The MNY Spotlight
Mestiza's Heirloom Project in Partnership with Pink Ribbon Good
In 2020, Louisa and Alessandra launched the Mestiza Heirloom Project as a way to empower communities of women who are leaving a legacy. In May, we met with 15 women across all 6 regions of the Pink Ribbon Good community (previously known as Pink Ribbon Girls), to gift them each a Mestiza piece to empower them on the next step of their journey.
Pink Ribbon Good is a non-profit organization that exists to serve every person and family affected by breast and gynecological cancer. They provide free healthy meals, rides to treatment, housecleaning essentials, and peer support so no one is alone in the fight.
Today, we're sharing a few stories of where these women will be wearing their Mestiza pieces.
"This year for my 45th birthday I am grateful for so much and after spending most of the year in sweatpants and always recovering from something...I want to try to look and feel my best with the people I love the most...I want to stand confidently after what I have concurred these past 10 months. A dress can cover the scars and my hopes are that a great dress or outfit allows me to see myself again."
Stephanie - Cincinnati, OH
"I am Cancer free now and have so much to be thankful for. The BRCA mutation gene took my breasts and a small piece of my womanhood. Then, in July of 2023 I was told I had Ovarian Cancer. I had a full radical hysterectomy now. The last part of what made me a female, a woman, is gone. It messes with your mental state. It robs you of your essence. I am fighting the post cancer demons and working hard to find the beauty in myself and being alive. I am cancer free. I still fear cancer coming back but for now trying hard to feel gorgeous again. To feel like a woman. The dress would be one way to feel like a queen and to have that feminine essence about me."
It will be an outward symbol that I am on the other side of my cancer treatment and living my life, in spite of it. Last year, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy, radiation treatment, and endocrine therapy. I just had my reconstruction surgery so I am feeling more myself now. Onward!"
"Since my diagnosis in August, I’ve struggled with looking and feeling beautiful. Receiving a Mestiza dress would push me to make time to have those special moments and remember that cancer doesn’t define me.
I would also love to share the dress with my daughter someday! She’s only 2.5 but I think it would be an incredibly special and meaningful item to hand down to her and hope that the history of the dress would remind her of how beautiful and strong she is too."
"I would wear the dress at my son’s college graduation and various fundraising events for PRG. It would allow me to feel proud to be part of the community that has supported me through my cancer journey."
"I would wear the dress just to get a cup of coffee, or lunch with a friend, or church. Whether a designer piece or thrift store find, women survivors should feel empowered because we are fighters."
