When Lake View resident Lorri Gunn visited Amsterdam the summer of 1968, she spotted an item in a boutique she just had to have: A hot pink, mirrored, hippie vest, which in those days she wore with nothing underneath.

“I was young and thin and it was the age of flashy, skimpy clothes and I loved the vest as an object as well as a piece of clothing,” said Gunn, whose navel was once “memorialized” in a Roger Brown painting and who that spring had starred in the Red Grooms movie, “Tappy Toes,” a spoof on 1930s musicals.

For more than four decades, Gunn kept the vest as a memento of that time in her life.

“Every time I looked at it in the closet, I was young, carefree and adventurous again with a lithe body, at least for a moment,” she said.

Although the vest still fits (and looks good), Gunn’s giving it up for a good cause. It’s one of thousands of items that’ll be for sale 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sept. 18, at Shop the Steeple, the first-ever rummage sale at St. Pauls Church, 2335 N. Orchard. Donations are still being accepted, through Wednesday.

“People can bring things not only that they no longer want, but that they no longer need,” said Jan Bail, the brains behind the sale concept. “We’re recycling. It’s the green thing to do.”

Since January, Bail, congregant Beverley Petrunich, and “an army of volunteers,” have worked tirelessly to make the mega sale happen.

“There really isn’t a rummage sale like this in the city,” said Bail. “But it’s not about money. It’s about fellowship, and people working together.”

I got a sneak peek last week, and all I can say is … holy crap! Like the Blues Brothers, these folks are, “On a mission from God,” and St. Pauls is brimming with goodies presented beautifully, thanks to the wizardry of congregant Daniel Stober.

You’ll find a Tiffany coddle cream set; grand piano; clothing including vintage, better men’s/women’s; jewelry; bikes; crystal; silver; baby; holiday decorations; pets; books; a gorgeous, size 6, Mia Solano wedding dress, and, a baby shark in formaldehyde.

“It’s stuff that comes with a story,” said Bail. “There are lots of stories.”

Very cool also is that at 2:30 p.m., the church re-opens to several local charities — including the Lincoln Park Community Shelter and Night Ministry — for an hour of free shopping.

“One thing about the church is that it has very strong outreach,” said Lorne Frank, president of the 1,200 member congregation. “We can’t afford to give it all, but we still want to help.”

The hope is that neighbors benefit too, said Rev. Ben Bishop, St. Pauls’ transitional senior minister.

“It helps people come and buy who might not be able to afford new clothes or a special present,” Bishop said. “We hope it’ll be something that will cause the community to come out and be a part of it.”

Some community members already have. God is surely smiling at the Latin School boys soccer and golf teams, and girls swim team, who lugged boxes, hung clothes, carried books, etc.

“It’s a way to make a small world out of a big world,” said Gunn, who hopes her vest brings in $10 to $15.

She says after all the reflecting about her garment: “Who knows… I may decide to buy it back!”

Break a leg … to Lincoln Parker L. Walter Stearns, director of Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” opening tomorrow at Stage 73, 1225 W. Belmont. Stearns boasts this should be Porchlight’s, “greatest (Stephen) Sondheim musical to date.”