America knew Henry Darger late. So it goes for most prodigious artists. Born in 1892, Darger worked as custodian at a children's school for most of his life. His mother died early and his sister was put up for adoption. Darger actually never met his sister and spent his time growing up in various institutions, including a children's mental asylum.

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Tired or bored with what’s in your closet? Look no further and seek advice from Sheena Matheiken and designer Eliza Starbuck. If you haven’t heard of it already, The Uniform Project is an effort that started in May 2009 for Sheena to wear one dress for one year in 365 reinvented ways. Sheena wears seven identical black cotton dresses, which were designed by Eliza Starbuck, for each day of the week. She uses vintage, handmade or donated accessories to reinvent her outfits and documents said outfits on her blog each day. Sheena also gladly accepts any donated accessories or personal designs, as well as any collaborative or conceptual ideas for the project.

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Last week's blogs (here and here) were all about UC’s DAAP Fashion Design students. Today, however, I’d like to cross the river (not the Ohio) to the other side of DAAP-unrelated and fashion-based talent in Cincinnati. If you don’t already know them, chances are you soon will. Meet photographer Floyd Johnson, stylists Kelsey Wing and Shannon Yoho and make-up artist Kayla Smith, who are all twentysomething Cincinnati natives.

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To coincide with Wednesday’s blog about last week’s 58th DAAP Fashion Show, I bring you an interview with DAAP’s very own fashion design student, Lacey Voss, for inspiration. Lacey will be a Junior as of this fall and is excited to be releasing her own self-titled capsule collection. The collection will be available in local stores at the end of this summer! Find more out about Lacey and what she’s been up to…

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For those among you who are fashion-forward and missed DAAP’s 58th Fashion Show on Friday, June 12th, you’re in luck. The show was Web-casted, showcasing the incredible hard work of the 2009 graduating fashion design class at the University of Cincinnati. If this isn’t enough inspiration for you, then I don’t know what is. I’ve pored through hundreds of senior critique images and have picked some of my favorite designs…Cincinnati has talent!

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For those of you who are in the loop of the fashion blog-o-sphere, you may already know of Style Rookie aka Tavi G. For anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about, meet Tavi, the 13-year-old girl who runs Style Rookie, a blog dedicated to clothing and all things fashion.

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Looking at the artwork of a friend of mine, I started thinking about how his work related to the fashion and style around us. Clint Colburn is a Lexington based artist known for using circles of all sizes to create a larger harmony within a larger picture. This works the same within the fashion realm. Each component works in harmony with the other components, resulting in a larger piece or product. There is a beauty and a science to it, all at the same time.

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Cincinnati is slowly becoming more progressive, both economically and politically. And because economics and politics have historically been reflected through fashion and style, it’s important to pay attention to both not only understand your culture, but the world around you as well. Take the proposal of public transportation, the street car, for example. Or Cincinnati’s participation in the Tea Parties. Recently Cincinnati even produced a surrealism-inspired fashion show and an Eco Go-Go fashion show – a go-green initiative.

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