Legends from Mom’s Closet
Sasha Olsen
Child Author, Environmental Activist
Non-fiction
Publisher: BCH
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780578620091
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9780578620091
$24.94
Barnes and Noble
About the Book
10-Year-Old Girl Uses Imagination and Vintage Fashion to
Emulate Female Icons
A lesson in using creativity and learning at home
When 10-year-old Sasha Olsen was forced to spend a
summer indoors because of rainy weather, she refused to spend all her time in
front of a screen. Instead, she read through a stack of books detailing the
lives of famous women throughout history. From Frida Kahlo and Audrey Hepburn
to Billie Holiday and Joan Jett, Sasha’s imagination began to run wild as
she learned about these accomplished and creative women who had become legends.
Soon, Sasha was in her mom's closet picking through her
clothes and her grandmother’s vintage pieces to dress up like all the women she
had been reading about. In her upcoming book, Legends from Mom’s
Closet (May 2020), Sasha recreates the looks of her favorite female icons,
from dresses to lipstick to hairstyles. She also offers highlights of their
lives that she learned about while reading.
By dressing up in these clothes, Sasha also learned the
difference between fast and vintage fashion, including the positive
environmental impact consumers can have by choosing vintage or secondhand over
newer items. She encourages readers to embrace vintage as she has in an
effort to help the planet in their own small way.
Complete with photos of the looks she created and tips for
other young girls on how they can emulate these iconic women, Legends from
Mom’s Closet will inspire kids to use their creativity at home,
spending time to delve into the lives of truly remarkable people from the past
to learn a thing or two about what it means to be legendary today.
A Brief Interview with the Author
Well, I actually love to read, especially biographies. I don’t usually spend a lot of time using any devices. I didn’t specifically start reading books about famous women, but I started looking around for books to learn more about legendary people. I just happened to meet these iconic women through their amazing stories and spending a day in their shoes!
Who was your favorite female legend to read about?
My favorite legend to read about was probably Frida Kahlo! I felt like she had a very inspiring story. She had a lot of difficult times in her life, but no matter what, she worked hard to achieve her dreams and become an artist.
What is the biggest lesson you learned from getting to know all of these female legends?
I learned many lessons! Most of all though, I learned that women are super strong. Women work very hard and can get through anything that might stand in their way of achieving their goals. Women are so inspiring!
A Brief Interview with the Author
Legends from Mom’s Closet
By Sasha Olsen (age 10)
In your book, Legends from Mom’s Closet, you share tidbits about and dress up like legendary women you read about during a rainy summer spent indoors. A lot of kids your age would spend a rainy summer watching TV or playing video games. What made you decide to start reading books about famous women?Well, I actually love to read, especially biographies. I don’t usually spend a lot of time using any devices. I didn’t specifically start reading books about famous women, but I started looking around for books to learn more about legendary people. I just happened to meet these iconic women through their amazing stories and spending a day in their shoes!
Who was your favorite female legend to read about?
My favorite legend to read about was probably Frida Kahlo! I felt like she had a very inspiring story. She had a lot of difficult times in her life, but no matter what, she worked hard to achieve her dreams and become an artist.
What is the biggest lesson you learned from getting to know all of these female legends?
I learned many lessons! Most of all though, I learned that women are super strong. Women work very hard and can get through anything that might stand in their way of achieving their goals. Women are so inspiring!
What inspired you to use your mom’s clothes and your grandmother’s vintage pieces to recreate all of their iconic looks?
Actually, I just went into my mom’s closet and started trying on her shoes and dresses. This was after I read about Frida Kahlo. So, I just got the idea to try and dress up as her! I thought my mom might be really upset with me for playing with her things, but she loved the idea. If the legend was wearing something like I really couldn’t figure out where to get, I would call my grandma for advice. Most of the time, she had exactly what I needed!
Who was your favorite legend to dress up as and why?
My favorite legend to dress up as was definitely Yayoi Kusama. I love her bright artwork, and I was able to get even more creative to dress up as her!
How did you decide which legends to include in Legends from Mom’s Closet?
I didn’t choose them before. I just started to read about people who I didn’t know much about yet and it ended up being all women! After, I just decided to share them in this book.
Your other passion is the environment. Tell us what you learned about vintage fashion versus fast fashion.
When I was started my movement Iwantmyoceanback and this project, I was doing a lot of research during that time. I wanted to know more about what are the biggest things that pollute our oceans and cause problems for our planet. I found out like clothing is one of the biggest ocean pollutants and some fabrics, like polyester, have plastic in them so it breaks down and hurts our sea animals. After finding this out, I realized that it’s very harmful to buy fast fashion because people just buy the clothes and throw them away soon after. It inspired me to learn more about vintage and how we can buy secondhand instead, and just reuse clothing!
Ultimately, what do you hope your readers take away from your book?
I hope readers learn how important it is to let your creativity run wild! I want other kids to know that we can get inspired and have fun while also learning new things and growing our knowledge. It’s also very important that we learn more about how fast fashion affects our oceans and that we stop it! We need to win the war against fast fashion to help save the planet.
Actually, I just went into my mom’s closet and started trying on her shoes and dresses. This was after I read about Frida Kahlo. So, I just got the idea to try and dress up as her! I thought my mom might be really upset with me for playing with her things, but she loved the idea. If the legend was wearing something like I really couldn’t figure out where to get, I would call my grandma for advice. Most of the time, she had exactly what I needed!
Who was your favorite legend to dress up as and why?
My favorite legend to dress up as was definitely Yayoi Kusama. I love her bright artwork, and I was able to get even more creative to dress up as her!
How did you decide which legends to include in Legends from Mom’s Closet?
I didn’t choose them before. I just started to read about people who I didn’t know much about yet and it ended up being all women! After, I just decided to share them in this book.
Your other passion is the environment. Tell us what you learned about vintage fashion versus fast fashion.
When I was started my movement Iwantmyoceanback and this project, I was doing a lot of research during that time. I wanted to know more about what are the biggest things that pollute our oceans and cause problems for our planet. I found out like clothing is one of the biggest ocean pollutants and some fabrics, like polyester, have plastic in them so it breaks down and hurts our sea animals. After finding this out, I realized that it’s very harmful to buy fast fashion because people just buy the clothes and throw them away soon after. It inspired me to learn more about vintage and how we can buy secondhand instead, and just reuse clothing!
Ultimately, what do you hope your readers take away from your book?
I hope readers learn how important it is to let your creativity run wild! I want other kids to know that we can get inspired and have fun while also learning new things and growing our knowledge. It’s also very important that we learn more about how fast fashion affects our oceans and that we stop it! We need to win the war against fast fashion to help save the planet.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about the book or what you learned while writing it?
I just want to share that this book project is super special to me! It means a lot to me, and I worked very hard on it. I hope that everyone enjoys my stories and experiences dressing up as these legendary women. Most of all, I hope readers try it themselves and that it inspires them to think outside the box! I learned a lot from reading and getting to know these women, especially that we can do anything if we believe in ourselves.
About The Author
Sasha Olsen is an author, environmental activist,
ballroom dancer, bookworm, pianist, and enjoys anything artistic. She always
finds new hobbies and things to do, which usually ends up in her trying to
juggle everything. She lives with her family in Bal Harbour, Florida, where she
also spearheads the conservation movement “I Want My Ocean Back.” Legends
From Mom’s Closet is her first book.
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