Donald Teuma-Castelletti
SHAWVILLE May 19, 2018
Upcoming prom queens and those looking for a new outfit for summer weddings had the chance to spruce up their wardrobe on Saturday, when the Fairy Godmother Shoppe held an open house event.
Showing off their wide variety of almost-new dresses, the Shawville United Church basement was filled with racks of plentiful colours, designs and styles as customers had the opportunity to browse their affordable outfits.
“We just decided, because we have so much great inventory, to show it all off,” said Holly Richardson, one of the hosts at the open house.
It being just their second open house since the beginning of the organization, Richardson plus fellow hosts Sara Knox and Jee-Eun Kim decided it would be beneficial to customers to have the chance to openly browse their stock – especially considering they recently received a large donation from a Shawville business.
Boutique Gwendoline, located at 338 rue Main, had recently gifted approximately $5,000 worth of dresses to the organization, helping replenish their stock just in time for upcoming summer outings.
As well, this donation coincides greatly with a recent change to the Fairy Godmother Shoppe’s mandate – as they now not only offer their services to prom attendees, but customers of all ages.
“This year we changed our mandate so it’s no longer just prom dresses,” said Richardson, adding that the outfits are also ideal for wedding attendees, mothers of the bride, and the like.
The open house event saw well over 100 dresses on display, and ran from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Customers can leave fully outfitted from a visit, complete with dress, shoes, a purse and accessories for the keeping, all for just $20. While the open house is not a regular event, appointments can be made through the group’s Facebook page for private sessions.
The shop is run exclusively by volunteers and the money raised goes into maintaining their location in the church basement, as well as funding a bursary given out at PHS. The bursary is given to a student who is a volunteer and leader at school, as well as in their community.
