Katie Liestman: Plants can wear dresses, too
Dressember is all about using your own creativity and personal style to advocate for the freedom of all people. Some advocates take the style challenge even further by adding their own unique spin on things. Being a Dressember advocate can be as fun and out-of-the-box as adorning your plants with a drawing of a dress!
Katie Liestman has weaved her passion for stories, plants and human rights advocacy together on her Instagram, @peepthemleaves. Her creative posts are an amazing example of how fun and advocacy can be connected. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing her and learning more about her and her unique posts of plants paired with paper doll dresses.
You cover Dressember's work and the need to end human trafficking in your posts. What was the spark that made you want to be a Dressember advocate this year?
The issue of human trafficking has been on my radar since 2006 when I first learned about International Justice Mission's work and had friends go on staff with them in Kolkata, India. In 2007, I went to Nepal and India and met with organizations that were working on all sides of trafficking that happens, especially with women and young children from Nepal into India. It is such an expansive injustice that has tentacles in so many communities, industries, and social norms.
To be honest, I was so overwhelmed by the magnitude of it. I knew that whenever I could do something positive to support the work these many organizations uphold, I would try. My dear childhood friend, Beth Carroll [who founded and organizes the Dress Well, Do Good Team] had been participating in Dressember for years. I always would tell her I wanted to join. She always kindly said I was welcome to at any point that it was right for me - she never pressured or shamed me into joining. This year, I knew it was the year to jump in and reconnect in a more direct way with this issue I care deeply about. I am so grateful to Beth for kindly and consistently supporting and nurturing the growth and advocacy of those around her without pressure.
You are known for your fun Instagram account where you incorporate plants with drawings of dresses. What inspired you to do this?
“With a topic as serious and heavy, I think a healthy dose of levity is not just nice...it’s essential. Caring about issues going on in the world doesn’t mean that you have to be stern and somber constantly to ensure the weight of it is known.”
In the last 6 months, I have become houseplant obsessed/crazy [it depends on who you ask]. For example, I have named them all after book series or TV shows I've binged during the pandemic. [I'll let you take a moment to soak that ridiculousness in.] In all seriousness, taking care of plants has really helped to ground me during the pandemic. Witnessing new growth, death, pruning, letting go, etc. are all important metaphors for life. Because these living beings are so near to my heart during this really tumultuous year in the world, I knew I wanted to incorporate them in my Dressember campaign. Originally I was merely going to include them in my own photos [which I still do on my personal account]. But the idea hit me the Monday before Dressember started to choose paper doll dresses and have my plants be the ones I featured in Dressember. If anything, I thought it would be silly enough to catch a bit of attention from people that may just scroll.
Dresses and leaves are fun and creative outlets! Given that human trafficking is a serious topic, what would be one tip you would give advocates to incorporate silliness and fun in their activism?
With a topic as serious and heavy, I think a healthy dose of levity is not just nice...it's essential. Caring about issues going on in the world doesn't mean that you have to be stern and somber constantly to ensure the weight of it is known. Anyone reading this information or learning about this cannot doubt the seriousness of it. So for me, using plants to wear dresses is a way for me to engage in life as I know it right now [which is very plant-centric...you can ask anyone who knows me what I talk about a good portion of the time] with what I have.
At the very least, I am hoping that the silliness and whimsy of these photos makes one person stop and read the post. Maybe that one person will learn one fact that sets them down a path of understanding this issue in a broader way that can impact countless others. I know that my own journey of growth has come from a million moments of seeing or hearing people I respected, saw on social media, or barely knew in high school discuss or share about issues I otherwise knew nothing about. What a gift of the time we are in that our worlds can become so expansive with social media.
Fashion is a part of all of our lives, and it's interconnected with the world. What are the benefits of elevating dresses through nature instead of wearing them?
“What a gift of the time we are in that our worlds can become so expansive with social media.”
For me, adorning my plants in dresses and illustrating them further aligns with how much they've given me in recent months [as silly as that sounds]. I'm centering a living organism that is otherwise voiceless - used for the sake of decoration and background - to be front and center. However, for the record, I do wear a dress every day, too! I post those photos on my personal Instagram, but you usually only see me from shoulders up holding the plant I've featured that day.
However, the plants are central...just like they kind of are in this season of life for me. I'm so grateful for what they've taught me about myself, and I am encouraged that so many others have found the project to be entertaining, cute, and informative. You all have put SO much thought into how you've run Dressember, and I'm just so grateful to add whatever I have to the pile of creativity, passion, and goodness that flows from this organization.
As a Dressember advocate, consider how your special strengths, talents and unique sense of creativity can be used to fight human trafficking. Using your unique skillset can help you identify how to be part of the solution!
About the Author
Elle Magaña Mireles is a Latinx sustainable fashion advocate based in Chicago, IL. She believes clothing can be a gateway to creating a more just and humane world by bringing about global, positive change. In her free time, she writes for her sustainable fashion blog called Just Irenic, spends quality time in nature, and takes courses on social justice.