By Her Own Design

In February 1962, white men from the IRS confiscate Ann’s shop. They barge in and seize everything in the shop because she owes too many back taxes. Arthur was the mathematical bookkeeper, so without him, Ann didn’t do the taxes correctly.

Ann goes berserk, crying and screaming. She clings to the shop’s door frame, but Sallie pulls her away since the men will harm Ann and her precious hands if she doesn’t cooperate.

Sallie and Ann try to think of ways to continue their business. While Ann recovers from her depressed state over losing the store, Sallie finds her work at Saks Fifth Avenue again.

Thanks to Ann’s popularity and reputation, she transitions well into the Adams Room of design at Saks. Many of her clients already shopped at Saks.

The eye doctor says that Ann may lose her right eye soon if she doesn’t stop working. Ann is scared, but not enough to quit. She continues to keep her failing eye health a secret.

She gets a letter from Jacqueline inviting her to the White House. Ann and Sallie travel there, and Ann attends a meeting with Jacqueling. She expresses her concerns about Ann losing her shop and then tells her that she won’t have any further difficulty with the IRS. She took care of the trouble, perhaps through her husband or paying for Ann’s debts. Ann is grateful.

Though Jacqueline’s help with the IRS was substantial, Ann still owes other fabric vendors and suppliers. She works at Saks to pay them all back.

In 1963, Ann welcomes her great-granddaughter, Clara, Audrey’s baby. A few months after, however, the eye doctor must remove her right eye since it’s deteriorated so much. Once Ann recovers from surgery, she works with one eye. She stays at Saks and explains designs to other sketch artists.

Jacqueline and John have a baby boy, Patrick, but he dies two days after birth. Ann prays for them.

The eye doctor warns that her left eye is now getting stressed, so she should retire. Sallie wants a second opinion. Ann finds another doctor, who performs surgery on her left eye. Afterward, she can see better than ever. She vows to use her talents to dress Black women from now on and to give back, no matter the money.

In 1965, Ann opens Ann Lowe Originals, and her clients and staff return. Evyan Perfume commissions Ann for a special project designing miniatures of all the first ladies’ inauguration dresses. She agrees and sets to work making the doll-sized clothes for the special exhibit.

Ann takes Donna Dean under her wing, a young Black woman in design school. They work closely together on the Evyan project. Donna learns the history of dresses as they make them and study them in an exhibit. She’s the most talented sketcher Ann has ever seen.

Sallie becomes more worn out, so Ann has her do less sewing and more fitting. Ann worries about her sister’s age.

In 1967, Nell Greening (née Lee) visits New York City and drops by. Ann is thrilled to see her. Nell and her daughter ask Ann to come back to Tampa for a ball that they want to throw in her honor. Ann can’t believe it. Nell insists that the Gasparilla organization wants to honor her fashion across over 40 years.

Ann tells Nell about her background, her upbringing as a little girl, Mama and Grandma saying that a colored girl never went to balls, and her abuse with Lee. Nell cries for her hardships. Ann tells her not to worry; times have changed things. People like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks stood up for her people, and now she’s going to be honored with a ball.

In 1968, Ann and Ruth attend the ball in Tampa. She’s interviewed by reporters and feels special. The ball is also a fashion show of her work—the first show she’s ever had. Nell introduces Ann with some background on her life and states that her family was blessed to have her.

When Ann gives her speech, she is at a loss at first. Then, she speaks of Mrs. Lee, her patron, who is the reason she was able to find so much success in life. She thanks everyone for seeing her as an equal human being and allowing her to live her dreams.