What My Daughter Wore

Book excerpt: What My Daughter Wore is Brooklyn artist Jenny Williams' original collection ofintimate and playful drawings capturing the inspired, offbeat, and whimsical sartorialchoices of girls in the fleeting years between childhood and young adulthood. Withher daughter Clementine as her original muse-but also inspired by her daughter'sfriends-Jenny depicts a unique moment in a girl's life, when self-expression andindividuality trump trends and the impulse to conform. From a dress borrowed from mom worn over vintage pants handed down by a bigbrother, to a Dr. Who T-shirt paired with a flouncy knee-length skirt, the girls of WhatMy Daughter Wore are dressing only for themselves and discovering the power andjoy of their own tastes and style. What My Daughter Wore is a celebration andsnapshot of the uniqueness and creativity of the girls, the tween years, and of coursethe clothes. The What My Daughter Wore project began in Williams' Williamsburg loft, where herlive/work artist's studio had gradually morphed into a setting familiar to every parent-ahome overrun by her three kids and their many friends. Faced with diminishing spaceto paint, she turned to drawing, taking advantage of the ready inspiration the kidsprovided. The resulting drawings combine the straightforward documentary quality ofa street-style blog with the immediacy and emotion of the portraits that fill Jenny'shundreds of private sketchbooks.