My Grandmother’s Influence
From a young age, my grandmother introduced me to the charm, magic, and class of vintage clothing.
My grandmother, Ophelia, taught me how to sew, shared stories, and passed down knowledge about the silhouettes, fabrics, and details that defined different eras. Our shared love for fashion became a special language between us, and one that inspired and shaped my understanding of beauty, function, and storytelling through clothing.
Many of my favorite memories are the days I spent sewing with her, playing dress-up in her old clothes, listening to her childhood stories, and looking through her old photos. Flipping through her old photo albums has always been a consistent activity for me, and remains so today. It’s where I get most of my inspiration, along with her collection of vintage sewing patterns, of course.
When I was younger and began my process of mentally archiving all of her old photographs, every time I saw a picture of her when she was young, I would always exclaim that I needed whatever she was wearing, and wonder why we don’t make clothes like that anymore. It sparked a passion in me.
The yellow gown my Lulu wore to prom, circa 1950s
My great-grandmother made all the dresses for my grandmother and her sister, including my favorite, the yellow ballgown my grandmother wore to her high school prom with my grandpa. That dress, and the hands that made it, instilled in me the beauty, timelessness, emotion, and heritage embedded in fashion from a young age. My closet is now filled with handbags and jewelry crafted by the women in my family I never had the chance to meet, and my drawers hold clothing from my great-aunt and my grandmother’s vintage pajama sets.
My relationship with fashion grew from that sense of sentiment, nostalgia, and connection. It’s really special to me that I get to keep a piece of my family, history, and heart stored in their old textiles. I get to keep pieces of them, and imagine what their life was like when they were wearing what I now have.
I spent my childhood dressing up in my grandmother’s 1950s gowns and housecoats, trying on all of her high heels, and wearing my great-grandmother’s hats from the 1920s and 1930s as I strutted down the hallway like it was a runway.
Growing through childhood learning about the care, intention, and craftsmanship my great-grandmother poured into every garment held a profound impact on my personal development and career ambitions.
She was a designer at heart, and my grandmother, known to everyone who loves her as Lulu, dreamed of being one too. She sketched fashion illustrations throughout high school before eventually pursuing other artistic paths, like painting for contemporary artist Nancy Thomas.
Pursuing an education in fashion feels like something bigger than myself. It feels as though I am finally able to achieve what the women before me were passionate about, talented at, but never had the opportunity to fully pursue. This sense of legacy and fulfillment drives me every day, and pushes me even harder to to pursue my own and their biggest dreams, to never give up, and to continue growing, learning, and leading meaningful impact in the fashion industry.
Knowing that I am making them proud, and working toward a dream we all share, has shaped me into the motivated, ambitious, and persistent person I am today. My Lulu sparked my love for vintage and historic garments, and for the stories and craftsmanship behind clothing. That foundation is what fuels my drive to make the fashion industry better, to make it more intentional, conscious, and functional in its approach to design, textiles, quality. To focus more on the meaning of what we create.