Timi Komonibo was a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin when she realized she needed a cheaper way to revamp her wardrobe. She started hosting closet swaps out of her dorm room, where girls would come and bring clothes to trade. Komonibo, now a graduate student in the Syracuse University public diplomacy program, donated the extra clothes at the end of each swap. When she came to Syracuse, she wanted to make this into a unique philanthropy and Style Lottery was born. Komonibo’s goal was to bring women with needs in the community clothes she could provide.

The Daily Orange: When you started Style Lottery, what was your main goal?

Timi Komonibo.: The goal, that’s our slogan, is to get people to restyle, reuse and reward with clothing. A lot of times people think of fashion as really fluffy, but if you do fashion right it can really change the way people identify and represent themselves in the world.

The D.O.: You’ve mentioned before that one of your main goals is to place an emphasis less on being trendy and more on sustainable wardrobe pieces. Can you talk about that?

T.K.: It took me a while to kind of figure out what my personal style was. And I realized that if you try and chase trends, trends will die very quickly and you’re left with a closet full of all this stuff. I encourage people to be more stylish because it’s more sustainable, meaning it’s something that will stay regardless of trends, and you’re creating less waste.

The D.O.: What was the Ted Talk you gave last year about the topic?

T.K.: It was about fashion philanthropy … The great thing I like about my swaps is I’m kind of tricking people into being philanthropists because it’s like ‘Oh, we’re just shopping.’ But no, you’re giving to women. My talk talked about focusing on style, and when you focus on style, you can pointedly use fashion to impact peoples lives.

The D.O.: What’s your first event of the year on Sept. 25?

T.K.: We’re just setting up a huge walk in closet, and our guests will help us fill it.

The D.O.: How can people participate in the swap?

T.K.: It’s free, except you just bring five lightly used items. And they could be clothes, shoes, accessories, anything.

The D.O.: Where do you see Style Lottery going in the future?

T.K.: We see ourselves as a bridge between one group that has the clothing and women who have that need. I think Style Lottery is sustainable because these two populations will always exist, and we serve as the bridge to connect them. So the women who come to our swaps may never meet the women who get our Style Lottery giveaways, but they’re impacting their lives indirectly.

Part of Timi Komonibo’s goal with Style Lottery is to promote the idea of sustainable clothing. She came up with challenges to demonstrate how one piece of clothing could be worn across several days. The “Little Black Dress Challenge” asked women to wear one black dress for five straight days. Pulp took on the “Little Black Dress Challenge.”

 

One: Go for simple with the black dress and just one accessory, in this case a belt. You could also try a statement necklace. The little black dress is enough of a staple that you can wear it by itself and it’ll look great — it’s timeless.

Two: For going out, wear the little black dress as a tank top. Pair it with a skater skirt and a jacket that works with the shape of the skirt. The quilted purse dresses up the entire look.

 

Three: If you’re trying to add a little “sexy librarian” to your repertoire, layer a white oxford shirt under a dress. Wearing the statement necklace makes it less boring and gives it a necessary pop of color.

 

Four: This look is for going to class. Layer a chambray with a khaki military jacket and top it with a scarf. It’s casual enough for walking across campus, and it will go great with your pumpkin spice latte and Longchamp.

 

Five: Try this outfit when going out to dinner. Put a sweater over the little black dress and then the brown leather jacket on top. It’s OK to mix the black and brown if the brown is light enough, and the light pink just complements those two colors. The look is extremely easy and versatile.

Published on September 24, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Emma: ekbaty@syr.edu