In the quaint little city of Ventura, it is not easy to come across outrageously unique people in clothes that are not Hollister jeans or Ugg shoes. The majority of people that walk about Ventura may in fact hold different stories at the core; but in appearance, they lack much evidence of originality in their fashion choices.
“Pins and Needles: Decades of Vintage Fashion” directed by Melissa Nitsch challeneged the ideal style in Ventura and brought its attendants fresh, visually pleasing styles.
Models that looked as if they came straight out of an elite magazine strutted the designers’ pieces on Septemeber 11 at Epic. This event was the third Pins and Needles’ fashion show and proved to be a great success.
Attaboy Vintage, Love Fox Vintage, Clever Vintage Clothing, Lindsay Miller Fashion, Cheetah Girl Vintage Clothing, Shekinah Vintage and Voodoo Couture Vintage appeared in the show with the Voodoo Couture line flashing on the runway numerous times. Each piece was unique. Accessories in the show were designed by Vintage Swag, Water Girl, and Lindabella.
The fashion show consisted of entertaining, spunky models, female and male. The eccentric make up was done by Elaina Perez and Jason Nitsch with quirky hair styles by Alejandro Salon. The environment was lively as the host Mikee Bridges maintained a high energy and a light-hearted personality throughout the whole event, even during moments when he had to stall.
Tickets for the fashion show were priced at $5 and drinks and treats were also on sale. In addition, free food such as pasta, turkey wraps, and veggies were available to guests. After the lines were presented to the audience, a raffle began for only $3 a ticket. Prizes for the raffle included extravagant certificates for free 60 minute massages, deep tissue massages, or gift certificates to a certain designer’s store.
Pins and Needles would have generated a great amount of money; however, all profits from that Saturday night were donated to the Sex and Money charity. Sex and Money is a non profit group that raises concern and action to stop child trafficking in the United States. Their motto is, “Sex and Money: A National Search for Human Worth.”
Trafficking children is an illegal trade of children to be bought into slavery. However, Sex and Money is a charity that specifically aids trafficked children that are exploited for sexual use and put into involuntary prostitution at an early age. These kids have about 100-1500 clients to perform sexual acts upon in a year and 100,000-300,000 children are enslaved according to Sex and Money.
The Pins and Needles coordinator and the participating designers supported Sex and Money through the profits they gained. The individuals that attended the fashion show event helped this charity through their purchases.
At the end of the fashion show, the designers had racks of clothes set up for people to buy their one of a kind, one in stock, one size clothing and accessories. As the eager people stifled through the racks, a woman exclaimed, “This is one of those times when I just wish I had a million dollars. I want to buy everything!”
“Pins and Needles: Decades of Vintage Fashion III” provided individuals a chance to break out of the normal style. The event stimulated inspiration, liveliness, new styles, and change through the Sex and Money Charity.
