Thom Browne, Movie Stars Want You to Shop the Housing Works Sale

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Grid View

Expand

• Thom Browne enlightens a shopper on how to best purchase a Brooks Brothers cape during the sale preview
• Fashion for Action Chair Thom Browne
• The lovely Anika Noni Rose
• Patricia Clarkson mingling with the crowd at the Rubin Museum
• Milliner Rod Keenan
• Richie Rich (second from left) and his fur-loving friends.
• Patricia Clarkson takes a pause from hat shopping in at the Chelsea Housingworks
• The Politico package up for silent auction
• The scene inside the Rubin Museum

To kick off today's Fashion for Action sample sale, Housing Works threw the ultimate drunk shopping soiree last night at the Rubin Museum of Art. Along with delicious cocktails, a silent auction and a chance to mingle with really great actors like Anika Noni Rose and Patricia Clarkson, the fundraiser fête gave charitable party-goers first dibs on the designer-filled sale at Housingworks across the street (more on that to come).

"They have so much for people to buy, and it's not buying for the sake of buying," says event chair Thom Browne. "The money is going to such a worthwhile cause, so it's important for people to get out and spend as much money as possible." From the looks of the frenzied shopping that ensued, everyone put their best alcohol-enhanced efforts towards helping out the fantastic cause.

As Broadway and movie star (plus Mr. Big's recent nemesis on The Good Wife) Anika Noni Rose reminded us, "What we're talking about here tonight and what we're making visible is something that we've forgotten about: AIDS in the United States. The numbers are still going up and I think it's important for us to keep it in the spotlight and let people know that it hasn't gone away."

The lovely Ms. Rose admitted that she hasn't started donating her gently worn goods yet to Housing Works, but Thom Browne told us that he's all over that. When we asked if there were any pieces to look out for, he cryptically teased, "There's too many to even mention." While we were seriously considering staking out the Housing Works closest to Mr. Browne's abode, milliner scenester Rod Keenan enlightened us to the fact that all the donated goods actually go to a central system and are then doled out to the various Housingworks shops throughout the city. Basically, "Wherever you donate, it doesn't necessarily dictate where it will end up." Darn.

So the three-day Fashion for Action Housing Works sale begins today and while you won't be able to try on hats with Patricia Clarkson or pick out capelets with Thom Browne, your shopping will still help out a lot of people. Plus it's tax-deductible! We'll just leave you with these last few words: Melissa, Marc Jacobs, Opening Ceremony and boatload of Brooks Brothers.
· Dealfeed: Housing Works Fashion for Action sample sale [Racked]
· Fashion for Action [Official Site]