By Beth Bunch / Editor
Stevens E. Moore doesn’t need fancy labels to distinguish his beautiful hand-wrought creations. He knows them intimately – from every delicate stitch and inch of silky, satiny fabric to the intricately beaded design work. These are gowns and finery worn by beauty queens, blushing brides and many a Carnival king and queen. Moore, a Hattiesburg icon and master of his art, is known near and far – from pageant dressing rooms and the brightly-lit stage to runways and rose petal strewn wedding paths. S.E., to his friends, learned his amazing artistry at the hands of his mother, Lyda Moore, at the tender young age of 14. An old treadle sewing machine was her weapon of choice. “Back then girls had a senior reception and wore hoop skirts with lots of ruffles that had to be hemmed,” recalls Moore, who helped and thus became engrained in a vocation and avocation that would carry him through life. You wouldn't exactly call what Moore does for a living as ‘a needle pulling thread,’ but rather a beautiful and intricate art form. Moore served in the Army from 1950-52. Following his military service he enrolled in the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City where he studied dress design. Upon returning to the Pine Belt he entered the University of Southern Mississippi and earned a degree in art and marketing, a field that was once known as Home Economics. He still questions why they ever did away with the class that taught young women, and some men, many important life skills. It was while at USM that Moore designed the first Dixie Darling outfits which replaced the old hoop skirt costumes once worn by the dance line. The original DD costume consisted of a black velvet top with Continued on next page
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