Half-light

Originally inspired by shadow puppetry, the pageantry of the poem Half-light plays out upon a hand-painted panel sewn into the back of this top. The image of two figures, or a figure and its shadow, speaks to how we impact one another as we live out our lives: how we may look for the Self in the Other; how we cast indelible shadows on each other, informing each other’s shapes as we grow; how a particular aspect of one’s self might only be awakened by crossing the path of a particular person, never to be gleaned otherwise; and how the search for the soulmate, one’s “other half,” is an ancient and enduring quest.

“Love is born into every human being,” Aristophanes says in Plato’s The Symposium. “It calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two…”

*Please note: online store is now closed. For display only.

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Half-light

Half-light


  • Partway down the spine of Half-light, the two back panels open like a curtain to reveal a hand-painted figure and its shadow, evoking the poem’s words: “While I project my shadow, my skin on your skin…” Also available with a plain, unpainted back panel

  • Blouse shape is a slight A-line with reverse bottom and sleeve hems

  • Small slit at sleeve edge

  • Diminutive stand-up collar; keyhole opening at back with fabric loop and smoke-black mother-of-pearl button closure

  • Available in black or white, both with white painted (or unpainted) panel

  • French seams

  • 10% of your Half-light purchase benefits Venture Out regionally and, locally, Out Maine. Both organizations support queer youths and adults

  • Includes a card imprinted with the poem


Materials and garment care

100% midweight Irish linen with hand-painted
100% midweight Irish linen panel.


Delicate cold wash and hang dry, or
green dry clean. Do not bleach.
May shrink slightly.
Painted panel: iron wrong side, low heat.


Sizing

Ellery, in white at the paper curtain, is 5’5” and is wearing size S.
Nadine, in black, is 5’10” and is wearing size XL.
Lindsey, in black with hoop earrings, is 5’4” and is wearing size S.


View Sizing Chart

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