Beauty Without, Beauty Within

photos by Lauren Selman

Sometimes beauty – true beauty – comes where and when you least expect it.

I’m on the board of Hollywood Arts – an organization geared at helping young people get out of poverty.  At our Hollywood facility we offer classes in everything from fashion design, to acting.  Only two years old, we’ve already enrolled 8 of our students in community college on scholarship.

We were brainstorming at a recent meeting about how we were going to handle the decline in donations in light of the horrible economy.  I came up with the idea of having a Wine & Cheese/Clothes Exchange party at my home.  The idea was to have everyone bring one high-end, great condition, item from their closet, put it up for sale, and then buy from each other – with proceeds going to Hollywood Arts.

I invited 90 women in all.  I contacted about 30 of them (all fit in the “best dressed” category) in advance and asked if they could come up with a great item they no longer wanted. More than half of them came through, donating, not one item, but several.  Throughout the month, I picked up the loot.

Although my call for donations was well received, the invitation to actually come to the party was not.  A couple of days before the event, only 14 of the 90 ladies who I’d mailed invitations had RSVP’ed yes. My heart dropped.  I knew we’d have more people at the event, as I wasn’t the only person extending invitations – but still – it wasn’t looking great from a fundraising standpoint.

Was it the economy?  Was it a reluctance to have any involvement with a charity?  Many of the invitees didn’t even bother to RSVP.  One friend said, “Oh I won’t come. I’m just not into wearing used clothes.” Wow, she didn’t get it. Maybe the others weren’t either.  This event wasn’t about clothes.  It was about giving hope to someone who is sleeping on concrete.

On the morning of the party, Dylan Kendall and Jessica Krell (pictured with Maria below) , who so selflessly run Hollywood Arts, brought a fashion student, Maria, to help set up. Maria and I chopped and chatted throughout the day.  I was surprised at how upbeat she seemed for someone who was homeless. 

At four o’clock, our 45 guests quickly streamed in.  My lovely friend Beverly Seehoff brought her daughter and together they worked like the dickens to price all the items that were brought. SheSez’s style writer Linleigh Richker focused on pricing the evening gowns, and offered advice to gals trying on items. 

At one point, we asked our student, Maria, who Hollywood Arts just enrolled in the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise, to speak.  She began by telling the crowd that she didn’t want to sound like a sob story – but as a former foster child she didn’t have family, except a sister.  It really struck her, she said, at times like her first day of college.  Everyone else arrived with parents – while she sat alone.  She paused and struggled to regain composure.   Silence.  Then, she couldn’t help it, and tears began trickling slowly down her face.

Suddenly, a ten-year-old girl in the crowd, the daughter of a friend, spoke up.  Cecilia (pictured left), as it turns out, is also an aspiring fashion designer – and owns not one but two sewing machines. Cecilia offered to donate one of them to Maria, who desperately needs one for college.

But the most poignant moment was yet to come. Earlier in the day, when Maria had arrived, she looked through the rack of evening gowns and pointed at a pink Christian Lacroix with a black tulle skirt.  It was a statement dress – ornate and decadent.  She nonchalantly said, “If I could have anything, it would be that gown.”  I so desperately wanted to say, “take it!”  But I couldn’t.  I knew, that particular dress, delivered by the well known philanthropist Liz Levitt Hirsch (pictured below hugging Maria), was, at $5000, the most expensive item donated. 

After Maria finished speaking, I told the crowd that if anyone doubted that Maria had an eye for fashion, they should know that she handily picked out the most expensive item as her favorite.  Liz, upon hearing that, shouted, “She can have it!” 

Maria was stunned. She glanced at Jessica and Dylan for guidance.  They nodded.  We took her up to my closet and she slipped on the dress. It was at least a size too big, but I got out some pins and we pinned it.  We took her outside and a photographer began shooting. The site was beguiling.   I had noticed earlier that Maria was beautiful, but at that moment, it also became clear that Maria also had the poise and confidence to carry off such a gown – qualities that came not from her outward appearance – but from deep down inside.  She looked in the mirror and you could tell that she noticed it too.  The look in her eyes appeared to convey that she felt alive, not with opportunity – but simply with possibility.

Later, after everyone had gone home, we all looked at the photos in my kitchen.  They captivated me with their aching beauty.  Maria had experienced a kind of beauty she never dreamed she would.  Me too. 

 

Comments

[Liz Levitt Hirsch]

Maria will wear the gown to the Otis benefit on Saturday, May 2 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to see the runway show created by the senior and junior class. As a future student at FIDEM, the serendipity of giving her my dress and tickets to the Otis gala made the afternoon meaningful. Clean Out Your Closet will be an afternoon Maria and I will remember all our lives. What do you think of a follow up story about Dylan and Maria's experience at the Otis gala?

[Diane Watson]

A very thoughtful article about the Hollywood Arts Benefit. I appreciate reading your insights. The article reminds me of the daily suprises that life presents and how we really can't predict the outcome. And, what a wonderful photo of Maria by Lauren Selman. Maria has the look of a professional model and I think Lauren's photo could win a contest.

[Katie Sheats]

What a beautiful article and idea for a fundraiser....I was so touched by this article. It is humbling to realize that some things that we take for granted make such a difference in someone else's life. Proud to have you as a sister-in-law.

[thesis writing]

I'm deeply impressed both by the article and the photos illustrating it.

[Paper writing service]

This a very heart touching story.People always ignore the true sense of the beauty.The beauty of self confidence and hope.The gown really looks so cool to maria.

[Diamond peel]

This story had me teary eyed! Maria is truly an inspiration.