I had the honor of hosting and curating a fabulous recycled fashion show at Lucca Restaurant and Bar this past Wednesday benefitting Save Ourselves, Sacramento’s local Breast Cancer Organization. The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and many of us have been affected by this horrible disease. The owner of Lucca and my dear friend, Terri Gilliland, lost her sweet mom to it and both of my grandmothers had it as well. Terri and I wanted to do something special to honor all the women who have lost their battle and those that have survived. It was a no brainer to do a colorful recycled fashion show, with the main emphasis on pink!

The two things that really get my creative fuels going are fashion and charitable work. So when I get to combine the two I am over the moon with excitement to make the event as memorable and spectacular as possible! For the show this past Wednesday, I had eight very talented and what I consider to be influential models. All eight are people that really make a difference in the Sacramento community either in fashion, art, or community service. One of my models is an actual breast cancer survivor and her story brings chills to me as I write this post. Every now and then we come across people who make us want to become better people and she definitely had that effect on me. She kind of makes me want to scream out Beyoncé’s song: “I’m a survivor, I’m gonna make it!”

As for the clothes I used in the show, I had the perfect balance of thrift, consignment, and antique faire items. Thrift Town was definitely in the house that night! I know I write for Thrift Town, but I just want to say how fan’frickintastic the organization and stores are! They are exactly why I love thrift organizations so much. They give back to the community and provide excellent low price merchandise for the public. A big thank you to them for supporting the event I threw at Lucca. Almost all of the shoes were from Thrift Town including rad Carlos Santana edgy pumps, ($4.99) 2 pairs of classy Ninewest pumps, ($4.99 and $6.99) and Italian made in perfect condition loafers ($7.99!)

As for the aesthetic of the show, I wanted to go vintage glamour with a modern twist. This is definitely my style and I wanted to show the crowd how fun and beautiful it is to mix and match vintage pieces with contemporary to make it fresh and new. I REALLY wanted to find a stellar faux fur scarf or coat and my recycled fashion dreams came true at the Thrift Town in Carmichael. Many of you may know Kari Shipman already because she is another Thrift Town blogger! We are friends and I knew I had to have her in the show and HAD to have her wear something from the store! I think she is amazing in so many ways. How awesome does she look in this Thrift Town faux fur scarf! ($6.99) It has glamour written all over it. I am a little obsessed with the scarf and wanted to also show an alternative way to wear it. One night it’s glamorous, the next day it’s ‘grunge.’ Who knew faux fur could be so versatile?!

In the end, the fashion show was the most magical of fashionable meets charitable nights. I felt honored to be part of such a great event and thank all my models, Lucca Restaurant, Save Ourselves, and Thrift Town for helping make the night such a successful and memorable event! A special thanks to Michael Lockett of Lock it in View Photography for taking all the beautiful pictures that night!

Please feel free to drop me a line with any of your thrifting questions!

Until next time…

Love,

The Dress Fiend

Phoebe Verkouw is the brain behind the thrifted fashion blog, The Dress Fiend. She’s a bona fide thrift store junkie obsessed with finding the most amazing items for next to nothing and can be seen monthly on Good Day Sacramento showcasing some of her favorite thrifted finds. When she’s not out searching for the next hidden treasure thrifting, she’s at the Crocker Art Museum working in the Special Events department. Aside from her passion for thrifted fashion, she also enjoys photography, art, running, and gelato. I mean, doesn’t everyone love gelato?