conundrum.

while preparing for spring, new designs and changing some things on the RBa website i'm constantly debating whether i want to say that i'm designing for a particular audience. i believe that the term "post-mastectomy" perpetuates a sense of isolation and detachment. the very reason i don't want to sell RBa in post-mastectomy boutiques. problem is, well, "post-mastectomy" is what got us here.

right: trestle vest created 11.24.11. left: tree discovered 11.26.11.

021912. a view born from harmony.

I knew one thing.
I needed truth.
The question was not
How will I
Feel about this body
OUT
IN
The world.
But rather
How will I feel about
This body,
My body,
My flesh,
When I look in the mirror
Unclothed and
Alone with it.
My answer lies
In truth.
I could not live with
Reconstruction.
Its whispers, taunts and tease.
I could not bring myself to
Further burden my
Flesh.
Cut it.
Stretch it.
Stitch it.
Convict it.
Punish it.
For my flesh to carry and suffer the grief of beliefs beyond its control was unimaginable.
This need to speak for it,
Embrace it,
Honor it,
Give it back its power,
Was a want for harmony.
So that my
Conscience
And my
Flesh
Could live as one.

i'm back.

just give me a minute to get situated.

coming out of the woodwork.

Rhea Belle apparel will be featured in the September issue of Women and Cancer Magazine. An editor admitted that they have never addressed the population of women who decide against reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy. This article will be the first to not only introduce this innovative clothing line but the refreshing personal and social ideologies that gave birth to their design and brave existence.

photo: the Rhea Belle songbird capelet dress/tunic.

love and death.

are
2 lil'
love birds
sittin'
in
a tree
k
i
s
s
i
n
g
.

we'll start with words.