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Lindsey Johnstone talks to Dress For Success, who never underestimate the power of a good look
T he not-for-profit organisation aims to empower women from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into work, simply by helping them to look the part; providing suits for them to wear to job interviews, donated by other working women. Supported by fashion industry giants Tommy Hilfiger and Bobbi Brown, there are branches of Dress For Success from Sydney to Jamaica, Poland to Honolulu, and now there’s one in Glasgow too.
Founder of Dress For Success Strathclyde, Katrina Gibbons, explains the thinking behind the organisation: ‘Sadly, we do live in
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a society that judges people and their abilities on the way they look. Why should women with so much to offer professionally be denied their chance because they can’t afford a good suit?
‘If a woman has been unemployed for a long time it’s
Laura Dray 22, hometown: Dallas, studying painting at GSA, part-time model
My sunglasses [on head] are from Miu Miu in Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh. I mix up second-hand and new stuff – but I do spend a lot of money on clothes. The budget basically depends on whether my mum’s with me when I’m shopping . . . The blouse is from Massimo Dutti Women. I think my most extravagant purchase was a pair of Ralph Lauren cowboy boots for my birthday.
The bracelet used to be my grandmother’s. It’s from the 50s. My shorts are from Theory, the tights are Falke and the shoes are from Candice Cooper, a store in Hamburg.
unlikely she’ll have the money to spare to buy a suit. Dress For Success is about inclusion; giving women from every background equal opportunity to get into work and become self-sufficient and improve their own lives and the lives of their families.’
Katrina adds: ‘The women we help tell us that looking the part helps them to feel the part, to feel that they belong in the workplace. But the suit is just the first step. We also give advice about interview techniques and skills.’ Women referred to the service have a consultation with a personal shopper at Dress For Success HQ, a welcoming boutique-style space, who will help them choose something to suit their shape and colouring. It’s all good stuff too; Katrina has a policy that nobody is given a suit she wouldn’t wear.
She adds: ‘Women have donated designer suits and suits with the labels still hanging off them. That’s another remarkable thing about this concept: it’s women helping women, because women tend to empathise with each other. I think that’s why Dress For Success captures the imagination.’ So why not raid your work wardrobe for a good cause? Take inspiration from the current trend for clothes-swapping parties, but instead of keeping the spoils, donate them to Dress For Success and make a girls’ night in of it (Roxette soundtrack optional).
Or if a girls’ night out is more your scene, head to Hawke & Hunter on Thursday 9 Sep to the Burlesque, Butlers and Bubbly event, 6.30–8.30pm, where you can learn some Dita Von Teese-worthy moves, and all entry will cost is a suit donated to Dress or Success.
BUY THE WAY News from the shop front
■ GLASGOW FLORIST Lotte and Bloom has teamed up with Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford (she of recent Edinburgh Fringe programme cover fame) to create an exclusive tote bag (pictured). With a limited print-run of 100 bags, Johanna’s design is a wild B&W swirl of brambles, hollyhocks, foxgloves and the odd creepy-crawly. Each bag is double-printed on a heavyweight canvas with sturdy handles. The bags are £11 from www.lotteandbloom.co.uk
■ BOLD SOULS is a pop-up fashion sale and styling event, about to become a monthly fixture. Shoppers can buy direct from designers (Rome-via-Glasgow tailoring from Chouchou Couture; work from Glasgow-based Swede Jennie Lööf; and hand-embroidered womanswear from Ten30 will all be sold wholesale). Then be styled on the spot by a crew of make-up artists and hairdressers. The day will also be photographed by local bloggers, Les Garçons de Glasgow. Bold Souls: Glasgow ReStyle Community, Stereo, Glasgow, Sat 25 Sep, 11am–4.30pm, £2. For more info, visit LesGarconsDe Glasgow.com or Facebook ‘Bold Souls Glasgow’.
■ FOR INDIANA JONES styling (when a Celtic band or Rennie Mockintosh ring is just a bit too ‘1994’ for your tastes) Hannah Zakari now stocks rings with skull and snake patterns. The bands of grinning skulls have a cartoonish goth vibe, and prices range from £40-£160. Hannah Zakari, 43 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh, 0131 516 3264, www.hannahzakari.co.uk
If you’d like to donate a suit or organise a Suit Drive, contact Katrina at Dress For Success on 07505 842 824, strathclyde @dressforsuccess.org or visit www.dressforsuccess.org/ strathclyde 9–23 Sep 2010 THE LIST 13
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