by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
Thrift store owner Chachi Redondo said she is not a salesperson.
"I'm a matchmaker," she said. "When I see something fabulous, it needs to go to a new home."
Redondo's store, Now and Then, sells new, vintage and reconstructed clothing as well as shoes, jewelry, records and books.
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"I don't have a single thing in the store for $100," she said.
Redondo's passion for matchmaking is not limited to clothing.
"We love clothes, and we love dogs," Redondo said.
On Sunday, Now and Then hosted a fashion show at Harlow's on the Hill to benefit the People's Anti-Cruelty Association and the Albuquerque Alliance for the Animals. The show featured models wearing Now and Then's summer line. They walked dogs that were eligible for adoption down the runway.
Kris Harden is a volunteer dog caretaker for PACA and brought dogs to be in the show.
"I haven't seen anybody do something like this before," she said. "The fashion show take on it is definitely unusual."
Harden has been a volunteer foster caretaker for eight years. She said she began her volunteer work because of Albuquerque's animal overpopulation problem.
"We have a really high euthanasia rate. So we need more groups who are willing to do death-row rescue so that the most adoptable animals aren't being euthanized," she said.
Natalie DeCarolis was a model in the show. She said she realizes Albuquerque has a big problem with stray dogs.
"They are like little people," she said. "They all have their own personality, and we need to give them love."
Now and Then's summer line included many vintage pieces and reconstructions by seamstress Alanna Herrera.
"Alanna is one of the most premier talents I've ever seen in my life," Redondo said. "She's a genius. I have a vision, but she has the skill. We can't have one without the other."
The most notable reconstructions in the show were skirts made from vintage T-shirts.
"I originally came up with that design because I had a Batman shirt that was way too big for me," Herrera said. "So I just cut it up and sewed it back together as a skirt."
Redondo and Herrera will soon be forming a company called 50/50.
"We want to make affordable wedding dresses - handmade, custom fit to your body wedding dresses under $400," Redondo said.
UNM student Paulette Callahan made jewelry that was featured in the show and is exclusive to Now and Then. Callahan moved to New Mexico after Hurricane Katrina. She lost most of her belongings in the hurricane and met Redondo when she was shopping for clothes.
"I went in there because it was a thrift store, and she was the sweetest thing," she said. "She took the shirt off her back that she was wearing that day and said, 'That's perfect for you.' She's totally been my guardian angel since I got here."
Now and Then will host another dog and fashion show June 3 at the Pulse and will continue to benefit animal rescue organizations.
"Human beings completely run the Earth," Redondo said. "Everyone can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, but dogs don't have shoes. They can't help themselves."
