Sporting a hot pink blazer and pineapple sunglasses, Judy Ellison reckons colour is the key to fashion.
The 89-year-old glamour queen, who once ran fashion events in Dubbo, is not prepared to hang up her hues just because she’s now living in aged care.
“You’ve got to work the colour,” she said.
“You’ve just got to enjoy it.“
The events involve a lot of fun with hats and feather boas. (Supplied: Our Timeless Threads)
Mrs Ellison and her fellow aged-care residents are thriving in the spotlight of a new fashion initiative that has popped up at Ballina’s RSL Lifecare Florence Price Gardens facility.
The power of fashion
Our Timeless Threads is the brainchild of nurse Maia Willow, who is combining her passion for vintage and pre-loved fashion with her experience as an aged carer.
Ms Willow has been running fashion events for seniors across northern New South Wales since September last year.
Organiser Maia Willow wearing one of the fashionable meal-time clothing protectors. (ABC North Coast: Bridie Tanner)
She brings her pop-up store into an aged-care facility, complete with racks of clothes for residents to buy.
Ms Willow also stocks accessories such as hats, feather boas, parasols and jewels for those who want to try the items on and have some fun.
Residents can also participate in parading the clothes and photo shoots, and Ms Willow runs workshops with residents and shows them how to create fashionable meal-time protectors (not bibs!) from scraps of disused fabric.
“Our elderly are often not looked up to as the wisdom keepers that they are, and the inspiring stylish people who have lived through those eras,” she said.
“It’s just so important, especially in older age when a lot of people feel quite forgotten.“
Residents say looking good makes them feel good. (ABC North Coast: Bridie Tanner)
An outback epiphany
Ms Willow said she first had the idea for the fashion pop-ups while working as a nurse at a First Nations aged-care facility in Alice Springs.
She and some of the other carers there decided to convert a shipping container that was being used to store clothing into an on-site op shop.
One resident a day would be invited to come in to shop for clothing and get dressed up.
Ms Willow said the positive impact on the residents was obvious, and she realised other older people could benefit from similar experiences.
After training as a nurse in the UK, Ms Willow gained Australian citizenship after working as a contract nurse here during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maia Willow settled in northern NSW after travelling Australia in her campervan kitted out for sewing. (Supplied: Maia Willow)
She travelled from job to job in her campervan, kitted out with a trusty sewing machine so she could get creative with clothes whenever the mood struck.
“I worked across many different care homes and noticed clothing was a huge issue, causing distress for families, staff and the dignity of our elderly,”
she said.
Not just retail therapy
Florence Price Gardens aged care resident Florence Trotter said it was a joy to be able to browse the racks of clothes, scarves, beads, hair clips, hair bands and combs.
“Most people can’t get out to shop, so it’s like bringing the shop to you,” she said.
“Everywhere I go, I love to browse and look, see what’s new, what’s old, what’s interesting.”
Judy Ellison, left, and Felicity Durham have some fun at the pop-up op shop. (ABC North Coast: Bridie Tanner)
Mrs Trotter said the event run by Ms Willow brightened the day of everyone who went along.
“When something good comes on and everyone gets a laugh, it’s really lovely,” she said.
“I think it just lifts your spirit. When you get a new outfit you go, ‘Look at me!’.“
Angie Waller-Royle-Woods and her mother were visiting her father when the pop-up shop came to visit, and said it was great to have some fun with him.
“Today has been unbelievable,” she said.
“I look around and I have a laugh and a dance and I see how everyone, even if they are lying in a chair or a bed, they are just involved, they all love it.”
The fashion events offer something for the dapper male as well. (ABC North Coast: Bridie Tanner)
Felicity Durham, who helps out at the Our Timeless Threads events, said she got as much out of the fun as the people she dressed.
“My favourite part is seeing the smiles on their faces as they see themselves in the mirror,” she said.
“[It’s] almost like they are recognising their younger selves.“
