Style and Substance

Dr. Romero is wearing an outfit thrifted at Revivals. Suit: St. John Knit Vintage red from the 80s Tee: Hard Rock Hotel Shoes: Only Madden Necklace: Resale faux pearls Necklace: Drop pearl by Carol G (exclusive to Revivals) Hat: Gucci (Palm Desert)

HOW YOUNG FASHIONISTAS ARE LEADING THE WAY TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE — AND LOOKING GOOD WHILE DOING IT.

Words by Ellen Bluestein Photography by Kevin McDermott Resale Fashion modeled by DAP Health employees Styled by Neil Cohen Makeup by Miki Straus

In this new era of sustainability, younger shoppers, in an effort to not only express their unique selves but live by their beliefs, have turned to resale shopping as a means of accomplishing both. Alarmed by the rapid increase in climate change and informed on the role the fashion industry plays in contributing to it, millennials and Zoomers (members of Gen Z) have opted to shop more responsibly.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it takes close to 1,000 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans. This includes the entire production cycle, from growing the cotton to delivering it to the store. But it’s not just the creation of clothing that impacts the environment; UNEP also reports that out of the total fiber input used for clothing, 87% is incinerated or disposed of in a landfill.

Young fashionistas, acutely aware of the condition of the planet they are inheriting, are making conscious decisions on how they live, including how they dress, in an effort to lessen their impact on the environment. Merging substance and style and combined with the current gender-fluid fashion movement — 56 % of Gen Z consumers shopped “outside their assigned gendered area,” according to Rob Smith, founder of the gender-free fashion brand Phluid Project in a June 2021 article on Select, the NBC News commerce website — makes shopping thrift, second-hand, and consignment, more popular than ever.

“There’s always been a play with gender in regard to fashion,” said Neil Cohen, the fashion stylist responsible for the looks on the accompanying pages. “But there’s a sense of fluidity that didn’t exist in the past.

“Freedom to be yourself has continued to evolve in the last five years. Young people are, in general, more politically and socially aware. There is a sense of hope and optimism when you look at young people today. They’re making it a better, more equal world.”

Shopping resale has other advantages. By including resale in their repertoire, shoppers are no longer constrained by what is currently on the racks in major department stores. They have more choices and a wider range of styles by which to express themselves. Once thought of as the domain for those who couldn’t afford to pay full price, thrift stores have seen a surge in consumers from across the socio-economic strata.

“People started to gravitate towards second-hand because the fashion trends found there have stood the test of time. Shopping resale carries more weight not only emotionally but also because the clothing is just made better,” said Mia Casey, a New Yorkbased womenswear designer and patternmaker.

Cohen concurred, adding, “There’s been an evolution in thrift shops. For those who love fashion, they’ve always been a source of inspiration, but now there’s more meaning behind them.”

Revivals, the popular Coachella Valley resale store chain is well positioned to meet this growing trend. Opened in1994, the thrift store that supports DAP Health — 100 % of sales goes to funding programs and services at the health center — now boasts four well-stocked locations, and a loyal following.

“Most of our apparel is coming in from customer drop-off at any one of our four locations,” said Director of Retail Dane Koch. “We have volunteers in the warehouse who are processing the product every day. Then we have specific volunteers who focus mostly on the designer finds because they have a better knowledge of brand names and value. The big thing for us is we want to make sure that we’re giving everybody a fair value. We have a really great group of volunteers who have a real understanding of everything that comes in.”

John Bingle Thompson is one of those volunteers. A seven-year warehouse veteran with over 5,000 volunteer hours to his credit, he focuses on special acquisitions and high-end designer finds. “We’ve been getting a number of really nice things,” he said. “We’ve gotten huge donations from Bob Mackie, Wil Stiles, and Cache. We’ve got resort wear — I think it was like 80,000 pieces — and it’s all really good. Tommy Bahama, stuff like that.”

Outfits thrifted at Revivals.

