By Her Own Design is author Piper Huguley’s fictional account of the life of Ann Lowe, the first African American to become a noted fashion designer. Throughout her up and down career, Ann only worked for members of the social register and never repeated a design. She is best known for her fabric flowers and designing the dress worn by Jacqueline Bouvier when she married John F. Kennedy but fame did not come until after Ann's death.
Ann learns the art of sewing from her grandmother, a former slave, and her mother who were thought to be the most talented seamstresses in the state of Alabama. She excels at many flower embellishments and offers them for sale.
Ann dreams of becoming a celebrated
designer but puts the dream on hold when she elopes at 12 with an older tailor.
When a Tampa socialite sees Ann's talent she offers to take Ann back to Tampa to
sew and design clothing for Florida's society elite she walks away from her
abusive marriage with her young son.
Ann faced many struggles during
her 40-year career, which began in the 1920s. The author does justice to both
the ups and downs in Ann’s live and writes an engaging novel.
4.48 stars on Goodreads, 4.7 on Amazon
This book is not available at EPL. Ask any of the reference
librarians to get it for you from an area library.
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