Elle

The Elle collection is for all women who desire to be comfortable in their clothing as a reflection of them being comfortable in their being. In French, Elle translates to ‘she’ or ‘her’. As a woman, I am too familiar of the moments when we get caught up in all that we should be and should do-- wrapping our identities in minuscule parts of ourselves. If we go down the list of those adjectives or titles, they don’t scratch the surface of who we are. This collection was birthed when I realized that all of the complexities in she, her, or elle was all I needed to be all along.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

-Joshua 1:9

I have been surrounded by a host of great women:

Women who have overcome the toughest of circumstances, women who have stepped away from the world’s expectations of them, women who operate in love and focus on healing. All
their stories (and acts of rebellion in some eyes) are different and
intricately woven in the fabric of their beings that helped to create the “Elle’s” I know today.

But their stories are not my story, and I cannot rest on my sisters’ laurels.

A global pandemic caused the world to stand still and left me tending to the care my mind, body, and spirit lacked for at least the last decade. I think I knew back then that I needed to reevaluate the people and places that took space in my world,
but I guess getting by and daily life seemed to keep me away from doing that work. The pandemic was hard, but it was my sabbatical in some twisted way. I went to therapy, I prayed, I paused, I cooked, I served others, I read and understood God’s word with new perspective. Shackles I didn’t fully know were there slowly began to come loose. I no longer feel the need to live up to people’s expectations of me. I no longer fear leaving spaces that don’t accept me fully. I appreciate my life’s journey even more knowing that God is with me the whole time. There is no way I could go back to the way life was. The Elle I am now and the Elle that’s to come simply won’t have it.

This collection released November 2022.