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it's for charity
December 17, 2012

The Shopping Spree for Sandy-Affected Girls

By Katie Van Syckle

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Photo: Sioux Nesi

Even a cameo from Brooke Shields โ€” a.k.a Hannah Montanaโ€™s mom โ€” couldnโ€™t distract eagle-eyed shoppers on the Bowery Saturday afternoon at Mary Alice Stephensonโ€™s Glam4Good pop-up shopping spree, organized for Lower East Side families affected by Superstorm Sandy.

A hundred girls had been invited from the Lower East Side Girls Club, but more than 200 showed up. When they arrived, the 5-to-18-year-olds were immediately handed two large white shopping bags and invited to fill them up with everything from new leather jackets to gold Alexis Bittar bracelets, all of which had been donated by fashion brands. As the families entered the crisp gallery, it was like fiercest sample sale in town, except everything was free.

โ€œNormally the little kids will get very interested in me,โ€ Shields joked. โ€œBut shopping is so much more important. One little girl looked at me and she said, โ€˜Are you Hannah Montanaโ€™s mom?โ€™ And I said โ€˜Yes,โ€™ And she screamed and threw her arms around me. Then she went back to shopping within a second.โ€

Guests pored over racks lined with DKNY cocktail dresses, Jason Wu pumps, Calvin Klein coats, Prabal Gurung scarves, and โ€” perhaps the biggest attraction โ€” Hello Kitty backpacks, which were limited to one per family. They were allotted about five minutes per display and then encouraged to keep moving to make room for more shoppers. In between, they could pick up perfume and sunglasses, or have their nails and make-up done.

Jโ€™Naire Rogers came with her daughters, Shandra, 10, and Cheryl, 8, who were members of the Girls Club. Their apartment had been flooded with several feet of water and they still donโ€™t have gas. โ€œWe couldnโ€™t cook for Thanksgiving; we wonโ€™t be able to cook for Christmas,โ€ Rogers told the Cut, seeming upbeat. โ€œThis was more so about getting out and making the girls feel beautiful and glamorous. They got purses and shirts and jewelry and they got their nails done. It was awesome.โ€

Since the hurricane, Stephenson โ€” who is a beauty and style expert thatโ€™s worked with Ashley Greene, Jennifer Lopez, and Sarah Jessica Parker โ€” has been involved in a variety of post-Sandy recovery efforts. She held a pop-up two weeks ago for 100 families from the Rockaways, and will work on a similar event next weekend for 1,000 families in Staten Island. โ€œFirst, we went in with tampons, batteries, Depends, and now they will be pampered,โ€ Stephenson says, before adding seriously: โ€œI know the healing power of a sparkle.โ€ Click ahead for photographs from the event, along with lots of smiling young faces.

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1 / 14 Photos
Brooke Shields, Rachel Roy and Ty Hunter (Beyonce's stylist) came by to help the girls shop. Photo: Harry Fellows
Mary Alice Stephenson, a stylist, explaining how the shopping spree works. Photo: Harry Fellows
Girls brought home Sally Hanson nail polish. Photo: Harry Fellows
The boys went for Spiderman t-shirts. Photo: Harry Fellows
Shoes came from Jason Wu and Ralph Lauren. Photo: Harry Fellows
L'Occitane and Ahava sent boxes of beauty products for the girls. Photo: Harry Fellows
Sunglasses from BCBG, arranged on a table. Photo: Sioux Nesi
Young girls show off their new DKNY sequins. Photo: Sioux Nesi
Tickets were sent over for everyone by Wendy Williams. Photo: Harry Fellows
More girls showing off their new finds. Photo: Sioux Nesi
The beauty table, with products from Dior Beauty, Katy Perry Lashes, L'Oreal, L'Occitane, Mark and Ahava. Photo: Sioux Nesi
H&M, Calvin Klein, Prabal Gurung, Uniqlo, White & Warren, and more on the racks. Photo: Sioux Nesi
Stephenson, who organized the event, with members of the Lower East Side Girls Club. Photo: Sioux Nesi
Bags full, after the event. Photo: Sioux Nesi
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Tags:

  • mary alice stephenson
  • fashion
  • style
  • it's for charity
  • ralph lauren
  • lower east side girls club
  • prabal gurung
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