Fashion Extremes: Celebrate Your Unique Style

The Look: Hemlines Go Long

Suheir Hammad, 37

The author of Breaking Poems, and an original cast member of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, Hammad writes about "how people maintain their humanity in difficult circumstances." She likes her clothes to tell a story, too: "I don't always look the way people expect a poet to look. Onstage, you'll find me in sequins." For spring, a to-the-ankle skirt and sweeping chiffon duster make for a dramatic entrance. "Materials and shape interest me," Hammad says. "There are no rules—just, 'How am I going to make this work?'"

Skirt, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, $224. Duster, Very Vollbracht, $100. Knee-length dress, Eileen Fisher, $258. Rings, Jessica Ricci, Marcia Moran, and Sissy Yates Designs. Sandals, Bottega Veneta.