Many of the teens in the Gray's Harbor area are unable to afford nice clothes for formal shcol dances, especailly prom and homecoming.

FairyTale Fashions collects new and gently used formal wear and makes it available to the public for rent at costs they can afford. What is particularly great is that almost all of the deposit on each item(s) rented is returned to the renter when the item(s) are brought back to the shop. This makes the formal wear even more affordable to the less wealthy in the area.

Originally, we were called Cinderella's Trunk, a branch of the business in Bothell,WA, but our board of directors closed our branch due to lack of adult volunteers. My mother, sister and I decided to continue the same type of business because the teens of our area were in dire need of affordable formal wear. First, we had to re-rent our site in the mall. Cost of rent is low because we are a non-profit organization. Then we printed flyers and brochures and business cards to inform the public of the new organization, which we called FairyTale Fashions. After informing everyone of the creation of FairyTale Fashions, we collected donations of dresses, suits, wraps, jewelry, make-up, shoes, gloves, and other formal wear items. Sometimes, my mother had to buy used dresses online, whch came at low cost when she bought them in bulk. Most of items are rpom dresses, and we needed some tuxes. My mother contacted the Driftwood Playhouse (a local theater) and they allow us to keep some of their extra tuxedos to rent in our shop. The shop itself had to be repainted, so my sister and I called out friends to help us paint it. My mother had to buy the paint and brushes. We painted the floor with swirls of colors and painted the window areas to look like marble display cases. We also put decorative trim along hte whole wall. the gate we painted to look like a castle porticulis with vines on it. The items needed racks and hangers so we could hang them up in the shop, so racks were donated. Liquidation World had closed down in the mall, leaving boxes of empty hangers behind. The mall security guard let us have as many as we needed to hang everything up. Then, FairyTale Fashions was ready to be opened. Every Monday night, Thursday night and Saturday day, I go the mall and open the shop. It's not very busy except during porm time and homecoming time, so I keep myself and other volunteers (when there are any) occupied with puzzles and large coloring posters. Poeple are welcomed as they walk in and and encouraged to try anything on. Mostly they come looking for prom and homecoming clothes, but older poeple come in as well, for cruises, parties, dates, and weddings.

Others can help by donating prom dresses, wedding dresses, tuxedos, nice suits, jewelry, scarves, shoes, unopened make-up and other formal items. Anyone nearby is more than welcome to volunteer at the shop when it is open. Volunteers may be expected to sweep, wash mirrors, hang dresses/tuxes, assist customers, and supervise the shop. Volunteers are VERY welcome.