Photo By Lance Cpl. Autumn Rodenhizer | Michelle Elliot models a dress with her date during a gown exchange fashion show at...... read more read more
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In the weeks before this year’s 242nd Marine Corps Birthday Ball, a night full of sparkles, ball gowns, make-up and hair tips occurred. Organizations put together the first gown exchange fashion show at the Mololani Community Center, Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) on Sept. 28, 2017
The gown exchange and fashion show is an event to help spouses to find new dresses for the upcoming Marine Corps Birthday Ball on a budget while learning ball etiquette and making friends.
“We were asked about a gown swap one day by one of the spouses here on base by Tiffany Robinson and JoAnn Hester,” said Evie Bush, the Lifestyle, Insight, Networking, Knowledge, and Skills (LINKS) Program trainer for MCBH. “LINKS used to do a small gown exchange in the past, and we thought it’d be a great idea to revamp it and make it bigger.”
Bush also said that LINKS, the Armed Services Young Men’s Christian Association (ASYMCA), and all the family readiness officers helped put the event together.
“It was a combined effort, there hasn’t been an event like this where there was almost complete base wide participation,” said Bush. “We had ground side, the aviation side and the support elements with spouses participating. Events are usually battalion or maybe regiment sized; it’s rare for it to be base wide”
Melissa Maleski, the ASYMCA branch director on MCBH, said that this event came about because, because there’s a lot of spouses of junior Marines that can’t afford a new dress for the ball.
“Bring a dress take a dress,” said Bush. “With that being said, you bring a dress and we rack them by size. The first ones to bring a dress are the first to pick a new dress.”
Bush said that she knows ball season is expensive with paying for ball tickets, dresses, and possibly a hotel .
“The gown exchange allows them to get a new dress just by trading old ones in for a new one,” said Malwski.
The etiquette portion of the night teaches spouses that long ball gowns with a minimal amount of skin showing is preferred, the proper way to eat and the meaning behind the traditions. Maleski said that the event helps new spouses or to just remind them the importance of the Marine Corps Birthday Ball and the proper etiquette to practice while attending.
“I found out about this event from my husband’s unit,” said Michelle Elliot, “The commanding officer’s wife was advocating the event to the spouses. I also saw flyers around base.”
Elliot said that she thinks that the gown exchange was great for spouses to find dresses on a budget, and learn customs and courtesies at the same time.
“We had around 80 dresses donated,” said Maleski “There were also around 90 participants. Hopefully next year we can spread the word and even more spouses will sign up and get even more dresses donated. I’m just hoping that this event can be an annual presence.”
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| Date Taken: | 09.28.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.05.2017 20:18 |
| Story ID: | 250740 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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