A peek at the wardrobe at Dress For Success Illawarra branch in Warrawong. Photos: Supplied.
For many women in the Illawarra, a single outfit is more than just clothing — it’s a fresh start.
Through Dress for Success, women re-entering the workforce, rebuilding after divorce, starting out in their careers, or overcoming hardship are finding confidence, career support, and a path to financial independence — one styled look at a time.
Seven years ago Wollongong woman Nicki Bowman saw the need for an Illawarra branch of the international charity organisation Dress for Success, establishing it in Port Kembla before it now being based in Warrawong.
Illawarra Dress for Success operations manager Rachel Dyer said its mission was to empower unemployed and underemployed women through providing free professional attire, styling, and career development support to help them achieve financial independence.
“That journey is as different as there are women. It’s not linear,” Rachel said.
“It may be as simple as you go to a training organisation and do your course, you see us, get styled, you get a job, and away you go. But we all know that life doesn’t work like that.
“So it might be that a woman has had to flee a domestic violence situation and they need to go and meet with rental managers to get themselves a home.
“It may be that they’ve got a court appearance, or it may be that they’ve just got out of jail.
“Significant life events are very different for lots of women.”
Regardless of the catalyst for their change, she saw transformation every day she was there.
“The difference that the one-on-one signature styling has on them just in that short one hour space of time is amazing,” she said.
“What we’re doing is we’re empowering women and we’re unlocking confidence.
“We’re also removing unconscious biases – or conscious biases sometimes – by dressing the women appropriately for the interview, or whatever event they’re going to.”
Rachel said the organisation’s volunteers came from diverse backgrounds including HR, recruitment, fashion, and hairdressing.
She said they worked one-on-one with clients to select new or near-new interview-appropriate outfits tailored to the individual’s preferences and body type.
“I liken it to a one-on-one David Jones shopping experience that our mums probably had,” she said.
“The boutique is a safe, really lovely environment. They’re taken into the changerooms, the clothes are brought to them, and then the clothes are packaged up, which they get to keep – and it’s all free.”
She said they served a wide range of women, from 16-year-old school leavers to those over 40 re-entering the workforce after caring responsibilities, divorce or migrating to Australia.
“We are seeing an increase in older women,” she said.
“The reason we think we’re seeing that is that women are getting to the end of their working career or haven’t been working for a while and realised they haven’t got enough super.
“Or they’ve divorced late in life and have to go back to work.”
She said a female refugee who was out of work for three years after a professional career in her home country perfectly captured the organisation’s impact.
“What she said to me was, she saw herself again for the first time in a long time,” she said.
“It’s that sort of change that we make.”
She said their help also extended beyond the job, with women able to book a free “Got the Job” styling session once successfully securing a position, where they’re given a capsule wardrobe of a week’s worth of clothes to get them started until pay day.
She said while the clothes and styling were free, even if women had the money to purchase outfits, she would rather see those funds go towards training or everyday living costs.
“We want to break that stigma. We don’t want people to think there’s some sort of shame connected with it,” she said.
“It’s not about being disadvantaged. It’s about empowerment and about achieving confidence and, eventually, financial stability.
“I think it’s really important women understand that if you feel like you need our services, we’re available.”
She said they also attracted school leavers, due to running Get The Job workshops and styling with school groups, the university, and other education and training institutions.
The latest RTO they’re working with is iTeC Academy, where they’re supporting students in their quest to get a career and improve their lives.
“We want to support their female students so they have money to spend on the training, or just that the training isn’t wasted,” she said.
“They may not have a job interview right then and there, but they’ve certainly got the outfit when they do.”
She said the in-person workshops touched on everything from CV writing to interview preparation, with additional help and educational workshops available through the organisation’s online Career Hub and free online one-on-one coaching.
“That’s a really important part – we’re not just styling you, we’re actually helping you be successful,” she said.
She said it relied on donations of new or nearly new professional attire, as well as financial contributions to fund their operations.
“We only exist because of people’s donation of time, money and clothing,” she said.
“Volunteers are the heart and soul of what we do and donations of clothing, but donations of money are really important to our existence too.”
It holds regular fashion sales to generate revenue, including Bubbles and Bargains on 4 May at Ribbonwood in Dapto, with tickets on sale in April.
“We often are given – very generously – things that aren’t probably useful in terms of interviews. There might be a very expensive ballgown,” she said.
“That’s what we sell at Bubbles and Bargains.
“There’s some amazing clothes and name brands – the Zimmermans and the Camilla Marks.”
To celebrate International Women’s Day, NSW/ACT Dress for Success will be running the campaign Empower Every Step and asking people to either donate or take 5000 steps a day, week or month.
She said clothing donations were accepted at Warrawong on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but due to being a sustainable organisation aimed at keeping clothing out of landfill, items were not to come in plastic bags, with wire coat hangers or be fast fashion.
Anyone can book for a styling session, learn more about Dress For Success and donating, or visit at 2/210 Cowper St, Warrawong.
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