Although the wardrobe is where the magic happens, it isn’t curated by magic alone.
Meet the wardrobe team: They take care of all the lovely clothes we give to our clients and coordinate everything coming in and out of the Wardrobe. They’re often joined by our wonderful volunteers, who help get the clothes ready for your appointment.
At your dressing appointment, you get to choose which clothes you take home, but have you ever wondered how we choose which clothes make it to the Wardrobe?
We rely on the donation of high-quality workwear to run our service. Our offerings come from individuals who drop into our centres or post items of clothing to us in the mail, from corporate partners who host clothing drives, and 70% of our donations are brand new with tags on, thanks to our retail partners who kindly donate to all our centres. We’re lucky receive donations from all types of people with various styles. So, whatever your style, we’ve got you covered!
At your second dressing, the team will work with you to create a 5-piece capsule wardrobe, with versatile pieces you can wear time and time again and pair with clothes you already own.
Here are some examples of the workwear staples that you might choose:
First impressions last, and we think the same sentiment should apply with clothes!
Every single item is vetted to ensure that they’re in excellent condition – free of wear and tear, rips and stains – ready for you to wear at your interview, and many times after that.
There’s a place for everything in the Wardrobe; from Jackets, to Jumpers, Bags to blazers. We organise the clothes by size and category before we steam and prep them for the rails. We often get help from our lovely wardrobe volunteers and corporate wardrobe day volunteers, who make sure it’s easy to find that all important outfit.
Sometimes we receive clothes that aren’t as well suited for the workplace or aren’t appropriate for the season but are still in fantastic condition. We try our best to champion sustainable fashion by turning pre-loved clothes to re-loved clothes. So, we’ll always find a use for them, whether that’s holding a Smart Works Sale or re-donating clothes to better suited charities, rest assured that the clothes that we receive are always put to good use.
Want to support our wardrobe team?
If you’d like to support the wardrobe, there are so many ways you can get involved. From donating clothes, to volunteering your time or holding fundraisers. Everything you do to support us could help to transform a woman’s life.