Here’s the thing: The story in fashion

I love fashion. I love the designs, the styles, the trends, I love it all. I always have.

People always ask me what decade is my favorite and that is honestly my own version of Sophie's choice. I can't pick.

From each decade I have something that I admire and like. However, I am sure I'm not alone when I say I have somethings I wish would never come back in style.

Take the 80s for example: should mullets ever come back in, I'm going to bring hats back in style right along with them.

The thing about fashion and trends are they repeat themselves. It's difficult to find something new and avant-garde while still being fresh and wearable.

Like every other fashionista of the world, I have watched Project Runway as if it were my job and always marvel over how people are able to come up with designs from their own minds. I can put together an outfit fairly well, but I know I could not put the pen to paper and design one myself.

Recently I saw a picture of dresses hanging on a fence in my hometown of Peoria, IL. The photo was attached to an article from the local paper. The dresses were part of a modern art installation called 'Remember Her, Peoria.”

According to the article, 94 dresses were hung up to represent women who are missing, subject of an unsolved crime, murdered or victims of domestic homicide since the early 90s. Each dress had a different color for a different meaning: pink for the missing, red for the unsolved, black for the murdered and purple for victims of domestic violence homicides.

The names of the victims and the year of their death or disappearance is written in black ink on a white cloth and safety pinned to the dress of the person it represents.

I have not been able to go back and see it for myself but it has been on my mind for nearly three weeks because I know those are not just dresses. Those are stories.

Each one of those women had a story to tell and their light was snuffed out before they could finish it. But someone else, an artist, decided their story wasn't quite finished, decided their story was worth remembering and reignited that light by hanging up clothing in their honor so their story is never forgotten.

The victims of these crimes are represented through the dresses that act to remind the city that they never meant to leave so soon. Through this installation, the victims of the unsolved cases have a way of reminding the city there still is work to do; that there are people out there still waiting and hoping and asking for answers.

People who look at these dresses, really look at them, will know they are not just clothes; they are the stories of people who did not get the chance to finish their story themselves but that does not mean they need to be forgotten or dismissed.

I'm not creative enough to ever come up with a concept like this, that part I know is true. I could never design this installation nor the dresses themselves but I'm so thankful someone has.

February is fashion month with four major shows taking place once a week. This week is Paris Fashion Week- my favorite. I love the designs and the thought process and the creativity it takes to make something so beautiful yet so overpriced.

So last week when I was sitting in city council and periodically checking out looks from Milan Fashion Week, I thought about those dresses on the fence. I thought about how fashion repeats itself and how most of us don't bat an eye when it does. We just accept the facts and dress accordingly.

Then I thought about how brilliant it was to use fashion- something with a history that cannot be changed but a future that can be altered- to tell a story of a woman who will never wear those clothes again and simultaneously represent that a new ending can be written for every story.