High Style Low Cost Goodwill Show Highlights First-Class Fashions At Secondhand Prices

Here’s what’s in: midriff-baring T-shirts, clunky shoes and short, short satin shorts.

Here’s what real women, with real bodies, are looking for: attractive clothes that flatter and survive fleeting trends. Something affordable for work, yet fun enough to cross into night.

You’ll find the first on the catwalks of New York and Paris. You’ll find the second - and what you really want - in Spokane on May 13.

Goodwill Industries will hold its 12th annual fashion show, brunch and sale at 11 a.m. at the Ridpath Hotel Ballroom. It’s an event, called “New York, New York,” that’s grown in size and repute since its humble beginnings.

Now, they hire security guards.

“Every once in a while we’ll find people moving items from rack to rack, trying to hide them from other buyers,” explained Mari Ann McClain, marketing director for Goodwill.

A good sale will do that to you.

And despite what some might think about a fashion show featuring secondhand clothes, this is a good sale. All 160 of the featured outfits, as well as the hundreds of other items on the racks, are designer-name creations. Albert Nipon, Liz Claiborne, Jessica McClintock.

Many still bear the tags. For some reason, they just never got worn.

“I think people buy things occasionally thinking they’ll lose weight or gain weight so they’ll fit - but they never do,” explained McClain. “I’m always amazed by the things we get in here.”

Goodwill sorters start saving the good stuff for the fashion show about six months prior to the sale. They also look for shoes, hats, gloves - any accessory that will complement the outfit. By May, the ensembles look like they could stop the show in Milan.

This year’s take includes some of the best Goodwill has ever offered. A purple leather jacket, a black Rimini evening dress, a fuchsia and black work suit, a trendy broomstick dress. Even an $800 wedding dress that will be priced at $99.99.

All the outfits, in fact, will cost a fraction of their original value. Most career suits will squeak out the door for under $25.

The show will feature 10 segments, everything from western to career to evening. A men’s segment will hit the high points of men’s fashion as well.

The models reflect Goodwill’s desire to bring fashion to real people. Volunteers include Victoria Nicacio, Miss Spokane, but also a 45-year-old woman who wears a size 20 and Georgie Barr, a 78-year-old pro on the runway.

“They asked me to do this in one of their first shows 11 years ago,” said Barr. “It’s fun for me, and I suppose I’ve got a pretty good little figure to show the clothes.”

Barr and McClain always tell the skeptics to come check it out. They’ll be surprised at what they see. The deals are so good that last year, $7,200 worth of clothes sold in the first 30 minutes.

“Goodwill is actually one of the best kept secrets of Spokane’s professional women,” said McClain. “They know where to shop for value.”

MEMO: Proceeds from the sale go to purchase office equipment to further the training of Inland Northwest people with disabilities and disadvantages.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FASHION SHOW Goodwill Industries’ fashion show, brunch and sale will be May 13 at 11 a.m. at the Ridpath Hotel Ballroom. Tickets are $17.50. Call 838-4246, ext. 270 to reserve a seat.