As an Allentown program for supporting women’s careers celebrates its 25th anniversary, residents can support the mission of women’s empowerment — while looking stylish — at a resale boutique just around the corner.
The Perfect Fit Resale Boutique operates at the ArtsWalk at 26 N. Sixth St. in Allentown, where it offers both affordable and high-end women’s clothing, shoes and accessories — all of which are donated.
Sales go toward supporting YWCA Allentown’s Perfect Fit program, which turns 25 years old this year and provides professional clothing (both for white-collar and blue-collar work), personal hygiene products and professional development courses for women. To recognize the 25th anniversary, an “Outfit to Empower” luncheon will be held Oct. 24 at the Renaissance Allentown Hotel.
YWCA Allentown Executive Director Sarah Barrett said Perfect Fit has served nearly 14,000 people in the last 25 years, and that the resale boutique is a “natural extension.”
“The Perfect Fit Resale Boutique is a place where so many folks downtown can stop in and feel like they belong, right?” she said. “So we have folks from the neighborhood. We have folks who work downtown. We have folks who live downtown. We have folks who are traveling and maybe staying in one of the local hotels who happen in. And it’s a place where you can come in, you can shop, you can chat. Really a wonderful place to spend time in community. And then on the upside of that is you get really wonderful clothing, you support a great cause, and we earn some revenue to support a longstanding and important community program.”
One frequent customer of the resale boutique is Emily Ross-Johnson, an assistant victim witness coordinator at the Lehigh County District Attorney’s office who has shopped at the store since it opened in 2017. When she walked into the boutique on Wednesday, everything she was wearing was from the store.
“A lot of my paycheck goes here,” Ross-Johnson said, praising the store for its beautiful options and variety.
Heidi Lennick is a part-time boutique employee who originally helped open the store, and has worked with YWCA Allentown for the last 15 years.
She said she loves the nonprofit’s mission statement, which reads on the boutique’s wall: “YWCA Allentown is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities.” The store does this such as by directing struggling customers to the Perfect Fit program and hosting private shopping events for the transgender community.
“They feel safe to be able to come here,” Lennick said.
Linda Robbins, formerly of the American Association of University Women and now retired, helped create Perfect Fit alongside Lehigh County, the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley, the Junior League of the Lehigh Valley and the formerly combined YMCA-YWCA in Allentown.
Working at the Lehigh County Assistance Office, she recalled the requirements for people to work before they could receive public assistance.
“[My coworkers] said, ‘How do you expect these people to get jobs? They don’t have anything to wear’,” Robbins recalled. “They don’t have a coat to stand and wait for the bus, so that’s kind of how we determined the need.”
The boutique is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and the first Saturday of every month. It also hosts private girls’ nights where people can bring their own food, drinks and friends.
Lehigh Valley retail and restaurant news in brief
The crystal and handmade jewelry store Handmade Mystic will close this month at 2180 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.
The cafe Jay’s Local at 2301 Liberty St. in Allentown has become the city’s first approved restaurant under the Blue Zones Project, an initiative that seeks to improve residents’ health such as by supporting healthier diets, exercise and improved social connections.
Owner Lyell Scherline said they’ve added new, healthy menu items, like an edamame breakfast wrap and, as homage to Muhlenberg College across the street, the non-dairy “Mighty Mule” protein drink with banana, peanut butter and almond milk. The cafe will add more menu items throughout the next few months.
“Our restaurant is already geared toward healthier lifestyle, healthier recipes, so it was very enticing for us,” he said. “We are familiar with the Blue Zones because it is a worldwide initiative, so we were excited to be thought of.”
Jen Mann, the organization and wellbeing lead for Blue Zones in Allentown, said eight other Allentown restaurants are working to get similar approval. She also appreciated how Jay’s Local went beyond a healthier menu such through hosting guest chef collaborations, healthy cooking classes and fundraisers.
“It’s not just they have to have everything on their menu that’s just Blue Zones-inspired,” she said. “No, you can have a couple of healthier options on there, but then do they have the right outlook when it comes to community and being woven into the fabric of West End Allentown? Absolutely.”
The national discount retailer Burlington will open a new store Nov. 1 at South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Salisbury Township.
The hot dog vendor Rod’s Dogs closed Sept. 28 at the Easton Public Market in Easton, co-owner Mike Pichetto announced online, following about four years of operation.
“To everyone who visited us, supported us, and enjoyed a meal at Rod’s Dogs — thank you,” Pichetto said. “We’re deeply grateful to have been part of your Easton Public Market experience.”
Pearly Baker’s Alehouse pushed its grand reopening to next Saturday at 11 Centre Square in Easton, co-owner Philip Simonetta said.
Spirit Christmas will open next month at 1911 Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township, according to its online webpage, where customers can buy gifts, holiday apparel and decorations.
Retail Watch is a weekly column covering retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Have a question, tip, or want to see something in the area? Contact retail reporter Graysen Golter at retailwatch@mcall.com.
