“You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it.”
— Edith Head, Academy Award Winning Costume Designer
Time is a finite commodity. Unfortunately, our schedules do not always allow us to give back to our communities with a sustained volunteer commitment. I support my favorite non-profit, Dress for Success, with in-kind and monetary donations twice a year. Dress for Success empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help women thrive in work and life. At the beginning of my career, I relied on “hand me downs” to get by. My experience validates workplace psychology academic findings: the right clothes can boost confidence and catalyze career performance.
It’s a matter of psychology. I wake up every morning at 5 am, and, I grab a cup of coffee from the kitchen. Then, I reach for a tailored dress and high heels off the rack in the closet. A dress puts me into beast mode; the heels help me stand taller with proper posture. Ten years ago, at the start of my career, the only suit I owned was a hand-me-down from my aunt which I gratefully accepted. The Calvin Klein suit was too big and a faded black. I used two safety pins to hold up the over-sized pants. I made it work. I wore that suit into the ground and replaced it when I made bank. Professional appearance is influential to others — and yourself. Accordingly, I put my best high-heeled shoe forward.
I am donating a big chunk of my closet to Dress for Success. The clothes will set-up the next boss marketer — without the need for large safety pins to hold up pants.