Thrifting Your Halloween Costume With Buffalo Exchange
Thrifting Halloween Costumes With Buffalo Exchange By: Caitlin Thompson October 24, 2022 Whether you want to be a spooky witch, werewolf, or even a Spice Girl this Halloween, Buffalo Exchange has got you covered! Buffalo Exchange is a local buy, sell, and trade thrift store located in the Cary Court Shopping area in Carytown. Thrifting your costume is a great way to shop sustainably this Halloween season. In collaboration with Buffalo Exchange we created a 2022 thrifted halloween lookbook. If you are in need of last minute costume ideas we have got you covered! All of these costumes came from our own closet or thrifted from Buffalo Exchange. Be as heavenly as Madelyn in this fairytale angel costume. Just look for a white flowy dress and white wings! Connect with your inner 1920’s flapper girl. Erin is styled in this amazing black flapper, lace gloves, and a headband. Madeline channeled all of her spooky energy into being a witch. To be this spooky find a black dress and a big witch hat. Grr! Marr is scaring everyone in this werewolf costume. Furry leg warmers really pull the costume together. If you’re a sports fan Jada’s New York Knicks costume would be a great way to show support for your favorite team. Erin is channeling our favorite spice girl, Ginger Spice, wearing her iconic Union jack dress. Barbie stands no chance next to Madelyn’s beautiful doll costume! Having a big skirt and rigid movements is the key. Marr is on their way to save the day! Make any all-back outfit into a bat woman costume with a bat on your chest. Arrrgghhh! Jada is stunning in this adorable pirate costume. Bringing a fun prop along can really tie any look together. In the mystical world of Harry Potter Erin would be the best Gryffindor student. Stick to the color palette that matches your Harry Potter house. Madeleine is ready to get her groove on in this spunky 80s costume. Bright colors and tight clothes are the keys to nailing any 80s look. Be more sustainable this halloween season and shop second-hand with Buffalo Exchange! Stylist: Sydney Robinson Photographer: Julie Dinh Models: Madelyn Carter, Madeline Martin, Erin Wardlaw, Jada King, & Marr Hovastak Creative Director: Carolina Gomez Fashion Director: Madden Cook Buffalo Exchange Follow us on Instagram!
BLK in Fashion
By: Adriana Brown This past year has brought along many trials and tribulations for us all. As we have been faced with foreign challenges, we have learned to preserve with a newly found ferocity. For VCU fashion merchandising students Nana Opoku-Manu and Taniya Evans, this perseverance came in the form of forming a student organization: Blk in Fashion. When these two students had time to reflect on their careers at VCU as well as their lives during COVID-19, they both realized that they were lacking something integral: a sense of community and belonging. As the Black Lives Matter movement has taught us, it is vital that everyone has a safe space to grow and thrive. For Opoku-Manu and Evans, this space did not exist for them within the fashion program at VCU. So what did they do? They made space. When asked why she founded Blk in Fashion with co-founder Evans, Opoku-Manu said, “the Black Lives Matter movement was happening, and it was really eye-opening to what the world was doing and what everyone was doing,”. Both founders explained that after being a part of the fashion programs for three or so years, neither of them felt a sense of community or belonging within it. Evans expanded on her feeling of being underrepresented by saying, “we come out with these experiences of not feeling valued or feeling unprepared to go into the industry because a Black person’s experience in the fashion industry is not the same as someone who isn’t Black— in terms of looking for jobs, going up in the industry, negotiating a salary,”. While the pandemic has sequestered all of us to our homes and computer screens, Blk in Fashion has taken this limitation and ran with it. In their eight months of existence, the organization has hosted several events via zoom. These events have given fashion students the opportunity to hear the testimonies of people within the fashion industry who they can relate to, some being VCU alumni. The purpose of these talks are to “educate and empower” students, as well as the wider VCU community, on subjects related to diversity in the fashion industry. Blk in Fashion is looking forward to a bright future of inclusivity and representation within the fashion industry. For this organization, it’s all about having the difficult conversations that have otherwise been silenced. It’s about inspiring other students, especially those who are new to the program, to create space for themselves where there otherwise is none. “To younger students,” the two founders said, “don’t feel discouraged if you’re not seeing people like you. We are here now”.