very shocked because she was wearing a dress that was short; short is just above the knee! That was in fashion then so she was wearing it. She was a happy person and used to sing a lot. She was making jokes, and was laughing at any given occasion. She liked to read and had a subscription to a French historical magazine. She didn't wear any makeup or lipstick but she used face powder and I still have a small box of it, well hidden, just to smell my mother.
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