Phillis Wheatley's Verse Structured Mini Dress

From Dust to Bloom

Phillis Wheatley's Verse

Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753–1784) was kidnapped from West Africa as a child and enslaved in Boston. In 1773, she became the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry — Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. George Washington himself wrote to praise her work. Our print honors her literary triumph with open poetry books, quill pens, white doves of freedom, and laurel branches on parchment-toned denim.

"She wrote her way home when home was taken from her. Two hundred years later, we still read her verse."

Source: Vincent Carretta, Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage (2011); Wheatley original edition (1773, public domain).This print honors a historical figure through the visual language of museum-quality illustration. The motifs are drawn from documented artifacts, not from personal or cultural identity. We celebrate her story — not claim it as our own.