DRESSING THE DOLLS

Being a designer is a sort of play-pretend in its own right; it’s playing dolls on a grand scale, getting to imagine outfits and then putting real people in them.

Those summers spent sifting through the Wash House trunks were Cheryl’s first foray into dressing live dolls (her sisters), turning slips into tube dresses and scarves into tops, accessorizing with gloves and bonnets and whatever was in there, but it’s a passion she cultivated from those early childhood days right up until, well, now.

“I’ve joked before that it feels like I never really stopped playing Barbies,” said Cheryl. “From the time I knew how to sew, I was adjusting and updating outfits for my dolls, making this skirt into a top or this pair of pants into shorts. I would squirrel away scraps for bandanas or bandeaus, it was just an ongoing exercise in imagination, and ya know, I just don’t think I’m ever going to outgrow it.”