SPOTLIGHT: ‘In the Pink’: Women step out in style to help fight breast cancer

New York-based clothing designer Hilary Boyajian has attracted media attention with ‘Chikara,’ her stylish line of clothing for post-surgical cancer patients.

By Pat Summers Special Writer
No doubt about it: Feeling well- dressed can boost the morale. And the morale can be crying out for a pick-me-up after treatment for breast cancer that may leave a woman asymmetrical in body as well as low in spirit.
    Enter: Chikara Design, a lifestyle-inspired clothing collection — along with fall clothes from seven area stores — that will give a figurative lift while literally contributing to feeling and looking good. Hosted by the Breast Cancer Resource Center of the YWCA Princeton, the fourth annual “In the Pink” fashion show and silent auction will herald October as Breast Cancer Awareness month.
    Breast cancer survivors, with their family members, supporters, nurses and doctors, will be modeling fall fashions that celebrate “the strength, beauty and spirit of survivors and the courage and compassion of their support network” during tonight’s event at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village.
    Kara Stephenson, director of the Y’s Resource Center, hopes for 350 guests this year, reflecting the steady growth of “In the Pink” since its start in 2004. As attendance has swelled, so too has the number of models and the number of retailers involved.
    Overall, more than $56,000 has been realized, a welcome supplement to the donations and grants that otherwise fund the center’s varied programming efforts: support groups, retreats, lunch and learn sessions, wellness activities, a wig and prosthesis bank, a peer support network, a resource library, and more.
    “Breast cancer is so out there right now,” Ms. Stephenson says, noting that the disease does not discriminate. Any woman can get it, regardless of age, ethnic or socio- economic background. It’s estimated that 250,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, and about 2.3 million women alive today in the United States have had the disease.
    And yet, she adds, because “patients find so many people are so supportive,” they want to give back. “In the Pink” is “all volunteer-driven,” she says — and even as she talks about the event, breast cancer survivors drop by, mentioning progress on one front or another of the preparations.
    Survivor Karen Jezierny will reprise her role last year as MC, while another volunteer-survivor, Gabrielle Kline, will coordinate the fashion show for the fourth time, spending most of the night backstage. Still others will decorate, monitor the auction, sell 50/50 tickets and help register, besides phoning and picking up for the silent auction and the floral centerpieces — which will compete for recognition this year.
    To ease the transition from clinic to catwalk and minimize the anxiety that can result from doing something far outside one’s comfort zone, five fashion show rehearsals were scheduled. Besides practice for models in lining up and walking, these also give the MC and DJ time to coordinate.
    Among this year’s models are survivors with their daughters; another with her husband; a 17-year survivor and, among the five health care professionals taking part, oncologist Peter Yi, who last year wowed the audience wearing pink corduroy pants. The nearly 30 models represent a wide geographical area, from Moorestown to the Brunswicks, besides towns in the immediate Princeton area.
    Beginning with cocktails, a silent auction and a 50/50, “In the Pink” will also include a live auction (attractions include a golf package and jewelry) before the fashion show. For the fourth time, the evening’s soundtrack comes from DJ Eric Santini of “13th Level Productions.” Evening-ending coffee, with both a display cake (to be auctioned) and a sheet cake (to be eaten) from the Hospitality Club at Mercer County Community College will wrap things up.
    Local retailers whose clothes will be modeled are Chico’s, Dandeline Shop, Eastern Mountain Sports, Incredible Me, J. McLaughlin, Sylene’s Fine Lingerie, and Talbots.
    New York-based clothing designer Hilary Boyajian has attracted media attention with her stylish clothing for post-surgical cancer patients. Called “Chikara” (a Japanese word for strength and power), her clothes feature ruffles and ruching, tying, knotting and soft draping to flatter asymmetrical bodies. Beyond basic black, Ms. Boyajian’s fall palette includes a tasty- sounding mix of plum, magenta, olive and chocolate brown.
    Silent auction items — more than $15,000 worth of products and services — have been donated by local, regional and national businesses. They range from a whitewater rafting trip for two to dinners to theater tickets that include Broadway’s “Hairspray,” and from autographed sports memorabilia and movie passes to ballroom and swing dance lessons and overnight stays at hotels in this area and Manhattan.
    And pink will be pervasive. With flowers and cakes and people in pink — men often wear pink ties, Ms. Stephenson says, while women wear pink scarves, or more — the room takes on a pink aura, which is all in keeping with the goal of breast cancer survivors feeling in the pink, and maybe just enough to tickle everyone … pink.
For more information about the the Breast Cancer Resource Center, visit www.bcrcnj.org. For more information about Chikara, visit www.chikaradesign.com.