At first glance, Fairbanks-based Arrogantly Shabby seems like a lot of other fashion blogs: Cool kids in cool clothes, modeling in obscure, offbeat locations. But there’s something a little different about the clothes and accessories featured on this blog: They were found at the dump. And they probably haven’t been washed.
Anyone who has lived in Fairbanks knows that dumpster diving is a popular pastime for many, and a way of life for some. Hopeful scavengers descend on the transfer stations scattered around town, where residents take their throw-aways to be trucked to the city landfill on the outskirts of town. These transfer stations, known colloquially as the "dump," feature both garbage bins and reuse stations, and are swarming grounds for treasure-seekers of all kinds.
Friends Trista Crass and Katie Robb, two Fairbanks girls with a creative streak and self-proclaimed “cheap” side, have taken that beloved local tradition online with Arrogantly Shabby. With upwards of 10,000 views a month from all over the world, the fashion blog is now approaching its three-year anniversary.
The blog started as a “joke” says Crass, “but when we went and did it, we realized how fun it was.” The idea was born one night after a weekly sauna party: Crass had complimented Robb’s scarf, who replied “it’s actually a pillow case,” snagged from the dump and then cut up into pieces. They slowly realized that pretty much everything they were wearing had come from the dump. Arrogantly Shabby had begun.
by Laurel Andrews, Alaska Dispatch | Read more:
Photo: Arrogantly Shabby
