The five-step checklist
1. Check the will and the family first. Look for specific bequests of jewelry, furs, or clothing. Then ask each heir privately what they'd like to keep. It's much easier to set aside a keepsake now than to ask for something back later.
2. Sort into three piles. Keep, valuable, and everyday. Valuable means designer labels, fur and shearling, wool and cashmere coats, evening wear, handbags, fine shoes, and quality suits. Everyday clothing goes to a local thrift store.
3. Photograph and list the valuable pile. Label, item, size, condition. A phone photo of each tag is enough. That list becomes part of the estate inventory and matches the receipt line for line.
4. Decide who is donating: the estate or the heirs. The tax treatment is different for each, so settle this with the estate's attorney or CPA before anything ships. It decides whose name goes on the receipt.
5. Get the receipt in the right name. We issue an itemized 501(c)(3) receipt to the estate or to the heir who donates. If the total of noncash gifts on a return is over $500, IRS Form 8283 applies. Over $5,000 for an item or group of similar items, a qualified independent appraisal is required.
Keep the good pieces out of the by-the-pound pile
Most donated clothing ends up sorted, baled, and sold by the pound, and the scale doesn't know the difference between a cashmere coat and a worn-out T-shirt. That's fine for everyday clothes. It isn't fine for a coat someone saved for, a gown they wore to the best night of their year, or the suits from a whole career.
We do it differently. We take the pieces that deserve better, one at a time. Each one is listed by name on your receipt, cared for, and put back to work being worn: lent to someone heading into a job interview, to an honoree on their big night, or rented for a charity event. We try to preserve the integrity of the clothes and of the people who wore them.
Tell us what's there
Tell us roughly what's there and we'll reply within 24 hours with which pieces fit and prepaid shipping labels. Photos of the rack help.
What we take, and what we don't
Yes, please
Designer and well-made clothing, fur and shearling, wool and cashmere coats, evening gowns and cocktail dresses, suits and blazers, designer handbags, fine shoes, vintage pieces in good condition.
Please take these elsewhere
Everyday basics, fast fashion, and anything stained, torn, or worn thin. A local thrift store is the right home for those, and we'd rather say so up front than take clothes we can't use.
Where the clothes go
Nothing here goes to a rack or a bin. Suits and professional clothing are lent free to people heading into job interviews. Gowns and formal wear are rented for events through FashionablyGood, with net profits going to the charities on our Honor Roll, or lent to community honorees for their night. A good coat can go out every winter for years.
Questions people ask
Can an estate take a tax deduction for donated clothing?
Sometimes. If the clothes pass to heirs first and an heir donates them, the heir claims the deduction on their own return. If the estate donates directly, whether it can deduct depends on the will and the estate's tax situation. Ask the estate's attorney or CPA before anything ships, because the answer decides whose name goes on the receipt.
Will you take the whole closet?
We take the valuable part of it: designer and well-made clothing, coats, furs, evening wear, handbags, and good shoes. Everyday clothing is better off at a local thrift store, and we'll tell you honestly which pile is which.
Do you provide appraisals?
No. The IRS requires a qualified appraisal from an independent appraiser for any item or group of similar items over $5,000, and the charity receiving the gift can't be that appraiser. We send an itemized receipt and can point you to appraisers.
How does shipping work if the house is in another state?
We send prepaid shipping labels anywhere in the US. For a very large estate, call us and we'll talk through the best way to move it.
How soon will the receipt arrive?
Within 5 to 7 business days after the clothes arrive. Each piece is listed so it can go straight into the estate file.