Danny and Hallie pose together in their shop, in front of a pastel mural, from the waist up, smiling with their tongues out. Danny has yellow spiky hair, cat eye glasses, a tan and white faux fur jacket, a blue and white western button up shirt,and leopard print pants. Hallie has messy colorful hair, round glasses, and wears a yellow bandana, a camo t shirt with flowers and eyes printed on it, and red and black patterned pants.
When I first saw photos of Hallie Linnebur and Danny Echo on Facebook, I immediately freaked out. As a former Wichitan and lifelong Midwesterner, their style is a breath of fresh air—exciting, new, invigorating, and energetic. I knew right away that I had to know more about them, so I asked some questions about their style, their business (The Hereafter), and their music so we could all get to know them better.
JDM: How would you describe your style aesthetic? What’s your style philosophy, if you’ve got one?
HL: Well, I love bold colors and shapes, I’m big into pattern clashing, texture mixing, and throwing together unexpected combos. I think a lot of days to the random observer I probably just come across as tacky and clownish, which is actually fine with me! Most of the time I feel most comfortable in pieces that are visually loud, physically soft, comfy, oversized, lots of layers, lots of accessories. If I’m getting dressed up, I stay bright and clashy, but I’ll go for a more tailored and trim silhouette and more deliberate color palette. I mean, it’s not always bright colors—I definitely have my goth days. Over the years, I’ve dipped my toes into just about every fashion trend, movement, subculture, decade, and aesthetic, but these days I kind of just jumble all that together into a big, fun, contradictory mess. So, if I have a style philosophy I guess it would be to just keep it loose, free, expressive, and fun! Ignore gatekeepers. Express yourself through your style, if and when and however you feel like it. Ratty sweats and slides are also fine. Just wear what makes you feel good.
DE: My style aesthetic is kind of hard for me to pin down. I guess eclectic would be the word. I came up in the scene kid era, and even though I wasn't permitted by my parents to really go all out on being "scene" I did what I could in my teens to make it happen. I was also very into Bob Dylan's style in the Blonde on Blonde era, Tim Burton's infamous birds nest, and, after the first Narnia movie came out, Tilda Swinton, who was my gateway drug to androgyny.
As I've gotten older I've been influenced by countless other things, but anymore when I look back, I'm tickled to find that I really gravitate toward dressing myself similarly to how I dressed myself from the ages of 6-11. If I have a philosophy on dressing it's to just wear whatever feels good and to challenge myself from time to time to try new things and step out of my box. I have experienced this to be true: if you are inclined to dress outside of a social norm then it becomes an amazing people filter, and those that aren't very nice make themselves known. But so do the kind people.
Two images side-by-side of Hallie outdoors in two poses, one standing, and one crouched, showing their outfit. They wear black and white striped socks and a baseball cap, oversized black and white camo print shorts, and black and white graphic print hoodie,
a blue and black sweater with hand prints on it, and blue and white patterned boots.
Two images side-by-side of Hallie outdoors in two poses, one standing, and one crouched, showing their outfit. They have short, messy green and yellow hair, and they are wearing neon orange glasses, a colorful face mask, a blue striped shirt under a floral print button up shirt, windbreaker pants with hand-painted X’s and O’s, and colorful sneakers.
Two images side-by-side of Hallie outdoors in two poses, showing their outfit. They wear round glasses, a colorful face mask, a baggy red cropped sweatshirt with a big cowl, suspenders, cropped pants in a bold, colorful graphic print, and colorful socks and sporty red and blue slide sandals.
Where do you find your clothing? Do you have a particular philosophy about where you buy and what you buy?
HL: I wear almost exclusively secondhand clothing. I love to also buy handmade or altered pieces straight from artists and indie designers when I can, either local or online, but that’s not always in my budget, so it’s mostly thrift stores and estate sales for me. I’ve been buying and selling vintage clothing for about 15 years now, and naturally I find things for myself while out hunting. Over time, as I acquired more secondhand clothing in my own wardrobe, and at the same time learned more about fashion production and how harmful and exploitative it is to human beings and our environment, the decision to commit to wearing only secondhand or ethically made clothes was a pretty easy one for me. Having said that, I also recognize that not everyone has the same access to cute, fashionable secondhand clothing—body type, budget, time, and location can all make it way more difficult to just up and cut your ties with fast fashion, so I’m not about making anyone feel guilty for how and where they shop. That was actually a big motivation for opening The Hereafter (at 120 N Hillside St Ste B in Wichita, Kansas)—just to give folks around here another option for secondhand clothing - it’s more curated than a thrift store, it’s a “cool” place to shop (we hope), but we also try to keep our prices comparable to fast fashion prices, so we remain accessible to shoppers on a tight budget.
Interior shot of Danny holding their leg to pose in an outfit which features a dark plaid mini dress, blue and black striped crew neck, geometric glasses, multi-color face mask, bright orange plastic chain necklace, wrist watch and bracelets, doll-stitch printed
tights, and black and red platform shoes.
Interior selfie in dressing room mirror. The walls of the dressing room are orange and pink, and the carpet has a bold, colorful design. Danny has on a bright orange face mask and wears dark chunky glasses. They wear a bright blue plaid short sleeved blazer over a long sleeved pink and black striped shirt. They have on a dark denim skirt with colorful painted designs, abstract patterned leggings and shiny orange and black pointed boots.
Exterior behind shed with scraps of spray painted plywood and cardboard. Danny poses with hands in pockets glancing sideways. They’re wearing red heart shaped sunglasses, a green visor and orange hair, neon green mock turtleneck, cow print jacket, red floral pants, mismatched socks and plain black shoes.
DE: Most of my clothing comes from thrift stores. I have never liked department stores or the mall and their lack of exciting variety, and heavy straight atmosphere. Even thrift stores were getting a little stale for me in my late teens, but in my early twenties I started to timidly cross over into the women's section at thrift stores and that's where the good stuff (for me) is at. I've never bought more than a few items for myself at once, and a lot of the time I will talk myself out of buying things if they're not cooler than what I already have on while I'm shopping. I have varying degrees of good and bad taste, so I enjoy kind of crappy cheap stuff sometimes as much as I like good quality clothing. Costumey stuff and even some dorky mall items have become a staple in my everyday wear much of the time. I buy used clothing more often than not, because there's tons of it out there already and I enjoy not knowing what I'll find next—plus I don't wanna put money into the hands of sweatshop owners.
Danny and Hallie pose together outdoors in a selfie from the chest up. Danny has bright yellow spiky hair, yellow and black patterned cat eye glasses, an orange face mask, a red scarf, a green and black polka dot blazer, and a plush lion brooch. Hallie is wearing a green bob wig, a pink and turquoise face mask with a big plastic flower pin on one cheek, a pink spiked collar, and a black and white striped t shirt.
How does your clothing relate to or express your gender identity?
Interior shot of Hallie and Danny getting in close for a selfie. Hallie has short, yellow hair, and is wearing chunky, clear framed glasses, colorful jewelry and an electric blue T shirt with monster graphics printed on it. They are also wearing tie-dyed purple overalls with red centipedes painted on them. Danny has short, yellow hair and a dark painted unibrow. They wear yellow cat eye glasses, assorted rings, colorful jewelry, a blue, yellow and black Maxi Glamour short sleeved shirt, and a dark denim skirt with colorful painted designs.
HL: I honestly try not to give it a lot of thought these days. Because thinking about it gives me a headache! I am nonbinary, and I’d say I lean more towards masc than femme in my day-to-day presentation—but also clothing has no gender, right? Since my early teen years I’ve been wrestling with my gender identity, presentation, upbringing and how to make all those things fit together in some kind of way that feels true and complete. It’s hard! So when it comes to outward presentation and the clothing I select for myself, I really make an effort to just shut down whatever deeply rooted notions I may have about gendered clothing and wear only what makes me feel happy and comfortable. I remind myself that I don’t owe anyone any degree of masculinity, femininity or androgyny. I have nothing to prove or disprove. I do get into my own head about the gender stuff every now and then, but honestly most of the time getting dressed is easy and fun, because I just really really love fashion, and finally having a job where I can wear anything I want at any time is so bomb!
