Continental drifter. From London to Portland - a year at Reed College
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Melissa Schlachtmeyer
Peppered through blog posts from last semester are little inferences to my amazing history of clothing class with the wonderful Melissa Schlachtmeyer. It seemed only fitting then, to dedicate this blog post to her, as a thank you for all her patience and aid she gave me with my terrible stick men drawing skills and overambitious Alexander McQueen research project plans, after receiving the shocking news of her death last week. From jokes about my gender neutral utopian society where kids run amok with flowered hair, to her taking the time to show me through Reed's costume department's stash of patterns to photocopy, to the supplies of starbucks coffee and pastries she shared in our last conference after having us drape fabric over each other in our first, Melissa was always an enthusiastic source of knowledge and kindness that absolutely fed my passion for studying the anthropolgy/psychology/sociology/economics/everything of fashion. I regret the half assed draft now useless dust in my email box, of tales of the Fashion Museum in Bath, knowing that I wouldn't have been pointing out watteau backs and explaining to mum how dress panniers had to concertina to let women sit in the French court had it not been for her. My thoughts especially fly to the desktop image so frequently accidentally projected in class, of her little daughter, and the dark veil that will wreathe her now. To be 'sorry for her daughter's loss' seems insubstantial, so instead I am thankful for Melissa's being. And for the privilege to be part of her last class. So thank you Melissa. And as cruelly too soon as it is, rest in peace.
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