By Her Own Design

“I think women come alive like flowers when they have the right dress on.”

This line introduces the flower symbols. She compares women to flowers in a simile that evokes beauty, strength, and uniqueness—all staples of her work and passion for design.

“I could see the salt traces of tears on her face and it felt like a knife inside me, twisting round and round. […] ‘I don’t want you to ruin your life. [Lee] won’t do nothing but ruin you. You not like me and Mama. You got something special, and he just a wolf, wanting to come in and steal that away from you.’”

The metaphor of a knife twisting inside Ann portrays her pain through a visceral image. Mama’s African American Vernacular English (for example, “you not like me”) is an example of exposition since it establishes Mama’s class and race. The last sentence also foreshadows Lee becoming an antagonist.

“It’s hard work to love a Black man when the outside world is steadily kicking him in his tender parts just for being a Black man. And when they is kicking him down, so he’s bent over, he’s at eye level with you, so guess who he wants to kick when he’s feeling bad.”

Huguley explores the way oppression intersects when she suggests that racism is a key component of abuse perpetrated by Black men. Ann’s abuse in her marriage is foreshadowed with this suggestion.

“They may have owned our bodies, but never our minds. That why we say bad days. Old times. The before. Never that other word.”

Grandma’s word choice and subtlety imply that they are never to say the word “slavery.” By portraying the characters avoiding this painful word, Huguley explores the way that intergenerational trauma is passed down to younger generations.

“[H]e might come back home drunk, stinking of liquor and cheap women, and force himself into me. Sometimes I would pretend I was asleep, but he wouldn’t care. He would just turn me over and use me like he used his handkerchief.”

Lee’s antagonistic force is described with sensory details that emulate the claustrophobia of Ann’s close proximity with her abuser; for example, the smell of liquor and women and the pressure of his hands touching Ann. The simile about being used like a handkerchief adds emotional resonance by comparing her to something less than human that Lee can just use and throw away.

“A man’s treatment of his wife always showed up in his wife’s face, telling me what kind of dress was necessary: a dress to recapture or to keep his attention. This was a recapture job.”

This passage establishes Ann’s insightful character. She can read a woman and know what kind of dress is needed, highlighting her instinctual skills as a designer.

“Lee had staggered to the bed and was snoring, apparently worn out from his use of me.

So was I.”

This moment portrays character development because Ann is finally done with Lee. The short, direct last sentence punctuates Ann’s firm decision to remove herself from Lee’s hold.

“Wilda’s features came together like ruching.”

This metaphor fits the theme of The Evolution of American Fashion. By using the term “ruching,” Huguley compares Wilda’s face crinkling up to this sewing technique, a comparison that fits the story’s content.

“I was not a canvas—that was the intent for those I made my creations for.”

Fashion and designing for others are key to Ann’s character. By using the term “canvas,” her creative spirit is obvious, as everyone can become a work of art with her designs on them. This statement also reveals more depth to Ann since she never wants to be the center of attention.

“When our lips met, parts of me that I had forgotten existed thawed out from neglect and rose back to life like when Jesus was resurrected. Caleb’s hand cupped my chin so gently, I wanted to cry that a man could be so tender to me.

Lee had never been tender like that.”

Caleb’s sweetness and affection are essential parts of his character. Huguley’s construction of Lee as Caleb’s foil makes him appear even more “tender” by contrast, shown through Ann’s affection and appreciation of how he treats her.

“I waited for him to lay down beside me, so that we could trace our fingers over our heated skins. My green dress pooled on the floor, creating a circle like water. Like the ocean. Like waves.”

The water-related similes here highlight the fact that Ann has been inspired to poeticism by love. The sensory descriptions of “heating skins” and her dress pooling on the floor portray their sensual, loving relationship.

“I pushed the excitement away from me, like feeding cloth into a sewing machine.”

This sewing machine metaphor underscores Ann’s adoration for design. By comparing her feelings to something personal to her, the excitement of the moment is heightened.

“‘Don’t you worry. I’ve never duplicated one of my dresses yet.’ I pointed to the open swatch and design book on my desk, my system for ensuring that my dresses were unique and singular. ‘Been designing one-of-a-kind dresses for more than thirty-five years.’”

