A couple weeks ago, I hosted a breast cancer charity at our store and led a pink-themed fashion presentation. Prepping for it turned my office pink. Here’s a peak..
Though the idea of running your own fashion show or getting to style beautiful models seems like a fun task, the reality is that you have limited time, people pulling you in different directions, and a thousand other projects and to dos. Imagine a game-show-like challenge with a major time crunch and the pressure of being on TV (remember how those reality TV stars sweat?) That is what it’s like.
Scurrying through the two retail floors grabbing everything pink in sight, I must have looked like a crazy pink ball of fire. It was a somewhat frightening task knowing pink was not a trend color this season, but somehow I managed to pull more items than I thought imaginable all the while making sure to pull sizes that my itty bitty models would fit into. Then, I’d drop everything onto this rack and spend the next hour creating out of nothing, 20 head to toe outfits.
The pressure was on. I knew all eyes would be on me. And I knew I had to be prepared enough to not run out of things to talk about. I imagined my mic in hand running through topics such as:
- how to find your perfect shade of pink
- how to dress up and dress down each outfit
- how to go from cubicle to cocktails
- how to wear pink in small doses
- how to vary each dress option and create 3 different looks
- what colors match well with pink
- etc. etc.
Once my filler topics were listed, I organized the outfits by category:
- little black dresses with pink pops of color
- casual daytime looks
- everyday dresses
- evening looks
And then I organized the categories further – worn by model vs. on rack as filler piece. It was important for me to have additional items to talk back to since some of the pink finds didn’t have model-appropriate sizes and also because I knew I’d have to kill some time while waiting for my models to change and reappear.
Once the untagging, scanning and re-tagging was done, my intern (love her!) made my flash cards – each card detailing the outfit’s pieces by brand and price. I later numbered the backs of all the cards in case I dropped them (which I did do during the actual presentation btw). Note to self, also add holes and a ring clip so that if they are dropped, time is not wasted trying to put them back in order.
With any leftover outfits, I styled my assistant, intern and myself so that we would also represent additional looks (on real people’s bodies), then hurried off to deal with all the other events’ setup needs. Here are some pics!
And you can’t have a pink party without pink cupcakes…..I’m disgusted to think how many pink cupcakes I’ve eaten during my many breast cancer fashion events.
Yummy- looking huh? Mind you, I had no event budget for decor. F&B was all donated (perk of partnering with a charity), flowers were begged off of our visual team, and all other items were things I scrounged up in-house!
As guests checked in, they were greeted by the charity, welcomed with complimentary cupcakes and pink sparkling wine and encouraged to mingle / shop. The models stood on platforms wearing SFA black dresses while wearing pink jewels from our jewelry department.
My events are all about sell-through so I had the models spritz guests with some of our pink – colored perfumes, just as another way to highlight product.
Here are some shots of the fashion presentation. There was something for the pink-shy…those who wear pink in small doses and/or those who wear pink only as an homage to breast cancer charities at these sorts of events. And there was something for the pink-enthusiasts whose closets scream pink and yearn for more.
Where do you fall on the love-of-pink spectrum?
I’m learning to love the color. My next entry is about my very own pink outfit. (here in these photos, I was borrowing the store’s DKNY striped dress and cardi from Lavia. What do you think?
After running around all day, being the host for the event, the stylist and emcee for the show, serving as the event designer and planner, I put on my next hats: event financier, charity shmoozer, events team manager etc. And before you knew it, I was off continuing to plan my next 10 events!
Here is a close-up of the dress’s skirt under the military, Forever 21 blazer. 
Here’s the back of the blazer – loving the feminine ruffles and how they offset the masculine military details. 
For more on my style and what I wear to work, click here.
