As Buffalo Magazine editor Danielle Ossher approached designer Lisa Siemer-Harvey for a styling assist, she said she felt “unstoppable” in her new outfit.
Lisa tucked Danielle’s purple, floral blouse into the black leather belt cinching her waist and stepped back to admire her handiwork. Lisa spent 60 to 70 hours creating Danielle’s full “Reclaim You” look from scratch, designing the patterns, sourcing the fabric and sewing the blouse, pants and belt for Danielle’s new wardrobe.
“It makes me giddy,” says Lisa, a SUNY Buffalo State University student studying fashion and textile technology. “I feel really good that she likes it. ... She also has ownership in it, too, because she helped create it. It was sort of this collaboration.”
Danielle’s relationship with her wardrobe changed after her mastectomies five and four years ago. Before the breast cancer and subsequent surgeries, she was proud of her hourglass shape, embracing it in wrap dresses and V-necks. But after undergoing treatment and making the difficult decision to not have reconstruction, her clothes fit differently.
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Lisa offered Danielle a new perspective by seeing her through fresh, knowledgeable eyes that helped her feel confident and determine what looks good on her new shape. She also brought Danielle out of her comfort zone by dressing her in colors and patterns, “while also making me feel very comfortable and acknowledging that, yeah, I’m a woman. I have insecurities about my body,” Danielle says.
Lisa addressed Danielle’s hesitance with her flat chest by sewing a seam across the shirt bodice, gathering the cotton fabric to puff out slightly and create a voluminous illusion. She also shortened it, based on Danielle’s preferences, and chose colors that complement her complexion. The plum-colored blouse also features an exaggerated collar and cuffs, and buttons sourced from Lisa’s grandmother’s collection.
Lisa was also inspired by a look recently worn by actress Julia Roberts—a monochromatic butter yellow suit with wide, pleated legs—and modeled Danielle’s pants after it. She made a pair of wide-leg pants in a carrot orange shade made to Danielle’s exact measurements so they fit her waist perfectly with no gap, highlighting the curves she still has and loves.
She finished the look by transforming a thrifted leather skirt into a thick, Diane Keaton-style, waist belt to cinch Danielle’s blouse.
"I'm obsessed with always having something that's a little bit of a statement," Lisa explains.
Buffalo State assistant professor Dr. Shantell Reid guided Lisa through the whole process. At 55, Lisa is older than a lot of her classmates (she jokes that she’s the “crazy old lady” at school), but she’s thrilled to be studying her passion. After spending 30 years in joyless administrative jobs, she returned to school to earn a third degree, with her service dog Radar always by her side.
“These are not just pants, now,” Danielle says. “I will always wear these and feel amazing and remember the love and care Lisa put into them. And now, I also want everything in this orange color.”
