Timi Kimonibo has been swapping clothes since 2009. But after the Houston native moved to Syracuse University for graduate school, she started hosting events for her friends to spruce up their wardrobes.

The feedback from her first two closet swaps, both hosted in Kimonibo’s living room within the last year, was nothing but positive. The last swap hosted approximately 30 guests she knew from church, SU and the surrounding community.

“My house simply wasn’t big enough for it,” Kimonibo said. “More people need access to the experience.”

On Friday, March 28, Style Lottery is bringing the closet swap experience to SU’s Hall of Languages, from 4–7 p.m. The swap — which is free — will help introduce new patterns, prints and textures of clothing into students’ wardrobes. Shirts, blouses, dresses, slacks, jackets, blazers, shoes and jewelry are all acceptable as donations.

Style Lottery is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable fashion. Kimonibo, the founder of Style Lottery, hosts closet swaps to encourage women to restyle and reuse items in their closets.

Donated items give hardworking young women from low-income communities in Syracuse a free shopping spree. Kimonibo just asks that attendees bring at least four to five items of clothing to donate, and participants may leave with as much as they can carry.

Kimonibo said the concept was inspired by an episode of “Hoarders” on TLC. She recalls the people on the episode unable to get rid of their materialistic things — the end result was nothing but waste.

Style Lottery allows Kimonibo to leave behind a smaller carbon footprint. She said she has made Style Lottery reflective of her beliefs on sustainability and charity.

Kimonibo gives up shopping for the entire month prior to any closet swap. She said it’s a big challenge, but it’s a discipline she finds very rewarding.

For the closet swaps, Kimonibo works closely alongside Nievez Alvarez, a public relations master’s student and strategic coordinator for Style Lottery; Alexis Morris, the logistics manager for Style Lottery; and Jennifer Osias, a first year SU graduate student in the public diplomacy program and a campus relations director.

“I have a very effective team,” Kimonibo said.

Kimonibo said that mindlessly throwing away clothes we no longer wear is wasteful; clothing swaps change the way we consume. She said her mantra is that people don’t have to become less fashionable, just more mindful.

 The best part of the closet swap, said Kimonibo, is that the event attracts so many different types of people from different backgrounds. It allows shoppers to incorporate international styles into their wardrobes.

As a woman with a Nigerian background, Kimonibo expresses a great deal of interest in refugee organizations. She says she has an understanding of what it’s like to be in a new country without the right fashion sense.

“Our goal is to use fashion to promote philanthropy and self-empowerment,” Osias said.

Kimonibo hopes for a good turnout for Friday’s event, since whatever is left over will be donated to women in refugee organizations. The team hopes to involve more people and expand the swaps in the future by incorporating more organizations, such as Hopeprint, InterFaith Works and other Syracuse area nonprofits. By merging efforts, Kimonibo hopes the Style Lottery team will be able to help hospitals and afterschool programs.

The team predicts a good turnout with their larger location at the Hall of Languages.

“The location is advantageous,” said Alvarez, who is in charge of attracting guests via Facebook. “We are expecting a large and more diverse audience, therefore expanding the clothing inventory we have.”

The mission Style Lottery strives to achieve is to restyle, reuse and reward.

Said Osias: “I hope that those who come to our clothing swaps gain not only a cute new outfit, but also inspiration to solve everyday problems in new, creative ways.”

Published on March 26, 2014 at 1:30 am

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