Back on March 18, Zoe’s Girl Scout Troop had the really cool opportunity of putting on a Fashion Show at the Central Library in downtown LA. First of all, I’ve been in LA over 25 years, and I’ve never been to this library… What a miss! It’s gorgeous and huge with multiple levels, escalators and exhibits. Our troop leader happens to work there and just helped curate their 150th anniversary exhibit there as well. Who knew?!

And so, it’s no surprise that she helped create this awesome chance for their troop to go ON STAGE in the beautiful Mark Taper Auditorium there and show off Girl Scout uniforms of every decade from the 1940s to the 1990s! There’s a group who actually collects and cares for these old uniforms and shares them out for GS events, like the parade they walked in last December. It’s amazing what great shape they’re in!

A week before the event, it turned out that they needed some extra “models”, and to my surprise, Ella graciously volunteered. She was a TROOPER. Not only did she make it through 2 hours of prep and practice (as did Zoe), she ended up having to make a costume change during the show for two decades and was front and center. HA!

Hundreds of Girl Scouts and their families came to the library for an all-day event, including the magical fashion show. The show itself lasted only 15 minutes (yes, after all that prep…) Apparently fashion shows commonly go that way, and we had an actual show runner with a background of runway experience on hand to help out with timing, the “walk”, and the flow.

Though I took a few pictures of my own during the prep, I ended up backstage helping Ella and one other Scout with their costume change during the show. Let me tell you, I help a half-asleep Ella get into her clothes most mornings (it’s easier than begging and better than yelling), but trying to carefully get one vintage uniform off and another one on to a squirmy kid FAST is a very different experience. Fortunately, there was a photographer on hand to get some great snaps from the audience’s view (see some of those photos here) AND they had a videographer who captured the whole show (click here for video):

I’ve talked a lot about Ella, because she has spent way less time on stage, but Zoe was equally amazing. She pulled off a sassy and appropriate 1980s hair flip, coordinated with the Girl Scout from another troop who walked the catwalk with her. You can tell by the expression on their faces in the pic below that they owned those plaid shirt, green skirt uniforms on stage, even in practice:

Fun Fact: After the show, all the Scouts (including the models) could wander around an outdoor area that offered treats (Girl Scout cookies, anyone?) OR go back and change out of those uniforms. Guess which option our kids chose? Two exciting things happened because of that choice:

• A young Scout came up to models to tell them they did a great job, except for Zoe, who she said was “not supposed to be wearing makeup” (that’s not true). HA! Oh, the fans. You just can’t please ’em all.
• They also got caught at the treat table by a photographer, and among the hundreds of pictures taken, theirs was selected to go on the LAPL Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-tyDfyC9s/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

In case you don’t Insta, here’s that shot:

Those cute girls take their cookie selection seriously. Speaking of serious, Ella had so much fun that day that she asked to join their troop. She’s unfortunately too young, but we might have another budding Girl Scout on our hands. We’ll see.

And so, we have two famous models at home now. Thought you’d want to know. And yes, I’m behind again, but I must say, this year is moving way too fast to keep up. We’ll see how that goes, too.