Just in Time for Taylor Swift’s Birthday, St. Mary’s Girls Craft a One-of-a-Kind Dress

Inquiry-based STEM Curriculum Inspires Girls to Defy Stereotypes in Science Fields

Third graders at St. Mary’s have followed their wildest dreams by creating a custom wedding dress for Taylor Swift – just in time for her birthday this Saturday, December 13. 

As part of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum at St. Mary’s, girls are given real-world scenarios to solve problems with hands-on, creative solutions – even fantastical ideas like a wedding dress for the pop princess! This long-standing approach to inquiry-based learning has earned St. Mary’s the ranking as the No. 1 School for STEM in Memphis by Niche. 

The idea for a STEM project all started during lunch last August when St. Mary’s 3rd-grade teacher, Mrs. Kristen Hehn, shared a very special piece of news with Lower School students: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce had gotten engaged. The cafeteria erupted with excited screams and cheers, girls jumping out of their seats at the announcement. “At an all-girls school, moments like this allow us to step into the girls' lives, tapping into what interests them,” Hehn shared.

Inspired by the students’ reactions, St. Mary’s Lower School STEM Teacher Mrs. Carrie Ruhland saw an opportunity to create a curriculum around the pop culture development. 

Makerspace + Imagination = Real STEM Learning

St. Mary’s Makerspaces are built to inspire students to think like scientists and makers. Students have access to two innovative learning environments designed for girls in 1st through 12th grade to create, build, and design with the engineering design process in mind. In her Makerspace class, “Merry Makers,” Ruhland added a unit this year to include sewing, an area of interest requested by her students. 

Drawing inspiration from the birds-and-mice dressmaking scene in “Cinderella,” Ruhland reimagined the story by having Taylor Swift’s cats invite students to create a magical wedding-day gown for Swift. 

The girls were enchanted by the prospect, accepting the challenge with glittering excitement.

“I have never seen anything like it in my entire life,” Ruhland commented. “Once we began, the energy in the Makerspace was electric.” 

The first step was to brainstorm elements for the dress, studying a wide range of designers and styles. “We discussed what colors in other cultures are considered beautiful and ceremonial,” Ruhland noted. “The girls voted on whether they wanted the dress to be white.”

After deciding on a final look, each of the three St. Mary’s third-grade classes spent several weeks in November tackling a different part of the project: 

• Class 1: The sweetheart neckline bodice, made from fabric and resin, modeled after a design created by fashion designer Victoria Beckham. 
• Class 2: The tulle skirt, complete with a tulle peplum, drawing from a Vera Wang wedding dress that the third-grade girls particularly gravitated toward during their brainstorming session. 
• Class 3: Accessories, including a veil with laser-cut cats made from wallpaper, a laser-cut cat wedding ring, golden tinsel cat ears, heels with embossed cat details, and a hand-sewn BabyBjörn for Swift to carry her cats down the aisle. 

Woven into every stitch and embellishment was the principle of teamwork, brightly on display as the girls championed one another’s perspectives for a better end result.

“No one was worried about a different group picking up where they left off,” shared Ruhland. “They embraced the opportunity to make a really great dress together, supporting and respecting one another’s ideas.” 

As the finishing touches were draped, pinned, and fluffed, the experience took on meaning far beyond girls crafting a wedding dress for a beloved celebrity. 

More than a Costume: Changing How Girls See STEM

While the dress is whimsical, the learning is serious. Research shows that girls begin to internalize stereotypes about brilliance and STEM fields as early as age six, which can discourage them from pursuing science-related interests. By providing hands-on, empowering experiences from preschool through high school, St. Mary’s helps reverse these trends by ensuring girls see themselves as scientists, engineers, and innovators from the start.

“Approaching learning this way allows us to meet the girls where they are and teach them that STEM doesn’t have to be big and scary,” Hehn reflected. “When they learn engineering can be used for anything, even clothing, they realize STEM is something they can pursue all the time.”

Ruhland echoed Hehn’s sentiment, emphasizing the importance of accessible STEM opportunities for girls. 

“The beauty of teaching at St. Mary’s is I can truly say this entire dress was created through the engineering design process,” Ruhland added. “This project allowed the girls to connect with new materials and methods, studying the engineering behind shoe and dress design while using tools they have become comfortable with in the Makerspace. I hope they remember this for years to come and carry the skills they learned into new challenges with confidence.”