For the second year, a “Queen’s Closet” — offering free prom dresses, shoes and accessories — will be held in Burlington.

The new and gently-used gowns have been collected and organized by Claire Tillotson, a 23-year-old Burlington native.

“I know dresses are expensive,” Tillotson said this week. “When I was in high school, a prom dress could be $400 and I know they’ve only gone up in price. It really started because I knew a lot of people had lost their jobs due to COVID-19. I don’t want to charge any but, that’s why I’m having a donation jar for people to donate. I just want to make sure people if they want to go to prom, they don’t have to worry about the financial cost.”

The giveaway will be Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3, from noon to 6 p.m. in the Optimae Life Services building, 1000 Roosevelt Ave., Suite 11, Burlington.

Tillotson graduated from Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa) in 2020, with a degree in neuroscience and psychology, and is in grad school now at Drake in Des Moines, pursuing a master’s in clinical mental health counseling.

In February, Tillotson won the Miss River Bend pageant in Iowa City, allowing her to compete in Miss Iowa this June in Davenport. She appreciates competing for the chance to win scholarship money, as well as boosting her public speaking and writing skills, and for the friendships she’s made.

She started the Queen’s Closet pop-up boutique in Burlington last year after volunteering for something similar in the QC a few years ago.

“I thought, you know what? I can do better,” Tillotson said, noting she has free dresses in sizes 0-30. “I can make something inclusive and fashionable. So I did, and I started collecting dresses.”

Last year, she gave away 100 dresses, and this year her goal is 200. While the fashion is free, she encourages monetary donations – last year, she collected $1,000 for the Iowa Donor Network, to promote organ and tissue donations. The network says there are 583 Iowans currently waiting for an organ transplant.

“It is my platform in the Miss America competition,” Tillotson said, noting in 2017, she lost a 16-year-old friend in a car accident, who donated his organs that helped 100 people.

“I just thought, you know, I need to keep sharing his story,” she said. “I need to continue to make this a trend that people are registered, because it’s hard to talk about. I know because not everyone is comfortable talking about death.”

This year, she’s got over 50 dresses donated from Stacey’s Prom in Urbandale, and 115 from Le Chic Prom & Pageant Boutique in Muscatine, all brand new. They’re both pageant connections, and Le Chic is very active in Miss Iowa, Tillotson said.

“I have even more variety this year. It just keeps growing and I love it,” she said. “I know my parents don’t love it, because a lot of dresses are still in their basement and their basement is a small store at this point.”