Mollie Brown is the “pop of color” in a room. She is an artist supporting local musicians, and she knows where to find some good grub. I even heard she has her own Fan Club! DIBS chatted with Ms. Brown about one of her many interests, such as clowns, and even collaborated with her on a clown shoe photo essay.

Are there any nicknames people call you?

Mollusk, Shmoolie, Shmollie Shmabrown, Mollitha, Mollie McButter. I'm sure there are names I need to learn about. I was once called by my Instagram handle because they didn't know my real name. That was an interesting feeling. Her Instagram handle is @fuglylilthing

You are one of those rare people that like clowns. You do not seem bothered by them. Why is that?

I think there's a clown for every occasion and that clowns have the range to fit into any occasion, really. They're genius and so flexible. Clowns are fashion icons. They can pull off every accessory at once sometimes, and I think that's beautiful. Most people would look silly or overdone, but a clown already is silly, so it works, I think. It takes talent to make something like that work, lots of precision, and raw talent for composition. I feel like I'm reaching for a similar look - a maximalist aesthetic but casual in its own way. I think clowns are scary because we don't always know what they're thinking or feeling underneath the face paint and the chaos. But I also think it's cool that clowns are scary because it's somewhat powerful.

You can take a clown look as big or small as you want, and it's still a statement. I think the statement is always confidence.

Who are some of your favorite clowns?
My favorite clown is probably Lecile Harris. He was a rodeo clown who wore a checkered shirt and cow print hats that were like twice his size! Every picture I see of him makes me giggle but is also so inspiring artistically. I would love to recreate some pictures of him one day just for fun. There are some modern clowns that I like too, like sarahsquirm, circusfairie, and beevanian on Instagram.

What do clown shoes say about a clown?

Shoes are so important, not just to clowns. They can make or break your entire outfit. Shoes are basically like underlining your sentence - your statement. You want that line to be bold and meaningful.

Clowns would be pretty wobbly if they didn't have big feet to hold them up.

If you could pick a song to clown around to, what would that be?

Aphrodisiac by Bow Wow Wow

Art Direction by Mollie Brown | Photographs by Cristina Byrne