This Is What Your Breakup Looks Like

Just as the smell of freshly baked cookies can send your mind back to childhood, the unique scent of a significant other's clothes can quickly recall to mind years of memories. While these scent-based recollections are often pleasant in the midst of a relationship, what happens when that relationship is over? An ex's fresh laundry detergent and musky cologne can combine to create an olfactory time capsule, capable of digging up long-buried emotions.

In the powerful photo series "Lovers Shirts," photographer Carla Richmond Coffing and writer Hanne Steen capture the precise moment of this emotional recollection, using pictures of women in their ex-lovers' clothing to illustrate the variety of feelings stirred up through scent. The photos depict over 50 real women experiencing sentiments that range from deep, longing sadness to positive reminiscence. The pictures are sure to resonate with anybody who has experienced the end of a serious relationship, perhaps inspiring viewers to pick up their own exes' abandoned t-shirts. Carla and Hanne also put together a poem using statements from the participants in the project:

These are only a few exceptionally powerful photos from this series; for the rest of the portraits, check out herclayheart. Source: Carla Richmond Coffing / herclayheart.com