DE: Gender expression is something I've tried to push out of my thoughts for most of my life, but inevitably has influenced and shaped much of my clothing choices anyhow. I'm getting to a point now where I feel a little more comfortable making more deliberate gender choices, but for most of my life, even when I started experimenting with “women’s” clothing, I was quick to reference manly studs of earlier decades who were andorgynous but got lots of chicks as a way to deflect the gender identity question, as all my closest friends growing up and until recent years have been rather phobic of anything other than cis. I've been trying to mask my gender identity longer than I've allowed myself to think about what my gender identity is. I have been fortunate enough to have gotten into drag culture over the last few years in a time when inclusion and representation of all genders is becoming more and more important, and that has really been empowering to me to be more expressive with my gender identity. In a way, my style doesn't express my gender so much as it expresses simply my tastes, interests, and humor. Mostly what I'd like to say with my clothing with regard to gender is just don't assume and don't call me bro.
Where is your favorite place to look for clothing? Do you have a favorite shop?
HL: This might be sort of an uncool answer, but … eBay? I am seriously on eBay almost every single day, and that seems to surprise a lot of folks, because I think it’s viewed by many to be kind of outdated, boring, and basically dead. But it’s not! With practice and patience, you can find some absolute gems on there! Don’t get me wrong, spontaneously finding an unexpected treasure at the thrift store is really fun too! But on eBay, it almost feels like you’re playing some kind of long strategy game, and the prize is something like, a pair of rare designer sneakers you’ve been coveting for a decade that you snag for $40 in an auction. It’s exciting and I love it.
DE: I guess I prefer DAVs (Disabled Army Veteran Thrift Stores). There's one not too far from my house that's so dense with clothing it can be a little stressful at times, but it's also nice because it feels more like a hunt or something. It could also be that I get harassed less frequently at DAVs for whatever reason, and the one close to my house has some really sweet employees. Honestly, it's still a little stressful to shop for non-masc clothing anywhere in Wichita, KS.
Exterior looking into a shop window of The Hereafter, with lots of colorful clothing hanging on racks in the background, two white plastic mannequins wear layered clothing in bold, mismatched patterns. Large pumpkin sculptures, a pink bird, and a purple star sit on the ledge in front of the mannequins.
Interior shot of The Hereafter looking into a corner, there are three clothing racks full of colorful, sparkly clothing, sequin leotards hanging from above, and a mannequin head wearing a rainbow mask and blue feather boa. The walls behind the racks are black with white stars.
Hallie’s hair is bright red. They are wearing red sparkly glasses. Their lipstick is baby blue, and they are wearing fangs on their teeth. Their earrings are pink, green, orange, and purple puffballs. Their shirt is pink with polka dots, and over it they are wearing a Halloween-themed sweater with a spider, bat, and Frankenstein. They are wearing a pink and purple spiked choker, a blue iridescent coffin-shaped ring, and a spiked bracelet.
Danny has straight black hair with bangs. Their makeup is white, and their lipstick is green. They are wearing a blue houndstooth jacket with a number of different pins, a yellow and red flower, and a stuffed, striped doll. In their left hand they are holding a blue and green painted rat as though it were a phone, and in their right hand they hold a lavender crayon as though it were a cigarette. Their glasses are black—one lens is a square, and the other is a circle. In the background is a gray, gauzy fabric with gold and silver stars.
About the creators
Hallie Linnebur is a visual/performance artist living in Wichita, KS with their partner and herd of cats. In 2021 they opened The Hereafter, a vintage and alternative secondhand clothing store in their neighborhood.
Danny Echo is a musician and multidisciplinary artist from Wichita KS where they co-operate The Hereafter, a vintage and alternative second hand clothing store with their partner and cats. They’ve been dressing themself since always.