Spotlight Volunteer: Tracy Tynan
Spotlight Volunteer: Tracy Tynan
Tracy Tynan, our spotlight this month has been volunteering for Glamour project for almost 10 years. Originally hailing from England she made her home in Los Angeles forming a successful career in costume design for TV and Film. More recently, she authored a book, “Wear and Tear: The Threads of my Life” a memoir in which she recounts her childhood while growing up with her hard-partying parents, the well- known theater critic Kenneth Tynan and the novelist Elaine Dundy through clothing. “Tracy Tynan uses the universal medium of clothing to tell the highly specific story of her bohemian British upbringing'.
In her “moving, candid, and often hilarious” memoir (Wall Street Journal), Tracy recalls her father’s dandy attire and her mother’s Pucci dresses, as well as her parents’ rancorous marriage and divorce, her father’s prodigious talents and celebrity lifestyle, and her mother’s lifelong struggle with addiction. .In one of the later chapters, she cites Glamour Project with her passion for clothing and dedication to volunteering for the homeless.
Tracy now resides in the downtown area where homelessness is acutely visible thus sparking her fervor to give something back to the community and help this portion of our population. She does not subscribe to the favorite myths of homelessness: addiction, mental illness, laziness, but rather believes it is a circumstance that can be changed with proactive strategies. Tracy uses her considerable skills and talents with fashion to help style the participants of Glamour Project for their photo shoots. Her philosophy is more than clothes make the woman. She believes the woman make the clothes, often allowing the subject to select their own choices or guiding them to choose what might look best. She allows the women to be themselves, just stronger and more confident. She believes in Glamour Project “because the smile on their face is everything.”
Read more about Tracy and other Glamour Project Volunteers in Our Team