Bald is beautiful t-shirt

Inspired by her own personal experiences of cancer, 15-year-old Ellie Pope has turned her hand to fashion design to help create a unique charity T-shirt with the positive slogan Bald is beautiful.  The vintage-style T-shirt is being sold by CLIC Sargent and aims to challenge the issues young women face when they lose their hair as a result of cancer treatment.

Ellie, and Mum Grace, worked closely with CLIC Sargent’s creative team to come up with the eye-catching fuchsia design.  The limited edition, fitted black T-shirt is now available from CLIC Sargent’s online shop at: www.clicsargent.org.uk/onlineshop. 

Friends and family joined Ellie to model the T-shirts in the garden of one of the Charity’s seven Homes from Home – Sam’s House in Bristol.  Sam’s House offers families, who often have to travel hundreds of miles for their child to have specialist treatment when they are diagnosed with cancer, a convenient and free place to stay, near to Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Ellie was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in October 2006 after having some unusual symptoms over the summer holidays.  She was then put on an intensive course of chemotherapy and as a result her hair began to fall out.

“When Ellie started to lose her hair I felt a huge sense of loss as it symbolised so poignantly that she had cancer,” explains Ellie’s Mum Grace.  “She looked so different. People would stare when Ellie walked around town without a wig or hat, but she was able to think of being bald as a style and decided to approach losing her hair positively.

“No matter how Ellie looked without hair she was still beautiful so we wanted to use this idea on a T-shirt and make a positive statement about being bald, and coping with hair loss and cancer,” says Grace.

Determined to help other young women facing the same trauma, Ellie and her Mum came up with the idea of creating a funky T-shirt with the eye-catching slogan Bald is beautiful.

“The T-shirt has been designed so that children and young people with cancer, and their families and supporters, can wear it to show that bald is beautiful,” adds Grace.

Ellie says, “I designed a T-shirt because I wanted to help other people feel better about being bald as it can be really tough.  I wanted to give something back to CLIC Sargent after all the things they’ve done to help me.”

Amy White, New Products Manager for CLIC Sargent, says, “Ellie’s positive approach to losing her hair is truly inspirational and we were delighted when she came to us with her idea.  Young women going through cancer treatment often feel embarrassed about being bald, so these T-shirts have been designed to help restore their confidence and wear their new style with pride.”

The limited edition Bald is beautiful T-shirt is available in three female sizes, small, medium and large, priced £11.99.  All profits from sales of the T-shirt will go directly to help children and young people with cancer, and their families.  To find out more about the T-shirt or to place an order, visit the CLIC Sargent online shop at: www.clicsargent.org.uk/onlineshop.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

• For more information contact Ruth Bowen, Press Officer, CLIC Sargent on: 0117 314 8617 or email: ruth.bowen@clicsargent.org.uk
• Sam’s House is one of seven CLIC Sargent Homes from Home in the country, and one of two in Bristol. It costs the charity approximately £12 per person per night to provide Homes from Home facilities.
• Ellie was joined by; her friend from the ward Maria Baker (14) who she met while undergoing cancer treatment, her Mum Grace Palmer, family friend Traceydawn White who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and friend Lois Cox (13).