Fawning Over a Cure

Aidan Chisholm is a high school student with a cause close to her heart. Her older brother Will was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in 2009 and the entire family has been involved with JDRF ever since. To help make a difference, Aidan has channeled her passion for fashion (check out her blog at fawnstyle.com) into a means for joining the fight against T1D. Last month she held a fashion show, Fawn Fashion Garden Party, which raised $11,265.00 for T1D research. We caught up with Aidan while on her summer break and we could not be more impressed with this rising sophomore:

JDRF Bay Area: How did you become interested fashion?

Aidan: I have loved fashion since I was tiny. Even when I was two years old I cared about what I was wearing.  There are some great pictures of me in some wacky looks from when I was a little kid.  My mom says that in second grade I said, “I’m just a lot happier when I like what I’m wearing.”  I think it drove my mom crazy when I was young because I had really strong opinions!  I think it seems like a good way to say something about who you are.

JDRF Bay Area:  What inspired you to raise money for JDRF?

Aidan: I watch what Will goes through every day and think:  there is nothing I can do to make this better.  Whether he’s playing soccer or hanging out with friends or taking a test at school, he has to think about his numbers all the time.  I would hate that!  I also see how hard it is on my family.  My parents worry and no one’s happy when they have to get up a lot in the middle of the night.  From what my mom says, JDRF is the best chance we have at finding a cure.  I want to do something for my brother, so this is it.

JDRF Bay Area: What were the highlights of this year’s Fawn Fashion? How long have you been doing this event?

Aidan: I think one real highlight was when my tiny cousin Tai came out very first.  She’s three and had on this amazing seersucker “shorts suit” from that I paired with a polka-dotted peter-pan collared shirt.  She was so cute and so nervous that she walked really slowly in her cute little bare feet. At the end of the runway she stopped walking and waved her hand for me to come over to her out of the audience so I went over and took her hand and we headed back down the runway together. It was adorable.

The other really cool thing was how generous people were.  The guests at the show were insane.  A soccer lesson with national soccer champion Shelby Payne, who has T1D, went for $650!  But what really surprised me was how amazing all the vendors were.  I didn’t think people would be so willing to send so many garments to a fourteen-year-old.  People in town and the rental companies and the flower people were so generous too. The raffle and silent auctions were really successful because of all the cool stuff people donated. The first show was when I was eleven.  I’m fourteen now.  It’s going to be annual from now on.

JDRF Bay Area: What trends should we look for this summer?

Aidan: There’s a lot of denim on denim and you see a lot of the peplum silhouette, which I really like.  It’s classic and feminine.  There’s also a whole gauzy-lacy hippy revival that’s really easy to wear. Vogue shows flats with everything, but I personally love a heel.  Even though my mom hardly ever lets me wear them!

Photographs by Lori Paladino Photography. Click here for more.