Donation of vintage dresses helps fund Humane Educational Society

About 30 dresses from the '50s and '60s and originally owned by the late clothing store owner Anna Ball White will be up for sale during an auction in March.

About 30 dresses from the '50s and '60s, originally owned by the late Anna Ball White, were donated to the Humane Educational Society's 2nd Chance Thrift store to sell.

2nd Chance Thrift manager Debbie Citrullo picks up vintage dresses at the Humane Educational Society's resale store. About 30 dresses from the '50s and '60s will be up for sale during an auction in March.

When can buying a vintage miniskirt from the '60s help buy food and medicine or other needed care items for a dog or cat?

It can when you buy that dress, or any item, from the Humane Educational Society's 2nd Chance Thrift Store. And the animals are hardly the only ones who benefit from the deal.

In a happy twist of fate that seems to have winners around every corner, the resale shop in East Ridge finds itself with an abundance of furniture, glassware, lamps, purses, sewing machines, handmade wedding dresses and bags full of clothing, in addition to nearly 30 never-worn vintage pieces in a recent donation from the estate of Anna Ball White.

"I thought mother would want to know she had helped these animals," says White's daughter, Trish Foy.

White passed away almost five years ago and Foy recently donated the items to 2nd Chance.

Foy's original intent was to give the vintage dresses to Janie Bryant, the Cleveland, Tenn., native who was the costume designer for the television show "Mad Men." The show ended its run in 2015 before the transfer happened, though Bryant did keep three of the dresses for herself. Foy donated the remaining dresses, and a rental truck and trailer worth of purses, dishes, furniture, lamps and other clothing to the 2nd Chance Thrift.

"We had eight guys loading up the truck and trailer," says Humane Educational Society Executive Director Bob Citrullo. His wife Debbie runs the thrift store.

For more than 50 years before her death, White owned and operated a women's clothing store that bears her name and is still open near Hamilton Place. As you might imagine, her personal collection was rather large and, after her death, Foy wanted the items to go to a good place.

White also designed and made gowns, particularly wedding gowns, for shops around the country. Some of the dresses bear her own label while some are from other designers.

The vintage pieces are in pristine condition and still have either the Anna Ball White tags or labels from other designers.

"These were expensive dresses in their day," Foy says. "I mean $100 for some of them. That was a lot for the '60s."

They include a couple of the mini dresses you might expect from the '60s, but there also are formal pieces and dinner dresses. Most of the items would have been sizes 6-8 when they were made, but several were sizes 12-14.

"A couple would have been worn to cotillions or formal events but, back then, people dressed for dinner parties, and we have those, too," Debbie Citrullo says.

She is still pricing the vintage pieces and says some would fetch $200 to $300 in the right market. She says the plan is to only sell a few dresses at a time and to hold back a few for a special Rescues on the Runway fashion show on March 25 to benefit the Humane Educational Society.

While dresses will be up for auction, the vintage purses sold almost immediately "for full asking price to one person," she says.

Foy says the Anna Ball White store will partner with the society for the fundraiser; both will provide clothing and models, and of course, the society is providing the four-legged variety.

Bob Citrullo says the clothing donation helps provide funds for operating Humane Educational Society, but it does much more.

"This is the fifth thrift store I've opened around the country, and they help the community in so many ways," he says. "It provides funding for us, but people in the community love it because it provides clothing and home goods for people who don't have a lot of money."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.