Essie Edwards' May 2012 Annual Fashion Show

I introduced Mrs. Edwards to you last year in my post, "Essie Edwards: A Phenomenal Milliner, Seamstress, Instructor, and Fashionista."  Nothing has changed much.  Mrs. Edwards is still the same phenomenal lady she was last year.  Her beautiful seniors, including the facility director, Toni, and facility caretaker, Dorothy, are still in place and are still wonderful.  Mrs. Edwards is always speaking well of them.  One thing that will be changing is that Mrs. Edwards will be retiring this year.  I'll miss seeing my senior friends at the Rose Garden.  I have been blessed to have friends in my millinery classes (Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. King) that have been so supportive.  I'll miss the support of people that know me, as well as my character.  Nothing will ever replace the presence of warm and caring people.  As for Mrs. Edwards, we'll always keep in touch with each other and hang out together.  When I talked to her this morning, she informed me that she may volunteer a few hours at the senior center.  If she does, I'll make an extra effort to visit my friends at the center, plus Ms. E' would love all of the attention she would receive.

Also, I must mention how much of an inspiration these ladies have been to me.  Some of the ladies that attend the center are over 30 years my senior.  Most of them drive to the center one to three times a week.  The cloths and hats you will see in the following video were made by these wonderful ladies.  If you could see the clothing and hats up close, you would think that they were bought from department stores; that's how well they are made--a wonderful reflection of the instructor.  Thank you Mrs. Edwards.

Also, since all of our millinery classes may be cut, I have to say thank you to Mrs. Eloise King, my millinery instructor, on-and-off, for 28 years.  To Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. King, no matter how many millinery instructors I may have in the future, if I have the chance to study abroad, none of them will top you guys.  I'm good at what I do because of the foundation you gave me.

I'm not going to introduce the following video as Mrs. Edwards final fashion show video because I attended a spectacular fashion show this afternoon that was moderated by Mrs. Edwards.  Some ladies had attended her fashion show and liked it so much that they invited Mrs Edwards to do it again for charity club.  Now on to the video!

Note:  I wasn't home to select the video cover image when it stopped processing on YouTube.  I would have preferred that Mrs. Edwards image appear on the video cover.  Click twice on the video to maximize video screen and to see the text that has been written on the video images.

Essie Edwards: A Phenomenal Milliner, Seamstress, Instructor, and Fashionista

I am totally amazed by this lady.  She's a graduate of Pepperdine University, she has been a milliner for over 60 years (yes over 60 years!), she has been an instructor for the Los Angeles Unified School District for almost 40 years, she is a mother, a source of great support for her students, she is a fashionista, and she is a lovely woman both inside and out.  Mrs. Edwards is a walking example of a phenomenal instructor.  When she walks into the classroom she wears what she has made--suites, purses, hats, belts, etc.  All perfectly made by her loving and guiding hands. As you can see from the image on the left, she is one cute lady, and she really looks sassy in the sporty black BMW she drives.  You Go Girl!

But what I really love about Mrs. Edwards is that she encourages me to be me.  She never insists that I do something the same way and in a particular manner.  In her words, "There is more than one way to do something."  For a person like myself who loves to experiment with different millinery techniques, her words are like music to my ears.  A student has to grow under an instructor with this attitude.  She is patient with her students, and they always praise her for this.

Mrs. Edwards only teach day classes, and I waited seven years to take her class, begging her not to retire.  When I retired,  I could finally attend her class.  Then, I was blessed with Ms. E, my granddaughter.  So once again, I'm without my Mrs. Edwards because I lovingly babysit Ms. E during the day.  I still take an evening millinery classes from my other millinery instructor, Mrs. Eloise King (off and on for 26 years), but I also miss my day class with Mrs. Edwards. 

On May 21 Mrs. Edward held her annual fashion show at the Watts Senior Center and Rose Garden.  I really love attending classes at the Rose Garden; it's lovely, quiet, and peaceful.  Dorothy Sampson is the gardener and caretaker for the garden and center.  She is an extraordinary lady who keeps the grounds and the roses beautifully groomed, even using her own resources at times allowing the roses to maintain their award winning status.  I just have to mention Recreation Facility Director Toni Hester (image to the upper right) because Mrs. Edwards constantly praises her for going beyond the call of her job duties, especially when it comes to her sensitivity to the needs of the seniors, as well as Mrs. Edwards'.

I'll get to the images in a moment, but I wanted to mention how wonderful it is to have a place to go where people are sincerely genuine and supportive and enjoy each others' company.  Below are some images from the fashion show.  These ladies, and the gentleman helping the ladies to the walkway, all make beautiful things in Mrs. Edwards' class.  When I was editing the images, I was thinking how blessed I would be to be able to drive to classes and socialize with people as wonderful as these are 25 years from now, as these ladies are doing today.  Thanks to Mrs. Edwards and all for being such an inspiration.

Downtown Fashion Walk

I had a great time at the Downtown Fashion Walk.  Participating in the event gave me an opportunity to see what others were creating.  I flaked on the cocktail hats; I just couldn't get into them at the last minute.  I finally made these three hats instead.  A really big Thank You goes out to Carol Cirillo Stanley for taking these lovely images.