A Superb Event from Goodwill

Above: That's Donna Dilley, who writes an etiquette column for FRONT, and me. Right: Your favorite editor on the runway.^

Last night's Second Runway at the Jefferson Center, Goodwill Industries novel fundraiser, was one of those unusual events where the entertainers and the viewers shared equal amounts of sheer delight. This one was a fashion show featuring clothes from Goodwill in an effort to raise some money (it raised a bunch) and show off what you may have been missing if you have this bias against used clothing makes sense. It doesn't.

Of all the comments I heard last night, the one that kept turning up--from every demographic--was "I bought this ..." garment at Goodwill. It could have been something the speaker had on, had in his closet, gave to her husband, accepted from her boyfriend. Consistently the people telling the stories talked with utter delight about not only getting a substantial bargain, but also feeling good about recycling and especially good in supporting a program that helps people who need it.

The show was simply first class from the moment we arrived to the instant we left the center. The clothing selections were superb; the models (with possibly one exception) were attractive; the music was appropriate; the stage was alive; the MCs, David Lee Michaels and wife Melissa Morgan (both former radio personalities and both of whom have real jobs now), professional; the stage management astonishingly efficient; and the entire program simply grand. I was one of the models and it was just a great time.

Congrats to Goodwill, one of the truly good charities around. Give 'em some money. Or maybe better yet, buy some clothes there. The stuff is beyond your imagining if you haven't been inside.

(Top photo by William Mahone; right photo by Susan Ayers.)