Wellington West's newest boutique

Around the corner from the growing number of funky bakeries and galleries on Wellington Street, women are helping women re-join the workforce in style.

Dress for Success is a non-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing them with professional clothes to help them land their next job. In late November, Ottawa became the country’s newest chapter when it opened its doors for a trial run of its new boutique. The shop will open fully in January, with regular hours two days a week by appointment.

Visnja Zaborksi Breton, the chapter’s director of marketing and communications, says the organization’s first clients, both women in their early twenties, were really excited about their new work wear.

“It was fantastic to see their demeanour – shy and reserved coming in the door, but you could just see as they progressed trying on their clothes, their faces lit up. You could see the transformation in their body language.”

Clients are referred to the organization through women’s centres and employment agencies, including groups like Northern Lights, the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and The Anti-Poverty Project.

Volunteer wardrobe consultants help clients to put together the perfect look, complete with accessories, handbags and shoes. Each woman receives two outfits. Once they land a job, the organization also provides them with a week’s worth of separates to mix and match.

Women are also offered the opportunity to rehearse for the interview process through a mock interview with a volunteer HR professional – complete with security check to mimic the real-world process – in order to get feedback on their interviewing skills.

As a next step, the organization plans to start a professional women’s group to provide employment retention skills workshops, including seminars with life coaches, financial planners, and experts in work-life balance.

“It breaks the cycle of ‘get a job, lose a job,’” says Marlene Floyd, the organization’s chair and director of operations.

Started in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success now has over 113 affiliates worldwide, including five other Canadian branches in Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Regina, and Red Deer.

Plans for the Ottawa chapter began a year ago, and since then the organization has seen over 100 volunteers sign up. Both Floyd and Zaborksi Breton are quick to point to the volunteer efforts as key to the chapter’s success.

The organization has also experienced a warm reception from the Wellington Street community, which it chose for being central and accessible to the Transitway.

“We did consult with referral agencies to see where clients would be coming from,” says Zaborksi Breton. “People in the neighbourhood have been super-supportive, and we fit in there nicely.”