A standing-room-only audience of former school chums, fashionistas (pint-size and full-grown), aspiring designers and two very proud parents crowded into the Barrington White House ballroom Saturday to welcome home favorite daughter and fashion/accessories/home furnishings designer Cynthia Rowley.
Rowley was the subject of a weeklong salute, which concluded Saturday with a Barrington White House gala fundraiser honoring her achievements.
Rowley, a Barrington High School and School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate, reminisced about growing up in the Barrington home where her parents Clementine and Edward still live. Rowley described their home as “the monument to my idyllic childhood.”
Rowley got her love of sewing from her mother, who made clothes for Cynthia and her younger brothers. Clementine Rowley encouraged her young daughter and allowed her to use the sewing machine. Considering the girl could have put a needle through her finger, it may not have been the safest decision, said Clementine. But in light of her daughter’s success, it was the right one.
“The most fulfilling part of my job is to have an idea and make it a reality,” said the designer, whose line has expanded to include men’s and children’s fashion, swim and surfwear, accessories, home furnishings and even Band-Aids in a partnership with Johnson & Johnson.
Wearing a pink silk floral dress from her current collection, Rowley shared the story of her big break. It came while the then-undergraduate was riding the train from Barrington to Chicago. A woman commented on her jacket and asked where she got it. Rowley told the woman, a buyer for Marshall Field’s, she made it. Within days she had an order from the department store for 18 pieces. The rest is history.
“There’s no limit. There’s no rules. You can be fearless,” said the designer, who recalls proudly wearing to high school a pair of yellow bell-bottoms she created.
“It’s better to be different from than to fit in and be something you’re not,” she said.
Saturday’s audience included members of the St. Anne Parish School fashion and sewing club. Rowley encouraged the youngsters to pursue their dreams.
“If you make a mistake … move on,” she said. “Keep going.”
Those words became a Rowley refrain during a question-and-answer session that lasted more than an hour and included advice and anecdotes.
The Q&A followed a presentation from the gun-violence prevention group Moms Demand Action, whose Barrington chapter made an honorary member of Rowley, who is active with the Everytown for Gun Safety organization.
“I really appreciate everything you do for Everytown and Moms Demand Action. Every town, every city, every state matters,” said a visibly moved Rowley, who wore a “we can end gun violence” T-shirt during the presentation.
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