My Fashion Debut

Activewear by Steilope
Jewelry by Erica Voetsch

I modeled for my friend Emily Camille Boullear in the Kansas City Fringe Festival, Fashion on the Fringe, several weeks ago. Although the event was chaotic and run by amateurs who cared more about how they looked than the success of the show, I could not suppress my joy in wearing such innovative, beautiful, and fun pieces created by Steilope and Voetsch. And the adornments aren't all...Emily made the music for the runway too! Listen HERE

Fashion on the Farm

Sunday, July 19, a group of my friends participated in a fashion photo shoot courtesy of LemonLime Photo (http://www.lemonlimephoto.com/). Angela Bennet and I created only two outfits for the models shown above, but I must say, they looked fabulous. It'd be hard to make these ladies not look good, but hey, nothing like a little chest puff now and again.

I designed and made the clothes Christina, the burnette, is wearing in the picture above. The block print on the course cotton fabric looked great as a mini, and it paired nicely with the all lace, exaggerated sleeve top. Their tatts and the scenery complimented the ensembles nicely; I'm really looking forward to seeing the photo proofs. Thanks Eric!

memory of a man

As a teenager working my family garage sale, I was terrified when a kin of John Merrick came shopping at my house. It was early Saturday morning in suburbia, before cartoons and sugar coated cereal filled the air, when he walked up the drive.

Bulbous ulcers covered his head and hands, every part of his visible body. His hair grew out of deep valleys crevices formed by the collision of his tumors. He, thoughtfully, had tried to cover as much of his skin as possible, and even on this hot, sticky day in July, he wore a long sleeved flannel shirt, jeans, and work boots.

As his bawdy fingers sifted through pop culture remnants of the 90s, I tried to avert my eyes. Surely I, a 15 year old girl, had nothing to sell to this monster. In fact, my plastic treasures seemed obscene in his presence. "I'm trying to think nice thoughts, God" but all I could feel was disgust. Either my junk or my incendiary glances drove him away soon enough, but the image of this man remained seared in my mind long after he was gone.

In fact, this stranger's image has revisited me from time to time, and now, as an adult, I feel a deep gratitude and sorrow for his person. Despite my awareness of his devastated vanity and inferred immense pain, I had abhorred him completely. At the time he entered my life, he represented something which was foreign to me, and terrifying.

Now, as my own health and age have begun to teach me that we have little control over many things, let alone our bodies, I yearn for the freedom of vanity that this courageous man illustrated of that sweaty sunny day from my youth.

Hannah Taylor Knitwear

"You'll Grow Into It!" Collection
Oversized Animal Jumpers are all the rage.