Outfitted for Success

By Elle Schumacher '26, December 6, 2023

Gender Affirming Closet opens in LGBT Center.

Julia Stitely ’24, a student staff member at the Center worked tirelessly to ensure the opening of the closet full-time this semester.

(Photo by Elle Shumacher '26)

Ithaca College’s Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services has opened a new Gender Affirming Clothing Closet. Located in Towers Concourse 110, the closet has clothing, shoes, and accessories that individuals can take at no cost. The closet is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Crissi Dalfonzo, director of the Center, says the closet is geared towards students going through gender exploration.

“Gender is not static,” Dalfonzo said. “Many students are going through the process of exploring their gender, and clothing is one way to express that. However, clothing is expensive, and shopping in binary clothing sections can be really intimidating for trans and gender expansive folks. We hope that this closet will be a positive way for students to explore gender expression. They can try on and take clothing that affirms their gender and if relevant, donate clothing that no longer serves their gender expression.”

More information

While any clothing in good condition will be accepted at the closet, if you have questions about the Gender Affirming Closet or what types of clothing are needed, contact lgbt@ithaca.edu or check out the LGBT Center on instagram @ic_lgbt.

The idea for the closet was born after the Center hosted a gender-expansive clothing swap last year. That event, which allowed people to drop off their clothes and select new ones, was wildly popular.

“The drop-off period was only for a few weeks, but we had a lot of leftover donations,” said Julia Stitely ’24, a student staff member at the Center who took on much of the organizational labor to opening the closet full-time this semester.

Knowing how successful the original event was, plans for something more permanent soon followed. And the response was overwhelming — Dalfonzo says the closet is already packed full of clothing, with extra in storage — and emblematic of a true community effort. Many of the donations for the closet have come from faculty and staff.

“It’s created a really beautiful pipeline of clothing going from faculty and staff to students,” she said. “There is truly a special relationship between everyone because of this.”

One of the benefits of the closet is that there is no limit to what individuals can take, and there is no expectation that someone must drop clothing off to take some. The clothing is organized by item types, but not categorized by gender, to allow visitors to choose items that feel most affirming without placing labels on expression.

Noting that people need clothes and that having money for shopping can be tough for people whose bodies and gender are changing, Stitely says that the closet is something that allows for “constant fluid expression that can help bring forward gender euphoria.”