Fashionistas At Work

Here's a little side trip from the usual DIY stuff that I've been posting lately.  I figured you must be tired of seeing recipes and things I've been making, so it's time to share what consumed me from the time school got out until it happened on July 11.

A friend of mine is a silk artist.  She paints on silk and then makes them into clothes.  She wanted to do a fundraiser fashion show for the Cultural Center, and somehow, she convinced me to work with her on it.  This would have been great, if I didn't already chair a road race in June which consumes me for all of May and June.  Having the fashion show right after the road race was not the wisest decision I could have made back in October.

I know pretty much nothing when it comes to fashion and even less about fashion shows.  She had put on a show just like this a few years ago, so she had a plan.  I just went along with it and acted as her PR person and advisor on wild decisions that had to be made. 

All I did was supply one model (my sister):

 and narrate the whole thing which basically put the audience to sleep. 

There were 42 outfits to show, along with some kids who came during school vacations to learn how to make their own garments. 

The artist is Brazilian, so there was a Brazilian theme.  The music, the food and some of the outfits.  A local Brazilian restaurant supplied all of the food, and supply they did!

There was a wildly huge cake, a Brigadeiro cake, from a Brazilian store.

 And food up the wazoo.

Somehow, I have never bought any of her scarves, so she gave me one as a thank you for helping.  I wore it with just a black dress.  I look like I'm giving an interview on 20/20.  I assure you, I have no juicy enough secrets that would warrant a spot on 20/20!

Yep, it's a giant shoe made of balloons!  When she said it was a big shoe, I really had no idea what it would be, but certainly not this big!

She also had a friend who made this mannequin for her.  I just couldn't deal with it.  The eyes were very scary and it was all I could do not to tie the scarf over the eyes!

She just looks so mad!

We bought these cute little plastic purses for all of the business cards from the sponsors.  They were a really decent quality for the price and totally reusable.  I don't know what you'd reuse them for, but I like to think people didn't just toss them on the way out.

She made some large banners to hang in the doorways and I thought they were a neat addition to the show.

Between when they ate lunch and when the show actually started, she painted this picture on the spot, so everyone could see what it's like from start to finish.   She buzzed through it really fast but it was really neat to watch.  And she did it from the back so we could see it come to life right in front of us!

I spent the day like this, standing in the meanest shoes I own.  They look fantastic but they are just pure rotten and might have ended up in the trash by that evening.  I've worn them about 4 times and regretted it every single time.

Here's my sister in a few outfits:

She was pretty excited when I asked if she wanted to be a model.  She had no experience, but I think she had the most fun of everyone.  She really showed the outfits and was just flamboyant enough to look like she had a clue.

It was a good fundraiser for the Cultural Center but a long time in the works.  I think I'll stick with making things instead of presenting them!

Here's a link to some of the highlights of the show:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdTrlFcf52g