160. feel-good fashion, or, fashion is superficial pt. II
August 26th, 2009 § 11 Comments
I debated over whether or not to put this picture up because we both look so silly! I’m a big grey blur, and Chris is making a weird face. But anyway.
On Monday, Chris and I did some community service at the Sacred Heart Community Service Center in San Jose. (Wait — this is fashion-related.) The SHCSC is a clean, bright facility designed to help people in need with a variety of services, including job-seeking (teaching people how to use email, or how to create a cover letter, for example), providing food from the Food Pantry (which has food donated from places like Trader Joe’s, etc.), and, last of all, the Clothes Closet.
The Clothes Closet, upon entry, looks like any neighborhood thrift store, even though it’s not. For one, people get clothes for free — five pieces of clothing per family member, plus two bras, two belts, etc. But the emphasis is really on making customers (we were told from the very beginning that the shoppers were never to be seen as “clients”) feel as though they were having a regular retail experience. All of the hangers had to hang in the same way. Everything was organized. The standard of quality for clothing was much higher than I’ve seen in some Goodwills, SAs, or even vintage stores, with no rips, stains, smells, or otherwise undesirable characteristics allowed. Some volunteers even acted as “personal shoppers” — looking for a pair of size 34 men’s pants, for example, or helping a woman find nice church clothes.
Chris has a story that he really wanted to tell on here; I feel a little silly telling it for him, but he’s reluctant about guest-blogging for some reason (hint hint, Chris!). He was working in the back with me, sorting through clothes, when a woman approached him about finding size 8 shoes.
“Did you look in the women’s shoe section?” he asked.
“Well, yeah,” she said, “but I didn’t like any of them.”
For a second, Chris had a thought that I think a lot of other people would have had, which was, What do you mean, you didn’t like any of them? You’re getting free shoes! But then he realized that she deserved to wear shoes that a.) fit her and b.) that she liked. So he came to the back with me and we sorted through a bunch of women’s shoes, most of them unmarked. I ended up trying on a lot of them to see if they fit, because I wear a size eight, and finally, we came up with a nice pair of black wedges, which he brought out to her — and she really liked them.
On a similar note, I saw the most gorgeous beaded vintage dress in the back. I assessed it as probably being worth about $100-200 in an upscale vintage store, or one of the pricier vendors on Etsy. In short, I really wanted it — but it also made me really happy to think of someone who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford a very expensive vintage dress getting it for free. Because I admit that fashion is superficial sometimes, but it also has the amazing ability to make people feel good about themselves and the way they look.
I’m back in Ann Arbor now, and my apartment is filthy. I hadn’t realized it was so gross before I left (was I just living in squalor without realizing it?), and now I’m going to spend the entire day trying to make it nice. In an attempt to get my neurotic self to actually sleep in a bed and not on the too-small loveseat, I moved (at 3:40 AM) the bed from my bedroom to the living room, which leaves the bedroom completely empty. I think I’m going to make it into a photography studio?
This is why I love fashion. I love helping people feel good about themselves. Few people tend to look past the superficial, and realize that clothes can make a dramatic difference in someone’s confidence. If you ask me, we could use a little more confidence in this world…
Meggy, you have a good heart.
I’m with you, Darrah! It’s not about fancy namebrands and bling that presumes a higher meaning than sparkle (elitism, ckass exclusion, blah, blah). It’s about making our world a little lovelier with creative personal expression for all! You shouldn’t have to have money to have fly style.
What a great story–thank you, as always, for sharing these gems, Meggy!
That is so good that people can get fashion like that for free. Even if a tiny bit of me went “ooh, I want!”, I would always prefer for them to have it!
Fashion can certainly raise the morale of a human being.Good dressing can increase the confidence level of any guy or gal.
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[...] Fashion For Writers – – feel good fashion from the Clothes Closet [...]
[...] Fashion For Writers – – feel good fashion from the Clothes Closet [...]
Fashion is a lot to do with how you feel about yourself- clothes tell the world something about you, and nobody should have to make due with clothes that don’t make them feel good. You did a nice thing.
I think fashion is important, it may seem frivilous and vain, but i think it has depth. It enables people to feel good, find confidence and express themselves.
I loved this post and I think it is great that there are organizations out there that provide fashion options for those who have financial struggles.
Cheers to you both for volunteering!
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