An Oxfam shop is taking the international aid agency's commitment to fundraising one step further by launching the first ever, exclusive shopping experience for transvestites, transsexuals and cross-dressers.
The shop, Oxfam Original Leeds, will be holding the first monthly evening event this Friday, 3 August, offering a unique experience that will allow customers to browse and try on specially selected merchandise from heels to handbags and glamour to everyday wear.
Selling 50 pairs of stilettos would be enough to purchase essential medicines for five villages while the money raised by selling 70 handbags would provide safe water for 1,000 people.
Shop manager Sally Stone and volunteers Michael McDowell and Mark Stanley dreamt up the idea as a way to sell oversized items being donated to the shop. A tongue-in-cheek window display a few months ago, where male mannequins wore frilly nighties with large silk flowers, caused such a positive reaction that Sally is sure the monthly events are going to be popular.
She said: "People came in specially to congratulate us for the window display and since then we've been more aware of how holding such an event will be a great way to sell these donated items and raise money for Oxfam.
"We are creating an exclusive experience that will become a social occasion in a safe environment whilst offering a valuable service. Customers will be issued with a members card and will have the opportunity to look around the shop without feeling inhibited."
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