3. The Green Lady of Brooklyn Lives in Gowanus
Elizabeth Sweetheart, also known as The Green Lady of Brooklyn, lives just on the border of Gowanus and Carroll Gardens. Sweetheart, who typically dresses in an all-green outfit, lives in a home on Nelson Street with a bright green door. Now 82, the Brooklynite was born in a coal mining town in Nova Scotia and raised in a log cabin by her grandparents, who taught her to paint and make clothing. After studying painting in college, she hitchhiked to New York City and began creating prints in the garment industry. The fabric designer eventually settled on a green aesthetic, dyeing her hair green to support the look.
For 15 years, she ran the SweetPea Design Studio, before transitioning to selling vintage fabrics from her collection. Sweetheart made prints for companies including Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren. Her love for the color green was inspired by her childhood home by the Bay of Fundy. Since about 2000, she has donned green, with about 30 pairs of overalls all hand-dyed. Sweetheart sometimes invites people into her (unsurprisingly) green home, filled with green carpets, dishes, linens, towels, and even a green dog leash.