Do you need an outfit for your next interview? Are you almost ready for your next career fair, but just need the right ensemble to land that internship or entry-level position? Dress for Success has got you covered.
Starting out is never easy. We understand that better than anyone. Dress for Success Cincinnati is made up of staff and volunteers who all get what it’s like to be starting out - whether that means you are in college and starting your new internship or you just graduated and are trying to land that dream job. Either way, we’ve all been there and we all understand.
Our mission is to help empower women from all walks of life to achieve economic independence, and just as much as we are here to help women who are starting over, we are also here to help women who are starting out.
The college grind is nothing short of overwhelming, and between affording basic life necessities like food and housing and paying for your courses, textbooks, and all the other unexpected fees that tend to come up when you least expect them, your budget can be very tight. It’s understandable that buying an interview or career fair appropriate outfit is not always going to be possible at the drop of the hat. That’s where we come in.
Dress for Success Cincinnati is located in the heart of Norwood, just a short drive away from campuses like University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Northern Kentucky University, Cincinnati State, and Gateway College. We offer every woman who can benefit from our services the chance to come in and be styled for their upcoming interview, internship, career fair or employment.
Entering into our StyleHER Studio is an opportunity to not only spend a couple hours shopping alongside like-minded, career-focused women, it’s a chance to really feel inspired. Our volunteers and staff are all so passionate about finding the perfect style for our clients and encouraging them to be their most bright and confident selves.
During your styling appointment, you will be paired with a volunteer stylist who will help you choose from an entire studio of clothing and accessories. You will shop alongside your personal stylist to find the sizes that fit you best and the styles that make your personality truly shine.
When preparing for an upcoming career fair or interview, you will be styled with one amazing outfit - complete with a handbag and jewelry - that is bound to make a great impression. Clients who are preparing for upcoming employment or an internship can leave our style studio with 10 new staple items to add to their closet. And the best part is – this is all completely FREE.
How could this all be free? Well, that’s the fabulous part. All of our clothing is pre-loved, meaning that it has been donated to us with the specific intention that it will help another woman succeed. So not only are you getting a free outfit or 10 items from your styling appointment, but you are also practicing sustainability by giving these carefully picked items in our studio a new life – and what is cooler than that?
Are you loving this idea of sustainable shopping but want to kick it up a notch? Check out our upscale resale boutique, Portaluca, right next door to our office. Portaluca Boutique offers fabulous designer and non-designer clothing and accessories for a fraction of the price, which is the perfect price on a college student’s budget.
Starting in our donation center, donated items are sorted and either go into our style studio or are sold in Portaluca. The boutique is then filled with incredible consignment items that we cannot believe people could part with. Portaluca offers a large range of business professional wear to casual items and everything in between, and it does so in the most affordable way. And all of the proceeds from Portaluca come back to Dress for Success Cincinnati to help fund our programs, such as our StyleHER Studio and our HigherHER career development program.
Our HigherHER program is also a service that is available to all women, including college students. This four week program teaches you interview skills, resume building, job searching, transferrable job skills and many other skills and culminates on the fourth week with mock interviews.
Furthermore, we also offer access to our career center where you can utilize computers and printers and get career support from a Cincinnati Works representative working within our office. We do our best to support you in your job search in every way possible - from the suit to the resume and every other thing you may need.
We understand that college life is stressful and it can be hard to make ends meet, but our goal is to help college students or graduates feel inspired and confident to go out and land that job or internship by being her most true and brilliant self. We would love to help you do that.
This opportunity is for you and we hope that you will take advantage of it by coming by and having some fun in our studio with us. If you are interested in being styled, visit this link to fill out a referral form and our styling manager, Kate Black, will reach out to you soon to set up your appointment.
We try to eliminate any barriers that may stand between you and your dream job or internship, so we also can offer bus passes and gas cards to help with transportation.
If you are interested in getting involved in HigherHER, please contact Programs Director, Dr. Angela Rivers-Harper, at arivers-harper@dfscincy.org.
If you are interested in shopping at Portaluca Boutique, we are open select hours as follows:
Thursday: 10-7
Friday: 10-5
Saturday: 10-5
Follow Portaluca on social media for weekly sales and store information.
instagram.com/portalucaboutique/
facebook.com/portaluca.org
You can also connect with Dress for Success Cincinnati on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and our new TikTok account!
instagram.com/dfscincy
facebook.com/DressforSuccessCincy
linkedin.com/dress-for-success-cincinnati
tiktok.com/dressforsuccesscincy
