Winter Fashion at Planet Aid

It’s that time of year again, where the mercury in the thermometer is taking a dive to the south. As winter approaches you may find that your warm clothing from last year has worn out, has become less fashionable, or simply never existed to begin with.

Enter Planet Aid – a thrift/vintage store located at 36 JFK Street right off of the Square. Planet Aid is affiliated with the International Humana Movement, an umbrella movement that runs 200 projects in 32 countries world wide. Projects range from environmental action to refugee aid to fighting AIDS in Southern Africa. All of the clothing at Planet Aid is donated and the profits go to finance projects in developing countries.

If the feeling of goodwill doesn’t move you to buy, the low prices will. Three fashion-oriented first-years were sent to see if they could battle the coming Boston cold with an ensemble priced below $50.

Michael L. Stewart ’05 is shown here wearing a trench coat ($25), shirt ($2) and beret ($1) that evoke an artsier Harvard Square winter of decades past. A lesser known brand, Forecaster of Boston, makes the coat, which features a shockingly Burberry-esque tartan liner.

Caitlin C. Gillespie ’05 sports a deliciously soft tan coat with stylish front pockets and contrasting trim ($15). She wears it here paired with a basic gray shirt from Marsh Landing ($5). For those days when you simply must frolic in the snow, Caitlin models a luxuriously warm, gray wool coat ($26) and button-down blue shirt ($9), complimented with matching blue gloves ($3) and a tasteful yellow scarf ($3).

The third, Julie B. Goldman ’05, shows a different approach to winter wear. She is shown here wearing a tan coat, but with a swatch of leopard print on the collar to keep things interesting ($35). Julie also models an outfit for those days when you simply need to tell Mother Nature to shove it – a deep black coat ($30) offset by bright purple gloves ($2) and a snowflake patterned sweat from the Gap ($9).

Shallow fashion meets charitable sentiments? While the money you spend at Planet Aid goes directly to people in need, the style is all your own.