They came from near and far, both veterans and novices, to shop others’ cast-offs.           These are not just items saved from the landfill; they are objects of desire.  They came with ideas of what they might find, or with open minds to what would greet them inside; among the beads, sequins, furs and vintage treasures of the Goodwill Glitter Sale.   I volunteered and then shopped this sale myself, seeing so many amazing fashionistas I either became reacquainted with or met for the first time.  They came for this one last hurrah; for after 35 years of attracting thousands of shoppers in a single weekend, this 36^th year was the last.

There will be no more Glitter Sale, at least not on this scale.  Now, instead of saving up all those Chanel, Prada, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Coach, St. John and other sought-after designer pieces, to be sold at below clearance prices, the glitz and glam will now be available anytime, at any local Goodwill in the Seattle region.

This final Glitter Sale set the records it deserved.

More than 3,100 people poured in to ravage the racks full of frocks, furs, fashions from years gone by.   They smiled at seeing one another this one time per year, pulled zippers up and down for another, smiled and passed compliments at each other’s treasures and shared stories of sales gone by.

In the end, they bought more than $346,000 worth of jewelry, ball gowns, prom dresses, shoes, purses, hats, slacks, skirts, scarves, coats, and more.

And through it all, they certainly packed their patience.  One group of annual shopping friends, got in line days ahead of time, to make sure they were first in the door when the sale opened Saturday morning. By that time, the line totaled more than 700 and by mid-day, Goodwill workers had wrapped more than 1400 wrists with numbered bracelets indicating their turn to go into Willie Wonka Factory of glamour.

I know at least one of those shoppers, with a number beyond 1400, patiently waited hours for her turn to get in!  And yes, she did find exceptional pieces to enhance her wardrobe.

I arrived early enough on Sunday to get #70 wrapped around my wrist!  Once inside, I found ball gowns I’ll be wearing through the 14 Commodore’s Ball I will be attending with my husband starting next fall!  I found a statement necklace, a brocade skirt, a white shimmery dress I can’t wait to wear next summer, opera gloves, earrings, a super fun polka dotted purse, plus cowboy boots (still with a bit of the barnyard on the sole!).

And through out my shopping excursion I took great delight in the treasures my shopping buddies found and the strangers I met along the way.

This shopping experience has truly been like no other, for so many reasons and for so many years!

I talked with several people I’ve seen year after year after year after year after year!  Plus, I met others, who, despite both of us shopping the sale every year, without fail, had never run into each other before.

I learned that while we have different tastes (I’m not at all a designer person, where Sharee seeks out Hermes, Vuitton, Chanel and more) we’re all there for the same reason, to help others get free job training.   The purpose of the Glitter Sale is to raise money for Goodwill’s free education and job training programs.  Just in the last year, more than 6,600 individuals got a leg up, absolutely for free.

So, while we say goodbye to the Glitter Sale and these annual traditions, we do not say farewell to the work being done by the employees and volunteers at Goodwill.  Instead we look forward to learning new and innovative ways to support these programs.