Behind The Scenes: Dress For Success

At Montique Clothing we are dedicated to extending the lifespan of our products, ensuring that they find new purpose and utility. Recently, we've initiated a meaningful partnership with an incredible cause, fostering empowerment within our community.

Montique Clothing are proud to have redirected items to Dress For Success where they can continue to make a positive impact. This initiative aligns with our ethos of sustainability, giving back and empowering women, enabling us to support a cause that resonates with our values and committing to making a difference beyond our core operations.

“I feel powerful, worthy, and ready to take on the challenges that my new job will throw my way.”

You may have heard of Dress for Success’s signature styling service, where women looking to enter or re-enter the workforce are expertly styled in gently, pre-loved donated clothing.

In case you haven’t, Dress for Success is a global not for profit that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help them thrive in work and in life. The global brand is made up of 145 affiliates in 23 countries, with each Affiliate largely powered by volunteers.

The brand is growing in Australia and since 2009, Dress for Success NSW & ACT has supported more than 17,000 women get back on their feet and into the workforce.

Clients From All Walks Of Life

Headquartered in the Inner West Sustainability Hub in Summer Hill, many women overcome a great deal even before walking through the doors.

Dress for Success NSW & ACT clients come from all walks of life, and many experienced various traumas, including poverty, discrimination, or abuse. Clients include young women from at risk of disengaging from education, single mums struggling to provide for their families, mature women who lack adequate levels of superannuation and savings and are at risk of living in poverty, women exiting corrective facilities, domestic violence survivors, women with disabilities, and newly arrived migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

Women are referred to Dress for Success by friends, colleagues, employment agencies, migrant services, Indigenous services, disability service providers, social workers, as well as a diverse range of charities including Vinnies, Wesley Mission and Youth Off the Streets, schools and other social agencies and community groups.

Dress for Success NSW & ACT’s programs provide donated work clothing, mentoring, job-search skills, career coaching, and networking at no cost to the women using the services.

Due to the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, in the last 3 years Dress for Success NSW & ACT has seen an increase in demand for their services.

Every year Dress for Success NSW & ACT supports more than 2,500 women across metropolitan, regional, and rural locations into economic independence. They support women in their journey to enter, or re-enter the workforce, and increase female workforce participation by instilling confidence, building resilience, and restoring dignity to the women they support.

Sustainable Fashion

All items of clothing Dress for success NSW& ACT provides to women have been generously donated to their service. Brand new and pre-loved items can be donated by individuals, groups, corporate partners, or brands, to ensure they find a new home.

Dress for Success has a fully sustainable clothing donation model, which ensures that the women they support are prioritised while also making sure the organisation is not contributing to landfill when unused items are moved on to new homes.

Expanding Reach

Dress for Success NSW & ACT is on a mission to help unemployed and underemployed women achieve economic independence.

However, without consistent government funding, the organisation relies on generous donations from fundraising campaigns and revenue from pop-up fashion sales to fund operations and develop innovative programming: Career Coaching provides women that need additional support with 6 one-hour sessions from a professional career coach; Virtual Styling provides women in regional NSW and the ACT with work-appropriate clothing; and the newly launched Career Hub allows access to on-demand workshops and resources 24/7, anywhere in Australia (dfscareerhub.org.au).

Accessing Services

Dress for Success NSW & ACT’s programs and services are available to any woman across NSW and the ACT wanting to enter or reenter the workforce. They offer styling and presentation skills (in-person and virtually) and a holistic suite of workshops and one-on-one services (resume reviews and mock interviews). To get started, visit: dfsnswact.org.au/about#Services.

They also work with affiliates across Australia to support women into employment across the country. For details of other Australian Dress for Success showrooms visit dfsnswact.org.au/about#Australia.