Breakthrough Boutique – Online

Giving Back

By Caren Handleman

When it became apparent that the summer 2020 Breakthrough Boutique would not open for in-person shopping, Co-chairs Abby McGehee ’21 and Abby Timmerman ’21 were determined to find a way to keep the boutique available to Breakthrough Fort Worth students. Their solution? Create a website for students to view items and pick out one or more outfits for a special event, school presentation, graduation or future job interview.

The Breakthrough Boutique was established in 2008 by Laurie Lindsay Tatum and Ginger Epstein, whose conversations with Breakthrough students made them aware of a need for appropriate attire for events outside of school. FWCD and community families were asked to donate gently used, well-cared-for, school and church clothing, initially for ninth-grade students. Over the years, the boutique has evolved to include clothing and accessories for middle and high school students who participate in Breakthrough Fort Worth.

In spring 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Timmerman and McGehee sent a message to the community about the boutique’s online move, requesting donations. Bins were placed at the School’s Bryant Irvin entrance. They were amazed at the overwhelming response: More than 1,000 clothing items were received.

Filled with clothing racks, the McGehee living room became the reviewing, processing, photography and web studio. Every day, the girls sifted, sorted, evaluated and selected which items to include in the boutique inventory and which to donate to Goodwill.

For the website, three photographs of each item were taken: a close-up of the fabric, the front and the back, which allowed shoppers a full view. Timmerman and McGehee developed an efficient sequence with Timmerman taking the photographs and McGehee posting them to the website. They also photographed and posted groupings of clothing and accessories to serve as combination suggestions to inspire shoppers. The online boutique was a great success. Breakthrough students were excited to have the opportunity to find outfits that would serve them in a variety of ways. The clothing selections were placed in shopping bags, complete with colorful tissue paper, which carried forward the “boutique feel” experience. With social-distancing protocols in place, students picked up their selections at the Fischer Dining Pavilion at the same time they picked up their Breakthrough school materials.

Despite the success of the online Boutique, both co-chairs look forward to seeing it return to its face-to-face program. “The inperson interactions with clothing selection is impactful both for the Breakthrough students and Boutique volunteers,” McGehee said.

Joe Breedlove ’78, Breakthrough Fort Worth Executive Director, said, “Consistent with the program’s motto that ‘we are young people who choose to make a difference,’ the Abbys decided not to let this pandemic be a setback, but be an opportunity to create something unique, special and efficient. Every new group of boutique volunteers brings its own sense of specialness, and they took the program to a new level.”

Breakthrough Boutique co-chairs serve a three-year term, beginning in their sophomore year. When the co-chairs reach their senior year, two new co-chairs, sophomores, are named. Upon graduation, Timmerman and McGehee will turn the program’s leadership over to Katie Bruce ’24 and Hannah Cheng ’24. Their advice to the incoming chairs is “to continue improving the boutique experience, keeping current fashion and retailing in mind.” Timmerman added, “The three-year commitment is an opportunity to learn the breadth of leadership, in terms of building collaboration with other groups and developing volunteer opportunities.”

To learn more about Breakthrough Fort Worth, visit fwcd.org/breakthrough.