I just got back from the Treehouse Wearhouse, a shopping center for kids who are in the state welfare system and under foster care. The clothes, shoes, toys, etc. are all free. It’s pretty amazing. The Stranger is donating the proceeds from our annual charity auction, Strangercrombie, to Treehouse.

The parents and guardians I spoke to can't afford socks. So they also can't afford “kids couture” from Matooka, a link sent by Slog tipper Jubilation T. Cornball. The child clothier's web site is promoting the spring 2009 line of semi-sexualized clothing for little girls. Each outfit is about $650. This one is called “chip on her shoulder”:

Perhaps I have a chip on my shoulder because I just spent three hours among abject poverty—poor black kids who can’t afford socks and just want a good home. Then to see Matooka dressing up little girls as hussies in outfits that retail at the cost of clothing for 15 kids but will be outgrown by next season... ugh. It's sickening on so many levels. And it gets worse. Matooka is donating the proceeds, not to adopting poor kids, but to this:

Our goal is to bring the Matooka look to as many little girls as possible. So much so that we proudly donate 10% of our profits to research in infertility and to families undergoing costly assisted reproductive treatments.

You can donate auction packages to Strangercombie by sending us an email.