Left Alexis is wearing Jacket: Silk bomber with appliqué Tee: Model’s Favorite Tee Skirt Pant: Loyd / Ford Shoes: Suzanne Somers (personal collection)

Right Karen is wearing Jacket: Model’s Own Pants: Insight Mod Tee: Model’s Own Shoes: Only Madden

Thompson has witnessed the retail/resale blending trend first-hand. “I brought my [22-year-old] granddaughter in [to Revivals] about four months ago,” he said. “I had taken her to Wil Stiles and Trina Turk and got her a couple outfits. One was a skirt, but she didn’t want to wear it as a skirt. She wanted to wear it as a top with a shawl and pants.

“We bought her pants and a shawl at Revivals. She loved them. And that’s typical of what I found when I’m on the floor. A lot of [the shoppers] are younger and I’ve sort of been able to try to understand what it is they want. I have to think outside of the box with a lot of them, as far as what they’re mixing. It’s bizarre,” he laughs. “It’s bizarre what they’re doing, and I love it!”

Designer Casey explains. “Since resale includes a lot of vintage and older silhouettes, there’s a lot more to choose from,” she said. “Things that you wouldn’t traditionally put together can be combined.”

Added Cohen: “You might find a cute dress and earrings at a resale shop, but you’re still going to wear your own shoes from Saks. It’s all in the mix.”

No outfit is complete without jewelry, and thanks to the talent and ingenuity of volunteer Carol G., who repurposes old jewelry to create modern masterpieces, Revivals has many one-of-a-kind pieces. “I would see broken or unsellable jewelry, and I was able to either take bits and pieces and work them into a new piece or repair them,” she said. “It’s a fun thing to do to be able to take something that was destined for trash and turn it into something that somebody would enjoy.”

Outfits thrifted at Revivals.

Left Alexis is wearing Jacket: Silk bomber with appliqué Shell: Gracia gold sequin Boots: Madden thigh-high heel

Right Jennifer is wearing Dress: Vintage gold and black sequin Headdress: Custom-made

Outfits thrifted at Revivals.

Left Christopher is wearing Shirt: Langino Pants: Mr. Turk Tee: Model’s own favorite tee

Right Jennifer is wearing Dress: Insight Shoes: Only Madden Clutch: Vintage gold

From broken clasps and missing pearls to a knot of twisted gold chains, Carol, who has been volunteering for Revivals for over five years, envisions trendy new pieces making, recycling even more fashionable. “When I see someone [wearing] a necklace that has been crafted from things that normally would’ve just probably been thrown out, it’s rewarding,” she said.

Conscientious shopping extends far beyond fashion to include housewares, furniture, electronics, art, and accessories, “Once I became more conscientious about the clothes I was consuming, I became more conscientious about the furniture and other products I was buying,” Casey, a millennial herself, said. “Buying resale can snowball into affecting other things.”

And fortunately, at Revivals there’s a lot of other things to choose from. Laid out like a traditional department store — clothing is displayed according to size, not just thrown together by category — and with easily identifiable specialty areas, Revivals resembles the feel of a conventional shopping experience. “I’ve always said resale doesn’t need to be messy. It doesn’t need to be ugly. It doesn’t need to be dirty,” said Koch, who worked most of his career in mainstream retail. “There’s no reason that you can’t walk into a store and have a nicely laid out, well-presented store and still get a bargain.” “If you’re looking for used electronics, you come into Revivals. The stuff is clean. It’s been checked. It works,” said Bob Hardt, a 14,000-hour volunteer whose job it is to process and fix all the electronics for all four Revivals stores. “You walk into our store and what do you see? You see a nice display of all the televisions on, you can see what the pictures look like, and everything out there has been tested.” With people constantly upgrading to new sets, Bob, along with the other volunteers in the electronics department, is constantly busy. Instead of throwing a television out, “they give it to us, and we give it a chance for a second life,” said Hardt. “Nice without going into a landfill, right?”

Now, more than ever, it is a badge of honor to wear vintage and second-hand clothing. Conformity is out. Creating one’s own unique style, from fashion to furniture, is in. Being a responsible consumer plays an important role in shopping behavior. “The stigma of resale is gone,” said Director of Brand Marketing for DAP Heath Steven Henke. “By shopping resale, you’re showing the world your unique self, that you’re an empowered shopper committed to saving the planet, and that you care about where your money goes; 100% of the sales at Revivals goes directly to health care for those who otherwise can’t afford it.”

