If you have “slightly worn women’s clothes” hiding in the back of your closet, now is the time to swoop them up and donate them to the 5th annual Pink October Breast Cancer Wardrobe Swap, on Thursday, Oct. 22, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at new 4K post house Conspiracy in the West Loop.
The Wardrobe Swap was started by Nathalynne McGinnis, freelance agency broadcast producer and business manager, to honor her mother, Selwynne, who died in 2003 of breast cancer. “It’s a fitting tribute of my mother’s life and love of fashion, shoes and all the trimmings,” she says.
McGinnis has teamed with co-hosts Amy McIntyre, Conspiracy EP/head of sales, Shirley Portee, EP at Burrell Communications and Anne Hagerty, freelance copywriter, to make this year’s Swap the biggest and best yet.
“We’re hoping for a big success and everyone’s excited about it,” she says.
Two hundred women are expected to attend and the goal is to exceed the $2,500 raised at the previous Swap. Proceeds will be donated to the Avon Foundation for Women, host of the annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
The call is out for clothing — especially those desirable designer labels — along with shoes and purses. “Your discard always becomes someone else’s fashion statement,” she adds.
Donations can be dropped off at Conspiracy, 170 N. Sangamon, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. by Wednesday, Oct. 14, so the team has plenty of time to sort through the donations and organize the Swap.
As a special attraction, new fall shoe styles may be purchased at Delicious Shoe Truck, parked on the street outside Conspiracy. It’s owned by former agency art director Amy Sedgwick, who pledged donating 15% her profit to the Swap. Other attractions are being planned.
Clothes racks will be found in Conspiracy’s reception room and open spaces and areas will be set aside for changing rooms. Refreshments, wine and snacks will be served.
If the last Swap was any indication of its success, “We had so many clothes that the racks broke,” McGinnis laughs. “It was crazy, insane.
“At the end of the day we had six or eight big plastic bags of clothes to donate to the Salvation Army and that was very fulfilling, too.”
RSVP your attendance for the Oct. 22 Wardrope Swap to nathalynne McGinnis here.
