June 19, 2025
Provided Image/The Wardrobe
The Wardrobe will be hosting an 'Open Wardrobe' event to give away free clothes on June 26.
The Wardrobe welcomes customers with the tagline "everyone — and everything — deserves a second chance," a slogan that manifests in the clothing bank's events.
The nonprofit will be giving away free clothes to formerly incarcerated people during an "Open Wardrobe" on Thursday, June 26.
The monthly event will take place in conjunction with the store's Returning Wardrobe program, which continually provides clothing, career-based training and other resources to people who have been in the prison system in the last five years.
Five of the Wardrobe's locations will be partaking June 26:
• Old City: 444 North 3rd St.
• Upper Darby: 62 West Marshall Rd.
• Kennett Square: 345 Scarlet Rd.
• Inside Exton Mall: 153 Exton Square Pkwy.
• Bucks County: 4800 E. Street Rd., Trevose
Free toiletries will be available, and Kennett Square's store will also offer free haircuts. Registration is required for participants, which can be completed online.
"I've seen first-hand how many people are released from incarceration with just the clothes they were arrested in, or what their family could bring," said Mars Sharrock, program director with the Wardrobe. "Clothing is a basic need that is not reliably provided to re-entrants who are trying to rebuild their lives and communities after incarceration."
The Returning Wardrobe program began in 2022 after Pennsylvania state Rep. Jordan Harris provided the organization with a $200,000 grant from the state's Department of Human Services, which was further supplemented in April with an additional $30,000 from District Attorney Larry Krasner's city forfeiture fund.
During the last Thursday of every month, an Open Wardrobe day is held at some of the shop's locations. Participants receive six items of clothing, plus additional accessories, free of charge.
This year, the Wardrobe has held events for immigrants and refugees, youth, LGBTQ+ groups, veterans, homeless people and more.
"We generally see between 50 to over 100 people across all sites on these days, often giving over 300 pieces of clothing on that day alone," Sharrock said. "Our immigrant and refugee events as well as our re-entry events are some of our most popular."
A new Open Wardrobe lineup will be released next month, Sharrock said.
The store has been in business for 30 years, and each year it processes over 10,000 individualized appointments for outfitting services, Sharrock said.
"People may not think about it, but you need clothes to do pretty much anything — attend an (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting, pick your kids up from school, apply for a job," Sharrock said. "The Wardrobe is often one of people's first stops when they get out because you need to be wearing clothing that fits, is comfortable and will help you fit in with your peers before you do most other things."
The Wardrobe also doubles as a thrift shop for members of the general public. Clothes can be dropped off during business hours, and financial donations can be submitted online.
