Stella Ehrhart, 8, dresses as Billie Holiday for her school outfit.
An 8-year-old girl has made a name for herself as the most creative costume designer in Nebraska.
Stella Ehrhart of Omaha has dressed up as a different historic figure every day for over a year.
One day she was Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, resilient and beautiful. Another day she was Grace Kelly in her wedding gown, ready to wed the Prince of Monaco. Yet another day she was jazz legend Billie Holliday, with a red papier-mâché flower garnishing her hair.
She pores over her copy of 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century and chooses her role model of the day. The 8-year-old told The Omaha World-Herald that when she was in second grade, she decided to incarnate these inspirational women not just in attire — but also at school. Since then, the third-grader has been surprising her peers at Dundee Elementary School with her apparel every day without fail.
Ehrhart’s teachers and parents have supported her daily endeavor. Sometimes her teachers have even incorporated her costumes into their lessons. On the day Ehrhart dressed as Rosa Parks, the class was morphed into a student-directed play on Parks’ fight for civil rights.
Her parents, both theater professionals, say they are amazed with her creativity. They let Ehrhart’s imagination run wild without much help or intervention. But they admit that it gets exhausting sometimes. Her mom keeps a log of Ehrhart’s outfits on a calendar: Georgia O’Keeffe, Joan Baez, Queen Elizabeth, Laura Ingalls Wilder, etc.
To her classmates, though, they aren’t nearly as mesmerized by historic figures as Ehrhart. Her coolest outfit, according to one boy, was when she dressed up as their principal.