Garments decorated with soft spring florals, serious business stripes and versatile skull prints hung from clothing racks. Eager shoppers browsed the selection, which spanned styles, sizes and occasions. Some paused to inspect the size tag on a pink sequined gown before someone else gleefully claimed it as their own. The only things missing from this pop-up boutique were the price tags — because everything was free.
Saturday morning, cheerful volunteers transformed a student union ballroom space into the Lavender Closet Experience — a gender-affirming event offering clothing and wardrobe styling, as well as hair and makeup products, styling and consultations. Local mutual aid organization the Lavender Closet Project and RuCo Pride hosted the event as a part of MTSU’s LGBT Plus College Conference.
“Our goal is to give you an affirming space,” Eric Hughes said. “You come in, you find some cute clothes that you really like, and you go and get some makeup, if that’s your thing.”
Hughes, a lecturer in MTSU’s English and Gender and Women’s Studies departments, founded the Lavender Closet Project.
“There’s no money involved or anything like that,” Hughes said. “People just give us the clothes. We get the clothes on the rack, and we get it to the clients that need it, so it’s one of the easiest ways to contribute and put resources directly back into the community.”
Gender-affirming care helps people feel confident and look their best without judgement, Liz Layne, a hairstylist at Prismatic Society in Murfreesboro, said. Layne offered hairstyling services at the event, and said she hoped people would leave happy.
Ace Coleman met Hughes as a student in one of Hughes’ classes and has helped with the Lavender Closet Project this semester. At the event, they joined other volunteers scurrying about with armfuls of clothing to replenish the quickly dwindling inventory.
“I think this is a great opportunity for (people) to come and get gender-affirming clothes,” Coleman said. “I know that’s a big thing for me, getting the clothes that make me feel like who I am.”
Finding a new style can be intimidating. Jeremy Taylor gave confidence-boosting advice to Lavender Closet shoppers.
“I’ve been helping several people find things that they could wear, either to an interview or just having fun or around campus,” Taylor said. “Fashion is for everyone, and you should dress for yourself and love the clothes that you wear and just make sure you’re happy”
While some attendees collected new wardrobe pieces, others visited hair and makeup booths to pick up samples, ask for guidance or receive hands-on help.
Attendees expressed gratitude for the experience, which cost them nothing.
“Everything’s free to the point where I feel like I’m stealing,” KyKy Crandall, a freshman business administration major said. “And I just love it. I’ve been looking forward to this for months, and it turned out amazing.”
Crandall emptied a tote bag to show off his finds — a cheetah-print top, sheer black button-up and black skirt decorated with chains.
“It’s kind of crazy, because you know, Bible Belt south? You would never expect this event to be here. But I love it,” Crandall said.
The Lavender Closet Experience offered more than free products, advice and services. It created a safe and judgement-free space for attendees to explore different ways to express their identities, RuCo Pride board member Drea Brown said.
“I’m seeing people ask the question, ‘Is this me? Could this be me?’” Brown said. “And I love that that’s the question, because the answer is ‘yes.’ The whole entire goal is to be your most authentic self … so we’re here to help people become as authentic as possible, because that is the ultimate resilience.”
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