Photograph courtesy of Nikole Shurn-Perkins
In a hip new boutique on Washington Ave., Nikole Shurn-Perkins has created the Fairy Glam Project, a dress-donation project that enables girls from all backgrounds to attend their high school prom.
NV Showroom Boutique, located at 1909 Washington, was transformed into a formal-wear warehouse this past spring, where girls could come select a gown, free-of-charge, for their big event.
Shurn-Perkins began the Fairy Glam Project independently in 2009 as a personal endeavor to provide a magical prom experience to area girls who did not have the means to provide their own dress. When she opened her boutique in 2010, she had a place to house the dresses and to get people to come in and donate. More than 100 dresses were donated in 2010 and around 40 girls were fully outfitted for their prom nights, with shoes donated by Bakers and a raffle for the girls to win a full day of pampering, provided by neighboring salons.
For the 2011 event, Shurn-Perkins plans to coordinate with Girls Inc. of St. Louis to host a prom expo in early March. This year, she’s “planning on making the event a lot bigger and involving a lot more people.”
The Fairy Glam Project began collecting dresses for next year’s event this month. Dresses may be dropped off at NV Showroom Boutique during business hours, and Shurn-Perkins plans on partnering with other establishments throughout St. Louis to make it more convenient for people to donate dresses at alternate locations.
If you don’t have any old prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses or gowns lying around, monetary donations to the project are also welcome. Shurn-Perkins is also looking for sponsors and volunteers in other areas, including cleaners, florists, limousine services, stylists and more.
“I want to make this event bigger and better each year,” Shurn-Perkins says, “[Prom] is like the wedding before your wedding, and all girls deserve to go, regardless of their circumstances.”
Anyone who may know of someone in need for this upcoming prom season, or who is interested in hosting a dress shop location at a school or business can call 314-932-5382, or e-mail fairyglamproject@yahoo.com.
