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1st appeared 17 March 1999

Friend to Friend to Host Trunk Show

The UCSF Cancer Center's Friend to Friend boutique will host a trunk show by fashion designer Heidi Rossbach on Wednesday and Thursday, March 24 and 25. The boutique, which officially opened last December as part of the Ida and Joseph Friend Resource Center, serves as a one-stop shop for cancer patients, their families and friends, and carries wigs, scarves, prostheses, and gifts.

The boutique is operated by the Hospital Auxiliary of the UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center, which distributes proceeds to patient services not covered by insurance.

Rossbach is the owner and chief designer of Chapeau Atelier, a small fashion house specializing in exclusive designs using exotic fabrics.

"The importance of helping patients to feel better cannot be emphasized enough," says Rossbach. "I work to give patients some choices about how they feel on a given day. Everyone's emotions respond to attractive clothing and accessories, especially around the face. So patients have a chance to look well, and that in itself will make them feel better, less isolated and more in control of their environment."

Chris Wilhite, manager of the Friend to Friend boutique, is a cancer survivor herself. "It will be great for our customers to meet a designer who has worked very hard to create items of beauty and utility for them," she says. "This will also present an opportunity for them to let Ms. Rossbach know of their personal needs in this area."

Rossbach will be donating 30 percent of her profits from this show to cancer research, as she does with all such showings. In addition, she has agreed to donate the same amount from all future sales of her work at Friend to Friend, where the Chapeau line will be available after the two-day showing.

Responding to many requests from customers, Rossbach decided several years ago to create a line for cancer patients and persons with alopecia areata, a disease that causes total hair loss. The Comfort Zone is a line of headwear and accessories designed specifically to meet the needs of these persons. Working mainly in velvets and crepes, Rossbach has created a full line of brimmed and brimless fabric hats, shawls and hoods, headwraps and turban wraps. She recently added to her collection a sheer kimono-style robe which may be worn over any kind of clothing from casual to formal.

The complete Chapeau Atelier line will be showing at Friend to Friend boutique, 2365 Sutter Street, Wednesday and Thursday, March 24 & 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information, call 415/353-7776 or 415/927-4287.

Links:

Friend Resource Center

Cancer Resource Center in Blossom

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