The Wardrobe

A small colourful room is packed from floor to ceiling with shelves and rails of clothes

One of the organisations I've recently been supporting is a new initiative called the Wardrobe and since we're now well into Pride Month it seemed like a great time to showcase the brilliant work that this volunteer-led organisation is doing. I met with one of the founders, Grace, to learn more.

What does your organisation do?

The Wardrobe is a clothes bank and safe space for anyone who is trans, non-binary, genderqueer, intersex, or who just feels otherwise unsafe in a standard shopping or changing environment. We host local events, visits from youth groups, and private appointments either in-person or online. We are currently based at The NewBridge Project in Shieldfield, and we’ve been open to the public for about a year.

I'm not gonna be able to get the smile off my face

Visitor to The Wardrobe

Tell us about your key projects?

We are a group of volunteers who run the initiative, and our work has so far been very responsive to the local community and what it needs. We have previously run clothes swaps, a cat walk event at Halloween, a reading group on The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion by Tansy E Hoskins, and several Open House events where we lay out our stock across larger rooms so people can browse while also meeting other people and sharing experiences.

The majority of what we host are private appointments where people can use the space (alone or with a friend to) try on clothes and experiment, and we can be on hand to offer advice or opinions if needed! The visitor then takes anything away with them that they want to keep, free of charge. Our rent and maintenance costs are covered by our amazing supporters who make monthly donations through our Patreon page.

My non-binary self is very happy right now

Visitor to The Wardrobe

The gender euphoria is real!!

Visitor to The Wardrobe

We have loads of ideas about ways to expand, we’re hoping to move to a larger space so we can take in more donations, and we’re currently looking into whether we can start an exchange service for second-hand binders.

We have developed as a core team by meeting regularly to keep The Wardrobe organised, sort new donations, and ensure the space is accessible. Our approach is to group the clothes by size and by category (for instance grouping shirts, trousers, dresses, etc) rather than by gender. This means people can browse everything and decide for themselves whether it aligns with their gender expression.

How will Connected Voice support you?

As a relatively new initiative, we’ve identified the need to formalise our organisation so we can grow and support the local community as effectively as possible. Our group of volunteers currently have to work on this project between other jobs and responsibilities, so it can be challenging to dedicate as much time and energy as we’d like.

Connected Voice will assist us to become a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) later this year, offering their expertise in this area, and leading us through the application process to ensure we can continue to run the project while this development takes place.

You find out more about The Wardrobe on the NewBridge website, you can follow us on instagram, twitter or facebook, and you can contact us on the.wardrobe.ncl@gmail.com

We’ll be launching a crowdfunding campaign soon to support us in our quest to become a CIO, so please give us a follow and stay in touch with our announcements if you’d like to help our work continue.

I'm roasting underneath these layers but it's worth it for the vibe!

Visitor to The Wardrobe

 

A few of the brilliant volunteers at The Wardrobe:

 

Three volunteers arrange clothing in the Wardrobe A volunteer sits on a chair folding clothing from a large pile