Goodwill and Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida pair for Little Black Dress event at Michael's on East
MANATEE -- A little black dress doesn't have to cost a lot of money and it can still make a woman feel fabulous.
That's what Goodwill Manasota hoped to teach Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida through its Little Black Dress fashion show and luncheon, where they learned about "upcycling" and professional growth. "Upcycling" describes the process of taking used goods and making them into something more valuable than the original.
Goodwill helped Troop 888 earn the "Independence Badge" through the reinvention project. Girl Scouts shopped at Goodwill within a specified budget and then used sewing skills to alter the items to fit each individual girl's style.
Elizabeth Gianakouros, mother of 13-year-old Girl Scout Tonianne Gianakouros, said the scouts learned about a community organization while discovering what it's like for women to climb to the top in the professional world.
"They learned a lot about Goodwill and that it's more than just clothing," Elizabeth Gianakouros said. "And that you get out of life what you put into it. Even though you don't see it, people struggled to get where they are."
Prior to Friday's event, area Girl Scouts interviewed women who work in the media and then shopped with them for a little black
dress from Goodwill's collection. The media professionals wore the little black dress in Friday's fashion show. Taped interviews with the Girl Scouts were shown before each media professional walked the runway.
Sue Stewart, CEO of Girls Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, said the event taught Girl Scouts the importance of inner beauty.
"Girls and women today face a lot of daunting challenges in the media and face unrealistic expectations," Stewart said. "For this event, we wanted to change the question from 'who are you wearing?' to 'who is your role model?'"
As the media ladies strolled the runway, Stewart and Veronica Brandon Miller, vice president of the Goodwill Foundation, announced the original price of the dresses and the Goodwill price, which was often one-quarter of the retail price or less.
Brandon Miller came up with the idea for the event when she was talking with Stewart about what to do next in Goodwill's partnership with Girl Scouts.
"We were talking, and Audrey Hepburn is my favorite, and I was saying I want to bring back the little black dress event, so why don't we do it with Girl Scouts?" Brandon Miller said. "A lot of our Goodwill ambassadors are these models who are in the media. Stewart said, 'we have a group of girls interested in going into media' and it was an a-ha moment."
Mia Ates, a 14-year-old Girl Scout who interviewed media members, said though she's unsure what career path she'll ultimately take, she enjoyed talking with the media professionals.
"I like taking photos and using social media," Ates said. "But I'm also interested in criminal justice and I think I would like to be a lawyer or a judge. I want to defend people and help them find out what's best for them."
Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter@jayohday.
This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Goodwill and Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida pair for Little Black Dress event at Michael's on East ."