Fashion Icons of the Prairie: Rachel Peel Edition

Walnut Grove, Minn.-Welcome back to Fashion Icons of the Prairie, the column where we look at our favorite people from Walnut Grove and the surrounding areas and admire the iconic trademarks of their fashion! This week we look a little beyond Walnut Grove and pay tribute to Willow Run’s most fashionable citizen: the one and only Miss Rachel Peel! 

Rachel Peel: The Basics

Rachel Peel is the epitome of form meets function. She has only one function, and that is to make everyone think what they’re doing is wrong. This of course extends to her fashion, which is simple, plain, and poorly fitting. She won’t be having you telling her that though. In fact, she won’t be having you tell her much of anything! Haven’t you heard? This is her town and you play by her rules. Now, let’s take a closer look at Rachel’s fashion and break down what exactly makes it so memorable!

What We Love About Rachel’s Fashion

• Call her what you want, but she’s not a hypocrite. She doesn’t just tell people what they are doing is wrong, but she puts it into practice in her fashion. Moreover, she enlightens those around her to the error of their fashion ways. I bet you never thought an Ingalls girl was wearing too fancy of a dress, did you? Well, you were wrong and Rachel Peel is going to make sure you know that Mary Ingalls is dressed in a fancy raiment. Taking her own words very seriously, Rachel puts it into practice in her own dress. Before getting dressed, you can imagine Rachel asking herself if the garment resembles a sack that could perhaps hold some grain. If the answer is yes, it is appropriate attire. 

• She’s a fashion leader for the town. Thanks to Rachel Peel, everyone in town knows that fancy raiments make you a jezebel or worse.

• She knows you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a big impact with your hair. Are you fed up with paying high prices at the salon? Rachel Peel knows it’s unnecessary. Try taking perhaps a knife, a scythe, or some other sharp object you might have laying around the house and chop away at your hair until you achieve the Rachel Peel effect. The choppy layers tell people that you are above caring about what people think of your hair. You don’t need the latest cut when you have so much more to offer. Moreover, it’s short enough that she doesn’t have to mess around with fancy buns or braids to keep it out of her face.  Rachel’s large, dark, poorly fitting  bonnet is enough to hide her head of hair  completely.

• Think she needs to improve her fashion? She’s got a potion for that. If you think you know better than Rachel Peel when it comes to fashion, she’ll fix you right up with one of her famous potions. As a plus side, the odor from the charm she will give you is so strong that no one will even dare come close enough for you to be able to hear their critical remarks. She knows the best way to avoid criticism is to stop it before it even begins. Now, perhaps it’s time you go work on some ciphering.