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Students in Dana Moon's FCS 272 course ("Basic Concepts of Fashion Merchandising") at Western Illinois University pose in front of a display case on the second floor of Knoblauch Hall. The students in the class created the bras for the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Corporation Paint the Town Pink (PTTP) committee's Bras for a Cause! project.
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A rhinestone "bedazzled" bra, a Madonna-inspired "busting out for breast cancer bra," a pink-bowed beauty of a bra, a "blue-bombshell" bra and a beach-bedecked bra, these brilliant brassieres were the creations of WIU students enrolled in a fashion merchandising course. The students were tasked to design and create them just this past Tuesday (Oct. 4). They will be auctioned at the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Corporation's Paint the Town Pink "Pink Party," 5-7 p.m. Friday, October 7 at the West Central Illinois Arts Center, 125 N. Randolph in Macomb.
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WIU Fashion Merchandising Students Bust Out "Bras for a Cause"

October 7, 2011

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MACOMB, IL – If you were on the second floor of Knoblauch Hall on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus this week, you may have noticed a display case full of bras. It was hard to miss them — after all, these are no ordinary bras. A rhinestone "bedazzled" bra, a Madonna-inspired "busting out for breast cancer" bra, a pink-bowed beauty of a bra, a "blue-bombshell" bra and a beach-bedecked bra, these brilliant brassieres were the creations of a class of fashion merchandising students, who were tasked to design and create them just this past Tuesday.

This bra-beading (and -bedazzling) exercise was the brainchild of Dana Moon, the instructor for the "Basic Concepts of Merchandising," FCS (family consumer sciences) 272 course offered in the dietetics, fashion merchandising and hospitality department (DFMH) at WIU. She said she came up with project for her students to coincide with the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Corporation Paint the Town Pink (PTTP) committee's Bras for a Cause! project. The Chamber and PTTP committee asked members to dream up and decorate bras in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Paint the Town Pink event in Macomb (October 7 and 8; see www.macombareachamber.com/Event_Calendar/Paint_the_Town_Pink.html for more information).

"When I saw the bras on the Chamber Facebook page, I thought that my FCS 272 students might have fun with a project like this. I want to give the students as many opportunities as possible to be creative and think outside the box as many successful designers do, so I proposed it to the students as an optional activity," Moon explained. "I called Kathy Waters, who coordinates Paint the Town Pink, and let her know about my idea. She was all for it, so I purchased the bras, and the students provided some of the materials. We also used supplies available from the DFMH department."

Along with some of the bras the Chamber's PTTP committee "commissioned," the student-created bras will be available for auction at the PINK Party (5-7 p.m. Friday, October 7 at the West Central Illinois Arts Center, 125 N. Randolph, Macomb). Other bras created for Bras for a Cause! are available to "rent" to display at area businesses throughout the month of October. (Contact the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Corporation for more information at 309-837-4855 or Chamber2@macomb.com.)

Moon noted that she was pleased with the students' commitment to the project and that many worked several hours in order to get the bras ready to be displayed in Knoblauch Hall.

Megan Hodges, a transfer student from Colona (IL) who was part of the team that designed the display case presentation of the bras, said making the chest pieces for the Bras for a Cause! project was an enjoyable class exercise and a great way to make a contribution to the community, as well as the breast cancer cause.

"It wasn't so much about the grade or trying to get it perfect. It was about working in groups and being creative. We were able to relax and have fun. Overall, everyone involved was enthusiastic about being able to do this project," she said.

Debby Perta, a junior from Des Plaines (IL), said she worked in a group of eight to create a bra adorned with several pink breast cancer ribbons and noted that teamwork played a key role in the completion of their particular bra.

"When we first started sewing the bows on, we realized that it was going to take way too long. So we worked together to come up with a way to complete the bra. Several of us made bows, and then a couple of us finished by gluing them on the bra. It turned out great," Perta said.

Moon noted that in addition to the creative and community service aspects of the activity, helping her students and WIU's DFMH department contribute to Bras for a Cause! was rewarding for both professional and personal reasons.

"This is a cause near and dear to me. While I was in college, two of my best friends' mothers were diagnosed with breast cancer, and I went through their trials and tribulations with them and tried to be as supportive as I could. Their moms are now survivors," she explained.

Students in Moon's class who participated are: Alice Baglin (Rockton, IL); Megan Borges (Elmwood Park, IL); Caroline Bryant (Naperville, IL); Jessica Burke (Good Hope, IL); Michelle Campos (Chicago, IL); Daisy Carrera-Rocha (Round Lake Beach, IL); Alexis Cooper (South Holland, IL); Ty Davis (Chicago, IL); Samantha Duffield (Fairview, IL); Melissa Foerster (Hoffman Estates, IL); Skyler Ford (Macomb, IL); Justine Hagen (Jerseyville, IL); Megan Hodges (Colona, IL); Ciara Isley (Rushville, IL); Amber Johnson (Evanston, IL); Jamie Linville (Canton, IL); Amanda Mast (Stillman Valley, IL); Molly Mattox (Des Plaines, IL); Shayley Norris (London Mills, IL); Justine Olson (Cornell, IL); Beth Peifer (Peoria, IL); Debby Perta (Des Plaines, IL); Kelsey Sleezer (Lena, IL); Karla Susnjar (St. Charles, IL); Chris Taylor (Quincy, IL); Dorian Turner (Milwaukee, WI); Samantha Underwood (Tinley Park, IL); and Terese Washington (Sauk Village, IL).

For more information, contact Moon in the WIU College of Education and Human Services, at (309) 298-1690 or at DM-Moon@wiu.edu.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing