A crisp white blouse. A tailored suit. A shiny pair of pumps and sleek purse.
Sometimes, the right clothes can make a difference.
The women who come to Suited to Succeed in Downtown Baltimore are seeking their first professional jobs. As welfare recipients completing a job training program, they are building the skills to work in an office. Now they need to look the part.
The nonprofit's chairperson, Evelyn Gaines, said clients report that the right clothes change how they are perceived by colleagues.
One woman said that the attorneys at the law firm where she worked generally ignored her until she put together a professional wardrobe from Suited to Succeed, Gaines recalled.
"The attorneys started commenting on how professional she looked and started inviting her to business meetings to take notes," she said.
Organizations such as Goodwill and America Works donate clothing to Suited to Succeed, as do individuals and upscale boutiques, including Chezelle in Cross Keys, which is offering a 20 percent discount on select merchandise to shoppers who donate gently used clothing to the group by April 26.
Patti Bavis-Puller, Chezelle's owner, said she has been working with the organization for more than a decade and offers the promotion twice a year, but accepts donations for Suited to Succeed any time.
"We collect for them all the time," says Bavis-Puller. "I always think it's important for women to help women...[especially] to help a woman get a job."
She estimates hundreds of her customers bring in clothing annually to donate to the group.
Volunteers help women select three professional outfits on their first visit to Suited to Success. Once clients land a job, they can return to pick out three to five more. An affiliated boutique sells higher quality donations at nominal prices to help raise money for the organization.
"They make it very, very affordable for the women to purchase it," said Bavis-Puller.
Several Suited to Success clients will take part in a fashion show at The Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric on Thursday, May 14.
The fashion show is part of the organization's annual fundraiser, Suit-A-Palooza.
This year's event features a casino theme, gourmet food cooked by students of Stratford University's culinary school and vendors, Gaines said. Tickets are $60 in advance and $70 at the door.
Gaines, the owner of telecommunications firm G&G Solutions, said the organization needs to raise the funds to help cover the higher rent costs in their new offices in the 200 block of E. Redwood St.
The group, which was founded in 1997, was forced to move from its former location because that building is slated to become condominiums.
"It should be fun night," she said, "And show people what a difference a suit makes."
twitter.com/juliemore
.