Looking for a lamp? Revivals has them. Some just need to be dusted. Others need to be rewired. Every lamp is tested to make sure it works before it goes out on the floor. “We get stuff all the way from people’s trash to beautiful brand-new lamps,” said warehouse volunteer (and lamp specialist) Mark Musin, who has logged over 2,000 hours in three-and-a-half years. “We try and fix them and if we can’t fix them, we harvest the parts. We try not to put anything to waste.”

Need a flat-screen television for the guest bedroom? Revivals has plenty of those, too. Added Koch: “People in the community have been so wonderful to donate to us. They have a place to go. They have an agency that they want to support. So rather than their stuff ending up in their garbage or going to a landfill, it comes to Revivals and we’re able to either resell it or recycle it.”

Musin agreed. “People here in the valley have wonderful hearts and they donate some really beautiful things. And I know that it goes to a good cause, and I know that it didn’t go into the dumpster.”

Dress

for who you are

Our models in this issue’s cover story share their thoughts on personal style and the importance of expressing yourself through fashion.

At DAP Health, professionalism is paramount. For some of our models, this requires wearing medical scrubs for their jobs. For others, it’s about dressing to represent the organization or for comfort to better serve patients. “I feel like when you’re fashionable and you look good and you’re professional, people respect you,” said Karen Zelaya, an endoscopic nurse, who has worked at DAP Health for five years.

Housing Case Manager Alexis Gonzalez Ramos expressed a similar sentiment. “Every work environment is guided by a specific mission and values,” he said. “I have always valued decency, professionalism, and fashions that significantly match my current work environment.” As Gonzalez Ramos often interacts with community partners outside of DAP Health, it is important for him to represent the organization in the best possible light. “The first impression always determines the business’s success, which starts with the dress code,” he said. “So, I tend to keep my fashion simple yet trendy.”

While some may think wearing scrubs is anything but trendy, that’s not true for Zelaya. “I’m one of those people who dresses up her scrubs,” she said. “I like colors. I feel like they make people happy. They make me happy. I’ll wear hot pink Nikes with lime green scrubs. It doesn’t have to match. It’s the mood.”

Mood is exactly what plays into six-year DAP Health Clinical Site Specialist Chris Bates’s fashion choices when he gets dressed for work in the morning. “I use fashion as an extension of emotion,” he said. “When I’m feeling bright and cheery, I’ll wear something that’s more colorful, like yellow or orange. If I’m kind of feeling a little gloomy, maybe it’d be like a neutral color, like a navy blue or gray, but it’s just an extension of my emotions and how I’m feeling that particular day.”

Newly hired DAP Health Chiropractor Alyssa Romero concurs. “I believe that what we wear is a direct reflection of how we feel,” she said. “So oftentimes, you’ll see me wearing cute, casual, comfy clothes because I can move in them. I can perform my job duties in them, and it makes me feel good.” chiropractor, we’re always moving, always kind of down in a squat position or doing something to try and adjust people and get them moving. So, my style is definitely a mixture of professional and practical in the workplace.”

But in their free time, it’s so long to scrubs and hello to hiking boots and heels.

“I’m in scrubs most of the time,” said Jennifer Mata Alanis, a medical assistant in the primary transgender care and HIV clinic who has been with DAP Health for three years. “As a transgender, Latino female, I’m really proud of who I am. And while it all depends on where she’s going, fashion, she said, “helps you express yourself, especially being transgender.”

Expressing his identity through fashion is also important to Gonzalez Ramos. “I tend to mix a bit of feminine and masculine aspects in my fashion,” he said, “This is an expression of the appreciation of both genders and to confuse the audience about my gender.

“It will not be a surprise to find me in a pink-colored outfit because I have quite a lot of them. But I know how to play around with the feminine and masculine colors to create a perfectly blended outfit.”

