Samantha Stanway

**Featured on EcoStyle Daily**

Q: 68 pounds is…

A) The average weight of a runway model.

B) The estimated weight of clothes every American throws away each year.

C) The weight of the starving sweatshop worker you’re fucking over when you buy all those $5.00 SIRENS shirts and throw them away every year.

If you guessed any of the above, you were probably at Value Village’s Eco Fashion Show!

Samantha Stanway, Leather Goods Designer Lincoln Heller, Socialite/Talent Agent Pamela Wise

Now, when I hear “Value Village”, I think hipsters, cutlery that once belonged to dead people, and books with weird chocolatey-looking stains in them.

I am a terrible person.

Thankfully Myriam Laroche, the mastermind behind the 68 pound challenge, is not. Tonight she has challenged local designer Kim Cathers to sift through Value Village’s discard heap, select 68 pounds of fabric, and create 30 high fashion looks for the runway.

Although it is shocking to learn that people throw away 68 pounds of clothes every year, I still wasn’t convinced that tonight would be anything other than just another fashion show. Rifling through the swag bags provided at the door, I was relieved to find a mini bottle of Magic Moments vodka. I’d been slightly worried they were going to really commit to the partying-on-a-budget theme and give us tiny bottles of Listerine.

The show was about to begin, I quickly loaded up on vegan curry from a NoodleBox table en route to the runway. The tiny Asian boxes were an adorable touch, fit nicely in my pockets, and will definitely get this article more traffic in search engines.

Usually when I go to fashion shows, I like to sit in the back so I can frotterize my date or play BuckHunter on my phone. For the first time ever, I found myself regretting it.

Photo: Dan Poh

Possible curtains from elderly East Indian woman’s home get a sexy new life. (Photo: Dan Poh)

The Dress Formerly Known As Garbage. (Photo: Dan Poh)

Previous Owner: Recently Deceased Circus Clown
Verdict: HOT.

Seeing what this talented woman could do with rags has me burning with shame for every cheap dress I wore out once, then tossed because something filthy happened to it. People like me are why 90 million pounds of clothing end up in landfills every year.

Rather than wallow in regret about for my irresponsible ways, I decided to drink until I forgot them. The ensembles on the catwalk are so lovely, I am half-way through the tiny bottle of La Biosthetique shampoo in my gift bag before I realize it isn’t vodka.

Real Housewives of Vancouver star Mary Zilba walks in a skirt that may have originally been your uncle’s hunting tent.  (Photo: Dan Poh)

Styling on a budget is the strongest indication of skill, and Kim Cathers smashed it out of the stadium.

Yes I was hiccuping soap bubbles in the middle of Robson Square. And I reeked of curry, because the tiny Asian boxes were leaking. But I felt enlightened. So instead of shedding my coat in the nearest dumpster and fleeing into the night, I sucked it up, headed home, and washed my coat to wear another day.

Thank you to Dan Poh for photos, Robson Square for hosting, and NoodleBox for the tiny Asian Boxes.

Don’t miss Lincoln Heller’s 1000th handbag release party Nov.3rd, 2012