Thursday, April 16, 2026
By Mia Pech
Inside Madewell in Georgetown in late March, women sat between racks of denim as they prepared to talk about something rarely discussed in a clothing store: grief, body image and the complicated history of what women wear.
The event, Cry n’ Vibe: Retail Therapy, was hosted by Kiara McGowan, founder of Crying in D.C., who introduced herself as Washington’s “local crying expert.”
Crying in D.C. began in 2023, during what Kiara called “the worst summer of my life.” At the same time, she was working as a bartender and was usually off work by 3 p.m. Looking for something to do and somewhere to put all of her feelings, she began making TikToks ranking the best places to cry in Washington.
What started as a joke quickly became something more. The TikToks grew into an online following and by 2024 Kiara decided to take the idea offline. She began hosting events called Cry n’ Vibe, built around one central message: crying is a vibe.
“I really want to make sure that I develop spaces where people can express their grief, their feelings, emotions and also be able to talk about how much things suck right now,” McGowan said. “It feels like we aren’t having spaces where people can talk about what is going on.”
After Kiara spoke, Professor Frankie L. Bethea of Howard University took over the conversation.
Bethea told the audience that fashion is deeply tied to women’s rights. “A lot of the clothes that we wear today are a result of women’s rights,” she said.
Her own connection to that history feels personal. Bethea’s mother worked at Howard University for 50 years and was pregnant with her while walking through the campus.
“It was embedded in my DNA,” Bethea said. “Now I’m teaching classes that I took 25 years ago.”
From there, Bethea began highlighting women who changed the fashion industry. The first was Anne Lowe, the groundbreaking designer best known for creating elegant wedding dresses. Bethea described Lowe as “an engineer” of bridal fashion because she transformed the wedding dress from a stiff, traditional style into a more couture silhouette that emphasized women’s curves.
Next came jewelry designer Miriam Haskell, whose pieces were known for looking modern and inventive. Bethea said some of that same spirit can still be seen today in the jewelry and accessories sold at Madewell.
Finally, she turned to a designer named Ruth, who helped change the world of denim by reconstructing jeans to fit different body types and silhouettes.
Photos below by Mia Pech