Style On The Go struts its stuff at Royal Electric
On Saturday, April 2, 2016, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis hosted a fundraiser at Royal Electric, which was organized by Dejana Pogrmilovic. Located on Macdonell Street, Royal Electric opened its doors in September. Royal Electric’s stylish industrial design provided a great background for the fundraising event’s entertainment, which consisted of live music by Disband followed by a fashion show featuring pieces from Style On The Go.
Disband opened and closed the show with energy. The band featured Lisa Michelle on vocals, Irina on keys, Alen on bass and guitar, and Vlada on drums. Lisa Michelle describes her individual sound as soul and R&B, while Irina has been classically trained on the piano and can play a variety of musical styles. Although the musicians have known each other for some time, the fundraiser marked their first show together. Alen and Vlada’s band (Disband) and Lisa Michelle and Irina’s band (Lisa Michelle) came together through their friend Pogrmilovic to play the fundraiser.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…spoke of his experiences dealing with domestic violence cases in Guelph.[/pullquote]
Style On The Go put on the fashion show. The models showcased footwear that ranged from knee-high boots to flats, and outfits that ranged from corsets to flowing dresses to tops with leggings. The clothes were casual with a hint of high fashion, creating a style that said, “I’m a stylish woman but I also have things to do,” while the footwear added, “These boots were made for strutting.”
In addition to the entertainment, the event included several moving speeches. Pogrmilovic started the speeches by urging those with mental health issues to seek help.
“It’s not anything to be ashamed of and it’s not anything to hide,” she said after sharing her own story about dealing with mental health.
The Ontarion spoke to the organizer at the end of the event and asked her how the idea to do a fashion show for the fundraiser was set in motion.
“I really wanted to do something for the community myself and I wanted to do it from the heart,” said Pogrmilovic.
A heartfelt speech was made by Rosemary Taylor, manager of development and communications at Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis.
“Women are often placed in situations by systems to rationalize, prove, or justify their experiences—the burden of proof [lying] with them instead of the person or persons who harmed them. Given the descriptions of the possible effects of violence, the acknowledgement of the effects of trauma is often not taken into consideration and the judgement of a woman takes place. She can be seen as difficult, uncooperative, not focused, lying due to not being able to focus or recount details well of her experiences, vengeful due to her anger. If you think of a traumatic time in your life—ask yourself were you at your best mental, physical, emotional, articulate self?” stated Taylor.
Constable Donald Conibear spoke of his experiences dealing with domestic violence cases in Guelph. He explained that Guelph has 1350 cases per year, most of which are committed by men against women. Although Conibear expressed his disappointment with his gender and urged men to hold each other accountable, he added that it is fortunate that “Guelph is big enough that we have services but small enough that we know each other by our first names.”
Janeen Weatherhead, a counsellor, urged those in attendance to give counselling a chance even if they have had poor experiences with therapy in the past. She explained that sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right fit but when that happens, the benefits of counselling are “compassion, support, safety, [and] trust.”
All proceeds from the fundraiser, currently estimated at $400, as well as 30 per cent of the profits from Style On The Go’s sales for April will go to Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis.