T~Bird

I come from a long line of do it yourselfers. My favorite story is from my grandma, Ida, who made all her own clothes because she had to. Ida had a beautiful wool plaid skirt that was handed down to her (she was one of 10 children), and was going to alter it for herself. She had the skirt laid out on her bed to work on later, but when she came back, one of her brothers had made a vest out of it!

I worked in retail all of my life and lived for five years in Alabama where I co-owned an Antique/Consignment/ Home Interior Market with my mother. It was the kind of place you could plunder and discover a treasure. Not some fancy, refined, “do not touch” kind of place.

I left Alabama 10 years ago when I met a drummer in a band and he swept me up to LA. I applied and was accepted to FIDM’s Fashion Design Program but my dream of creating took a back seat to making a living as I got my first office job. My “do it yourself” ingenuity would have to just be a hobby.

My philosophy on fashion and art is that it begins on the streets or sidewalks. It's the people who can't afford designer price tags that dictate the next new idea. Then, the designers take the ideas from the street, refine it, and put a big price tag on it. Well, to hell with refinement! As Plato said, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention.”

I have been called MacGyver by my friends because whenever they compliment me on something I’m wearing, I say "I made it." So they kid me and say “watch out, t-bird will make a piece of jewelry out of that.”

I believe one woman's trash is another woman’s treasure. Why buy expensive things that you might see someone else wearing, when you can buy thrift and be unique and fashion forward? Plus, by the time a trend gets to the stores it's already been done on the street for at least a year. When everyone else is doing the same thing, that's when I want to change it up.

If you have a fashion problem sent me your question I can tell you how to fix or rework something so it’s wearable and current.

~ T-bird