Ann’s dialogue here shows that she is perceptive and kind but also upfront. As a businesswoman, she must champion her skills and take pride in them to assure her clients that she is the expert. The fact that she has never replicated a design highlights The Evolution of American Fashion since she and the women have wanted to express themselves in new ways throughout the years.

“Here’s where we are, the point you were wanting to hear about. Is this why you all came to help me sew so many dresses in record time?

What is Jackie Kennedy really like?

Well, I call her Jacqueline, like her mama named her.”

Using the second-person “you” is a unique technique that makes Ann’s words feel more intimate. Though she’s speaking to the dress helpers, she is also speaking directly to the reader. The names symbol is also clear due to the “Jackie” versus “Jacqueline” comment since the name “Jackie” makes her identity appear more personable and accessible to an adoring public.

“And the ruffles flutter fast, fast, fast on this dress. Like Jacqueline Bouvier is running, running, running to her destiny.”

The tripled repetition of “fast” and “running” underscore the artistry of Ann’s imagination as she designs a dress to suit the needs of her subject. The physical ruffle actions match the emotional state of Jacqueline.

“In that moment our eyes met—his blue and hard, mine brown and hot—in a confrontation as old as time.”

The butler confrontation highlights Racism’s Impact on Artistic Recognition. Through the phrase “old as time,” the pressure of years of inequality is condensed into one confrontation.

“‘An empress?’ I drew back a little. ‘My dress?’

‘Yes, Miss Lowe, the folding technique you used is something right out of old Austria and its most beautiful empress, Empress Sisi.’

‘Well, I see I have a trip ahead of me to the New York Public Library, Miss Bouvier. I’ve never heard of her as a style icon before.’”

Jacqueline’s and Ann’s characters have an easy back-and-forth exchange here. Their dialogue and connection about fashion build their relationship and also underscore the power dynamic between the two since Jacqueline is highly educated, whereas Ann has raw talent but has not had Jacqueline’s privileges.

“Arthur. After Arthur.

I did not want After Arthur time. Only Arthur time.

I’ll do whatever you say, God. I’ll be whatever you say. If you want to take my sight and I never do another dress. Is that what you want? For me to stay in Arthur time.

My art?

My soul?

So be it.

Take it.

Take it from me.

Only.

Keep me in Arthur time.”

This major conflict for Ann is portrayed with questions and choppy, pleading sentences that bring her grief to life. Her distress is evident due to the use of her begging questions and desire to stay in “Arthur time” versus “After Arthur” time.

“Later, when my mind was mine again, I remembered how lovingly she took off my black dress, my girdle, bra, and wet hose. Poor Ruth guided me to the tub and helped to scrub me.”

Ruth is portrayed as giving, generous, and affectionate through these actions. By caring for her mother “lovingly,” Ruth’s persona is revealed. She is Ann’s strength during the heavy grief over Arthur.

“Listening to her list these considerations was like hearing someone ask if I still cared about Lee Cone anymore. A little twinge of hurt, but it didn’t last. It dissolved. It went away. Like old gum, all of the flavor was gone out of it.”

The simile of “old gum” reinforces the text’s temporality since emotional events are narrated by an older narrator who has had time to chew over events metaphorically before retelling them with the benefit of hindsight. Linking to Ann’s earlier days with Lee also helps connect the nonlinear timeline.

“‘He would say…’ [Cora] took in a shivering gulp. ‘He would say, “She creates Art.”’

‘He did?’

‘Yes, Miss Lowe. It was like our little joke together. That you created art with all your dresses and his name was Arthur and I called him Art.’”

Cora is revealed as the culprit behind the shop’s pipe in the denouement. Afterward, Ann and Cora find closeness through their mutual love for Arthur. Cora sharing this insight into Arthur with the play on words of art gives Ann a part of him and solidifies how much he loved and admired her.

“A new dress is a way of presenting a woman to the world.”

As a main message of the book, this statement conveys how Ann took great pride in presenting the most true, beautiful, and raw parts of women. Also showing the theme of The Evolution of American Fashion, Ann’s opinion on dresses expresses her passion and purpose.

“Grandma Georgia had been held in bondage and here I was, her granddaughter, going to see the first lady in the White House.

Racism is overt again in the plotline, connecting Grandma’s time to Ann’s in a historical shift. This section portrays the changing times and spans the many years that this historical fiction novel covers.