With ease and swagger, local construction magnate Joe Marchese strutted through the sliding doors of Goodwill, took a turn on the red carpet, smiled while adjusting the collar of his secondhand suit jacket and turned to go back inside for the next costume change — this was, after all, a fashion show.
Marchese and several other community and business leaders modeled used-clothing couture in chilly 30-degree temperatures Thursday morning before the ribbon cutting of Goodwill’s newest retail store and job center just off Pooler Parkway.
Click here and here to view slideshows of the Pooler Goodwill grand opening.
More than 150 eager shoppers showed up to see the show and score some first-come deals in the newly constructed 15,000-square-foot store.
Jenny Gentry of Wells Fargo modeled silk bolero pants with a wool blazer, Celia Russo of Celia Russo Marketing wore a two-piece belted dress, Metro Interim Assistant Police Chief Terry Enoch sported a dapper gray sweater over a white button-down shirt while Mark Howard of Memorial Foundation threw his silk-linen jacket over his shoulder.
Marjorie Young of Carriage Trade PR donned a gold and black Goodwill dress, which she had worn to the Rotary centennial gala Tuesday night.
The best part? The outfits cost no more than $30 to $50.
The fashion show and its notable cast was the brainchild of stylist Ashley Borders, who along with Paige Striebig, picked out, tailored and customized each outfit.
Borders said she wanted to do the show to erase the stigma often associated with used clothing.
“I wanted to find a way to show the community that shopping at Goodwill can be quite fashionable. It’s very eco-friendly, it’s very socially responsible and it’s about being creative,” said Borders, who also runs her own clothing line called Bedouin.
In fact, Borders said, many gently used designer pieces can be found in second-hand stores like Goodwill, including Armani and Dior, and with some slight alterations can be incorporated into a professional wardrobe.
“Working in my job as a stylist and working on films, I’m often pulling pieces from Goodwill — and actually a lot of my celebrity clients wear pieces from Goodwill,” said Borders.
Pooler Mayor Mike Lamb, who chose to cut the ribbon instead of model, said it was great to have Goodwill join the influx of retail development occurring along Pooler Parkway.
“Not only do they bring a lot of good deals for people buying clothes, but it’s the good that they do — the training that they do for people who need to find jobs,” said Lamb. “We are becoming the complete city, and this is just another part of becoming the complete city.”
This is Goodwill of the Coastal Empire’s 18th location and ninth career center. In addition to the fashion show, the new Pooler location held a job fair to highlight its job resources.
“Within the last 12 months, we have opened five new locations and we’re going to be doing more things next week, next month, next year,” said Brenda Pollen, vice president of mission for Goodwill in the region. “The goal is to find as many outlets as we possibly can to extend resources to help people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.”
In 2013, Goodwill of the Coastal Empire served 19,000 job seekers and placed more than 1,600 people, said marketing director Jan Bass.
Goodwill will open a new career center at Goodwill’s Savannah headquarters on Sallie Mood Drive next week and another retail center in McAlpin Square on Victory Drive in February. Goodwill employs about 800 people in its stores across 33 counties in the region.
Marchese, who admitted this was his first modeling gig, said he was impressed with the outfits that Borders picked out from local Goodwill stores.
“They found something in my size and things I never would’ve put together, and it looked phenomenal,” said Marchese. He said he wanted to show support for Goodwill and its job-training programs.
“If you’re going to help someone, help someone who helps everybody,” said Marchese. “You donate, they sell it and then it goes right back into the community.”
UPDATE YOUR LOOK
Want to upgrade your style on the cheap?
Pooler Goodwill will host a “Re-Tailoring Your Wardrobe” workshop at the Job Connection Center this Saturday, Jan. 18, from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m.
Celebrity stylists Ashley Borders and Paige Striebig will offer advice on how to redo and make over Goodwill purchases.
The new stores is located at 115 Grand Central Boulevard, Godley Station, Pooler.