Dressing for Success
Many job training programs help clients get a foot in the door, but few make sure that foot is wearing an Anne Klein pump.
In addition to the resume-writing and computer training available at similar facilities, the Pasadena Senior Center offers low-income men over 50 and women over 40 free designer work clothes to help clients feel comfortable and confident during job interviews.
“How you’re perceived is so important,” said Maria Isenberg, housing coordinator for the center. “How you’re dressed says volumes about you, and when you walk into a job interview, they make their decision in the first five minutes.”
One of the center’s directors, Jean Niman, got the idea for the clothing offers while walking clients through the job interview process. Workers who had been displaced after devoting half their lives to one job told Niman they had forgotten how to dress for interviews.
*
The same is true for many female clients who, either through death or divorce, find themselves single after years as housewives.
“The men go on to their second families, and she looks at her clothes,” Niman said. “All she has is a closet full of housedresses.”
After a little finagling, Niman said she persuaded local consignment stores to donate men’s and women’s clothing and accessories. One store even threw in a rack and some hangers, and now the center has a makeshift “boutique” in the back of its social services office.
It was important that the clothes come from consignment stores, not thrift stores, because the center was striving for quality, Niman said.
“A woman who is 40-plus has to look sharp,” Niman said. “It is so crucial. It’s probably up there with the resume.”
By keeping the unique boutique on the center’s tiny premises, the clients can get their clothes without having to deal with the hassle of outside bargain shoppers.
“We could have had them go to the stores to get the clothes, but we try to do as much as we can in one place, rather than have them run around all over the place,” Isenberg said.
Only low-income people who live in Pasadena and meet the age requirements qualify to get the clothes free, but all of the center’s clients are welcome to browse at the boutique and purchase items--income that so far has helped the center buy a full-length mirror.
*
At a weekly support group meeting Thursday, job seeker Barbara Dupree, 52, proudly modeled a white-and-blue-patterned blouse and a lavender string of beads she bought at the store a few weeks ago for a total of $3. She also pointed out a $129 dress by Beverly Hills designer Helga that the center was selling for just $10.
For Dupree, the bargains are priceless. Having lost 125 pounds and her job as an insurance agent several months ago, Dupree has few clothes that fit her and virtually no money to buy anything new.
“Most people this day and age have limited funds coming in,” said Dupree, who bought a blouse before the meeting and a jeweled sweater after, each for $2. “Still, you want to look your best.”
Dupree said she hopes her new apparel will help boost her confidence at a job interview she has scheduled next week for a security guard position.
“If you’re not dressed nicely, you’re just not going to give a good interview.”
