PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- With the U.S. Air Force Ball upcoming, many members of the front range community are already hunting down finery so they’ll look as sharp as an officer’s sword. Unfortunately, such formalwear tends to cost a pretty penny. Thanks to the Peterson, Schriever, Cheyenne Mountain Spouses' Club, anyone with access to Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, can rent a dress and accessories without breaking the bank. Except for what the renter pays to have their dress dry cleaned, renting from Cinderella’s Closet is totally free.
Alley Kendall, who runs the PSC Spouses’ Club alongside President Ruben Chavarria, said people come in most often to rent an outfit for balls, award ceremonies, Airman Leadership School graduations or high school proms.
“These last few years were a challenge with all of those types of events cancelled, but we are seeing an increase in the need for dresses again,” said Kendall.
Cinderella’s Closet is located inside of the RePete Thrift Shop, located on Peterson SFB, which is another way the Spouses’ Club keeps the space base communities dressed and supplied, offering an affordable mix of donations and consigned items. Like Cinderella’s Closet, it’s open to anyone with base access.
“Because we offer the consignment program, we often get brand new items and items of higher value than just taking straight donations,” said Kendall. “Anyone with base access can sign up to sell items in the shop for a split of the profit. We take care of shelving, tagging, advertising, and the consigner has the ease of selling items any time rather than waiting for a yard sale day.”
All the money that the Spouses’ Club takes in goes back into the base communities. According to Kendall, the Spouses’ Club and thrift store have around $10,000 to $12,000 in outreach funds each year, which goes to many places, including charitable events like Thanksgiving gift cards at the commissary, Valentine’s day gifts for deployed spouses and more.
“Our primary focus each year is our scholarship program that awards funds to high school seniors and spouses,” said Kendall.
Ultimately, all that the Spouses’ Club does relies on the generosity of the military community. The extensive wardrobe within Cinderella’s Closet, for instance, has been assembled from years of donations made by service members.
“A few years ago, I had someone reach out [who] was travelling here for a [U.S. Air Force Academy] football game and wanted to bring dresses to donate to the shop,” Kendall said.
Dress rentals through Cinderella’s Closet require an appointment, and Kendall recommends scheduling said appointment around two weeks before the event. All rented outfits must be dry cleaned and returned within two weeks after the event, barring special arrangements, which can be made by phone. For more information, call the thrift shop at 719-556-1756.