FLY ON A DIME THRIFT STYLE CHALLENGE

Models from the Fly on A Dime Thrift Style Challenge!

Early last month I was asked to participate in a community hair show given by a local stylist named  Mz Pat who has a salon not too far from my apartment. I pass her shop everyday and we had spoken briefly about what I do and other business related things. She told me about her show and asked if I wanted to have a fashion segment in it and of course I was like HELL YEAH! 

So I started brainstorming on ways that I could make this happen, she was giving me free range and five minutes- that's all I ever needed lol. I knew I wanted it to be different from shows that I usually do where I borrow clothes from designers and boutiques and I also knew i wanted to do a little something more than just have the models wear their own clothes styled by me. Boooriiiiinnnnggg! Now, I have been thrifting a lot lately and on one excursion after discovering a gorgeous blonde fur capelet in pristine condition that I snatched up for pennies on a dollar, it hit me- have a thrift show! Duhhhhhh!!

My very first fashion show in 2010 was sponsored by Unique Thrift Store and even though they no longer offered sponsorship (so they say lol) I started with that idea and ran with it. What if I made it a challenge and whoever signed up had to find a fly ass piece to add to their wardrobe for under $10 or less, and then the participants would strut their stuff on the runway in my segment of the show? Bam! The Fly on A Dime Thrift Style Challenge was born! So I designed a questionnaire/form, set aside three separate times for thrifting sessions at Unique Thrift and promoted via Facebook and Instagram. I got an awesome response and had the most fun helping the models pick out their outfits. Some were pros, some were new to it, but all of them seemed to have lots of fun and were really into it finding pieces that they could incorporate into their daily wear. I especially enjoyed how each lady chose something that was representative of their individual style, which you can see in the video below. I loved the diversity of my models, as usual. I had black girls, white girls, Latinas, older, younger, skinny, plus, tall and petite! It really helps to drive several points home:

1. Great style has no size
2. You don't have to spend a certain amount of money to look good
3. You don't constantly have to buy whole outfits to expand your wardrobe
4. There is something for EVERYBODY at the thrift store!

The ladies did a great job and the audience seemed really receptive, as with any show there were a couple of hiccups (as in the show may have started almost 2-3 hours late lol), but they rolled with it and got in there to do there thing. Most of the ladies walked twice since they found more than one thing, but unfortunately since I was hosting and filming (ghetto style with the microphone in one hand while hosting, and live recording via Periscope (thehouseoffly) on my phone in the other hand lol) I did not get their second outfits at all...

Watch the videos and see the show and behind the scenes pics below!