Romero also doesn’t like her fashion choices to solely define her. “If you had to choose a Spice Girl, I would definitely say that I’m more Sporty Spice,” said Romero. “But I’m also not afraid to wear a super cute pair of heels and jeans, or a cute bodysuit… It kind of depends on if I’m being active or if I’m going out on a Friday night.”

When Zelaya goes out, she opts for fitted clothes and body-conscious fashion that accentuates her curves and shows her figure, along with sandals with kitten heels and the occasional wig. “I’m very girly,” she said. “I’ll wear wigs sometimes — braids or big Diana Ross hair — it depends on the mood I’m in. There are no rules.”

Romero added: “I like to switch it up with different colors and different patterns. The thing about being a “Fashion is fun, it’s creative,” added Mata Alanis.

“It makes me feel good that I got up and took care of myself,” Zelaya said. “I tried.”

“To me, fashion is an art, a way of life, and a peace promotion tool,” said Gonzalez Ramos. “It is the only way to reconcile individual differences and appreciate those around us regardless of their race, culture, or gender.”

Outfits thrifted at Revivals.

Chris is wearing Top: Zara Jeans: Scotch & Soda Shoes: Chris’ favorite Vans Bracelet: Leather bracelet with glass bead weaving Sunglasses: Round metal Ray-bans

Karen is wearing Shawl: THML Pants: Insight Tee: Karen’s own Everyday Tee Shoes: Madden

Jennifer is wearing Jacket: CQ by CQ Pants: Jennifer’s own

Dr. Romero is wearing Top: Vintage butterfly sequined Pants: Dr. Romero’s own Shoes: Only Madden

Alexis is wearing Jacket: Silk bomber with appliqué Shell: Gracia gold sequin Shorts: Alexis’ favorite biker shorts Boots: Madden

ONE CONSONANT MADE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE, AS EXPLAINS DAP HEALTH DIRECTOR OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DR. JILL GOVER, WHO TAUGHT LGBTQ+ HISTORY AT CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO.

Words by Dr. Jill Gover

Take the well-known abbreviation LGBT and longer variants, like LGBTQQIAAP. Those letters represent our entire community, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, and those identifying as queer, intersex, asexual, and more.

Did you notice the letter with which all those abbreviations start? That L represents a long history and a lot of controversy in the gay rights movement.

About 70 years ago, people sexually attracted to the same gender used to be called homosexuals. That word didn’t age well.

Then in the 1950s and 1960s, people began referring to homosexuals as homophiles. That didn’t age well either.

In the 1970s, the word gay became embraced by the men formerly known as homosexuals. As the gay rights movement grew, lesbians wanted to create their own identities.

Unfortunately, during this turbulent time, animosity began to grow between gay men and lesbians. The genders simply were in different camps.

The women felt gay men were sexist and behaved the way all men did at the time, which was to marginalize them. There was even a subgroup of lesbians who wanted to separate and have nothing to do with gay men. They were more aligned with straight women around feminist issues.

As the gay rights movement expanded during the late 1970s, the abbreviation gays and lesbians began to use for their large, varied community was GLBT. It started with a G, which only underscored how many lesbians felt about their place in the community.

Many women active in gay rights felt it was time to address that issue. And people started to become more aware of the role lesbians played within the gay rights movement.

Moving an L in front of a G may seem trivial to many, but symbols don’t have to be grand gestures. That change was meant to honor the women who also were part of the gay rights movement.

The AIDS crisis in the 1980s changed everything.

Many of the sick and dying men didn’t have children or were estranged from their biological families. Too many had no one. Lesbians stepped up and started to take care of those dying of AIDS, becoming primary caregivers to the sick and dying.

That was a huge shift in terms of the community coming together and healing around the riffs between the men and the women.

Because of the compassion and humanity lesbians showed gay men, much of the separatism of the 1970s disappeared in the 1980s. The LGBTQ+ community began to see their future linked as they worked together to survive the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

The placement of that L is far from trivial. It’s a recognition that lesbians are not second-class members of their community. In reality, they kept the community together during its darkest days.