Conversations with my best dressed friend

This year's Best Dressed honorees are united by their love of fashion and each other.

by

Aly Camacho, 23 sales associate/photographer & Nina Geers, 24 store manager

NG: “Aly is very involved in the St. Louis creative community. She was gifted the outfit that she wore [by the designer]. It’s representative of how tied she is to our community.” AC: “I love to shop locally. I always get so many compliments. People deserve to know how talented the creatives in St. Louis are.” NG: “My daily style is minimal and classic, Levi’s and T-shirt. This dress took me to a place that isn’t everyday.”

Julie McGowan, 47 mother & Marci Marsh, 51 interior designer

JM: “My style is fun and feminine and frilly. It has to be easy. I don’t want to put too much thought into it. I’m not always prim and proper. I like to be sexy at times, girly, in jeans.” MM: “My roots are hippie, always. Hippie-chic, bohemian-couture. Is that a word?” JM: “Is that an oxymoron?” MM: “It is and that’s what I am. A little mix of this and that.”

Mai Lee, 28 artist, performer, and restaurant owner & Tai Davis, 36 active creative

TD: “I’m normally in a chef’s coat or chef shoes, regular blue jeans... That’s my 9-5 wear. I don’t have a lot of autonomy to be myself, aesthetically. I think that’s why I like to go outside of the box.” ML: “Fashion is a way to express myself, because I’m OK with who I am. Yes, I do like to show a little bit of skin, but then I like to be covered up. I’m normally in a men’s T-shirt with adidas pants and Yeezys.” TD: “She says that, but they’re always on point.”

Anya Drozdova, 52 homemaker/Instagram artist Lorena von Kaenel, 56 attorney & Anne Bishop, 58 retired

LvK: “After months of wearing sweatpants and loose T-shirts and flip-flops, we need fashion more than ever.” AB: “Lorena says, ‘Put on a frock, we’re going out.’” LvK: “We all have our own style, but we all love clothes.” AD: “Fashion makes me feel different. [It] makes people pay attention, to put something on that’s different from the crowd.” AB: “When you put on something that fits you great, then you feel great.”

Gabriela Castillo, 25 store manager, Spanish interpreter & Gema Shipley, 44 middle school teacher

GC: “My mom lights up the room anywhere she goes, she’s so positive and uplifting.” GS: “I’m going to cry.” GC: “And she’s fun and my best friend. What I love about her style is that she’s extra. She can style anything.” GS: “I just love to play with clothes. I love colors.”

Willie Cherry, 36 artist & Nic Cherry, 36 director of facilities and logistics

NC: “Before moving to St. Louis, we were traveling intensively for work. We never knew how long we’d be gone.” WC: “Nic became the master of the capsule wardrobe, throwing pieces together that worked day to night.” NC: “Everything had to feel special because if you didn’t wear it during the trip, that was a waste. In China, when we couldn’t find the exact thing we needed, we had it made.” WC: “It was liberating to have a need and get a finished garment.”

Cheri Drawe, 71 sales associate Morgan McFerson, 34 online sales specialist

MM: “My mom has always been fashion-forward. She taught me from a young age to be confident, to express myself...” CD: “…to dress appropriately for the occasion. No miniskirts to church!” MM: “One of the most important lessons she taught me is to be myself.” CD: “My daughter has taught me to be brave… And to be confident with my age.”

Amber Murphy, 41creative entrepreneur & Kevin Kelly, 39 creative entrepreneur

KK: “She is a timeless beauty. Her fashion is the same. There’s no one that dresses like her when we go out.” AM: “You are free with fashion. It’s how your mind operates; you look at things in a different way.”'

HAIR & MAKEUP Kat Hinkle STYLING Anna Brockmeyer PHOTO ASSISTANTS Marcus Mader, Miranda Munguia, Brian Verbarg LOCATION Cool Stuff

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