The Baltimore Charm City Girls
Designed by Lola Jones

I would like to dedicate this design to all my brave cancer patients that I’ve had the
privilege to help in the last 25 years. They have helped me not to forget what it’s like to
go through this journey. They have been my inspiration.

When I was asked to create a bra for braVo!, I knew it was a good thing to do since I am
a cancer survivor and have a wig business.

Coming up with a theme wasn’t hard because I knew I wanted to relate it to my
JOURNEY.

Having been diagnosed with terminal stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with metastasis
to the bones, and without my doctor’s blessing, I opted to try and save my life with 52

weeks of intense chemotherapy to outlive the four weeks she said I had left. I was trying
to “beat the clock,” so to speak.

Being in the “hair industry” for 40 years now, being born and raised in Baltimore, not to
mention being on the committee of the original “Corney Collins Show” in “Hairspray,”
better known in Baltimore as “The Buddy Deane Show,” I couldn’t resist
creating “The BALTIMORE CHARM CITY GIRLS” (since we women sometimes refer
to our breasts as “girls”).

Treasured Chests
Designed by Danielle Nekimken, P.W. Feats, Inc

These are treasured chests, precious to us all, covered in gold and jewels. We guard and defend them. We cover them
with amulets to protect them from harm. We map them regularly to keep them safe.

Sometimes we can feel as if we are under attack, but we fight with fierceness and abandon. We do everything we can to keep this treasure safe. Our bodies are this treasure and on this map “x” marks the spot that is our heart and soul.

Menobrause
Designed by Sloane Brown, Jewelry
Designed for Sloane Brown Designs

The bra is a combination of two major factors in my life these days—menopause and
jewelry design.

I used jewelry design tools and components to depict the contradiction that is this “time
of life.” You can look attractive and feel bristly as all…well, you know. (Just ask my poor husband!)

Every surface on this bra is prickly, from sandpaper to porcupine quills. The cups each contain a small heating pad, which stays hot for 20 minutes at a time. That may be a bit longer than your usual hot flashes, but don’t tell that to a woman suffering from them.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, menopause isn’t the most difficult thing to live through. But, where would that kind of attitude get me?

Certainly not this creation.

Hope Grows Here
Designed by Ronnie Footlick*
Crafted by Julie Designs and Alterations
Sheila Hyatt/Morgan Trusdale Gifts

CANCER…an ugly word and what it does to women being treated for breast cancer is
even uglier. Suddenly all that is feminine
disappears...your nails, your eyelashes and your wavy, lustrous hair. You are pale and tired and you feel uglier than ugly. To make matters worse, when you go for infusion treatments you often find yourself in a sterile, drab room with little to look at. To combat the boredom and ugliness, you will dream up visions, which take you out and to another
place. My place was the most beautiful garden I could dream up, filled with glorious blossoms hugging a green field surrounded by the proverbial white picket fence. If I closed my eyes, I could almost smell it! Thus, my bra…my dream come true. As a 12-year survivor, I still remember the smells and feelings brought on by the treatments and I am reminded on a daily basis as more of my sisters face the same battle. In their names and their struggle, I dedicate the bra with the belief that HOPE GROWS HERE!

*Fabric donated by Jonathan Miller,
The Fabric Place
Silk flowers donated by Sheila Hyatt, Morgan
Trusdale Gifts and Candy

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