Out of the Closet; Give-Away Gowns Get Would-Be Princesses to the Prom

Seven Days › August 04, 2009

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Summary

[Lisa Spagnoli] placed ads and posted flyers, and by mid-April, women aged twenty something to fifty something had donated heaps of satin, silk, charmeuse and chiffon. Two turquoise thigh-grazers dangled alongside Nicole Miller creations, midnight blue and maroon numbers, and a "Lady in Red" sparkler. There was even a wedding dress - a size 12 Jessica McClintock, with the tags still attached. "Her mother hated it," says Spagnoli. "So many of them wanted to tell me a story about the dress...and I'm just happy to see them go to a big party again."

In some cases, it may take a couple of decades. "A lot of older people have dropped off, actually," says Danielle Hartley of Milton, who can spot a bridesmaid's dress from a mile away - thanks, no doubt, to the matching pumps. How will such styles fly among teens? "They're talking about how vintage is in," says [Jen Leach]. "So a lot of these could work - as long as they're not poufy."

Donations are ongoing at the high schools, and at the Flynn Center from April 28 to May 1, during Lyric's Cinderella run. With nearly 100 dresses on hand from initial "drop days" - plus the leftovers from A Little Glamour there will be plenty of options: slinky, black, strapless dresses to baby-blue A-lines; citrus-colored confections to burgundy velvet. A sneak peak suggests there will be something for every taste, even those going for more of a Helen of Troy look. As [Annie Lajoie] points out, "You never know what someone's going to take and turn into something beautiful."

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Out of the Closet; Give-Away Gowns Get Would-Be Princesses to the Prom

Four high school-age girls sauntered into A Little Glamour, a cozy boutique on Burlington's Church Street Marketplace, last Sunday afternoon. They looked a little dazed from the weather's sudden brightening, and nearly as glum as the rain clouds that had just dispersed. The ...

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