{"id":294976,"date":"2026-09-27T10:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T10:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/294976\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T10:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T10:54:08","slug":"how-philadelphias-the-wardrobe-has-adapted-for-31-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/294976\/","title":{"rendered":"How Philadelphia&#8217;s The Wardrobe has adapted for 31 years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? <a href=\"#Section1\">Let us know!<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast night, it got really cold,\u201d Rose King said, tracing the elaborate stitching on her jean jacket.\n<\/p>\n<p>King shivered while she spoke, standing outside The Wardrobe in Philadelphia\u2019s Northern Liberties neighborhood on an overcast, damp and windy morning.\n<\/p>\n<p>She had just arrived in the city from Thailand, saying she was now homeless after a falling-out with an older, wealthy companion. She said she owns no clothing appropriate for autumn in Philadelphia.\n  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, though, it\u2019s the third-best place I\u2019ve been homeless in. \u2026 You\u2019ve got so many resources, places like this,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m from Plattsburgh, [New York], originally,\u201d she continued, pausing to laugh. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing in upstate New York.\u201d<br \/>\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-754274\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/open-wardrobe-AMC-092526-01-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Rose King poses for photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"  \/>Rose King waiting in line for Wednesday\u2019s Open Wardrobe. (Andrew McGurl\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n<p>King, who has experienced homelessness for years, was referred to The Wardrobe by CareerLink, Pennsylvania\u2019s network of employment and training centers.\n<\/p>\n<p>For more than 31 years, The Wardrobe has provided free professional clothing and other career services to people in need, including those experiencing homelessness or returning from incarceration.\n<\/p>\n<p>The Wardrobe looks like a conventional clothing store, with display tables and clothing racks filling its modest retail space. Apparel is priced reasonably. It\u2019s open to the public, but free shopping is for members only and requires an appointment. A membership allows someone to visit four times each year, with a six-item limit each visit.\n<\/p>\n<p>Clients of The Wardrobe\u2019s more than 200 community partners are automatically eligible. Others can contact the organization directly.\n<\/p>\n<p>Sales cover little more than the rent, according to Program Director Mars Sharrock, with government grants and donations from individuals and foundations funding much of its work.\n<\/p>\n<p>Once a quarter, the nonprofit holds an Open Wardrobe day, when appointments are not necessary.\n<\/p>\n<p>King was one of more than 150 people who came to The Wardrobe on Wednesday in search of clothing that might help change their lives.\n        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":["post-294976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}