Last Tuesday I went to one of the most fantastic fashion events in all my years of blogging. I entered the beautiful venue to a room glowing with the setting sun streaming through the large windows, live music, and stylish people milling about, drinking signature cocktails and enjoying appetizers served by waitstaff in tuxedos. Art on the walls was created just for these event. There was a pop-up shop where fashionistas (and fashionistos) could purchase beaded cocktail dresses, fur coats, and designer suits. After shopping and socializing, we were led to silver chiavari chairs where we viewed a runway show of hot fashions, models walking to a live DJ and saxophone player. It was all so posh… and all for a good cause.
The Art of Fashion, Goodwill's 2013 Fashion Show and Gala, held at Artisphere. That event was the Goodwill annual Fashion Gala, this year the theme was The Art of Fashion, and it took place at Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia. Those fashionable attendees? When I spoke to them I found that many were wearing gems they found in a local Goodwill. The art? Lichtenstein-inspired Pop Art relating to the Goodwill fashion. The pop-up shop was brimming with hot trends and designer labels all found at Goodwill stores across the area. And the runway show featured some local celebrities as models, strutting their stuff in clothing and shoes all found at Goodwill.
While this was all amazing, the most inspiring part of the evening was the presentation that took place prior to the runway show. The lights dimmed, and the large screens around the room showed photos of Goodwill employees and those who benefit from the charity and their stories. Individuals who take five different buses to get to school every night but are never late, adults who are proudly donning a cap and gown for the first time in their life, older individuals who lost their retirement years ago and are trying to not have to depend on their children, people who thanks to Goodwill who won’t have to sleep in their car tonight. Just writing about this presentation is bringing tears to my eyes, it was so powerful, and such a good reminder of how you shop, and where you shop can do more than improve your own personal style. How one person can make such a major and positive change.
If you could walk in someone else’s shoes for one day, would you help them?
This statement was part of the presentation and it hit me like a ton of bricks. We get so caught up in our own drama – our issues, our problems, our frustrations that we often don’t realize those around us. By reaching out and helping others, it not only improves their lives but improves our own.
I love that Goodwill not only is a place to find clothing and homegoods at great prices and reduce landfill waste, but your purchases help others. This gala proved that you can look good and do good at the same time. I left the event wanting to share the positivity with everyone around me. It’s like The Best Part’s campaign, positivity is contagious, and when you put it out there it can’t help but grow!
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