Women Empowering Women: Vanity Fair Teams Up With Dress For Success

If there was ever a company that screamed girl power, Dress for Success might be it. Since they began operating in 1997, Dress for Success has helped more than 850,000 women work towards self-sufficiency. It began on a simple premise: provide disadvantaged women with proper work attire to instill confidence but it quickly grew to be so much more than that. Now, Dress for Success is a network that, in addition to providing work attire, also provides a network of support and career development tools to help these women thrive in work and life. Today, the organization reaches 19 countries with 190 offices and more than 10,000 volunteers. 

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for Vanity Fair Lingerie. I received product samples to facilitate my review and compensation to thank me for my participation.

One of my favorite Dress for Success stories comes from Nancy, in Hartford USA. 

“It really felt like the world was on my shoulders.” 

After 18 years of employment in the financial insurance industry, I was laid off. My position was eliminated and I ended up unemployed for over two years. During that time, it really felt like the world was on my shoulders. And being a single mom, I was struggling. I find comfort in knowing how everything is going to be. And to not know what my future was going to be like, that was really scary for me. I decided that I was going to take some time for myself and go back to school.

When I was unemployed, I had a social worker. That social worker asked me if I’d be interested in this program called Dress for Success. So I started doing some research online as to what they were really all about. I had heard of their clothing drives, but I wasn’t fully aware of their background and what they did for the community. I was able to get a referral and get fitted for my first suit. Shortly after that, I found a job.

Women helping women overcome adversity, disadvantagement, illness, job-less and more. There is a saying that says “Strong women lift each other up” and I can’t think about how true that is. When we decide to come together and empower one another there really isn’t anything we can’t do.  There are many ways you can get involved in the Dress for Success program: donate clothes, support the organization financially, get involved as a volunteer or help in other ways like starting a Dress for Success in your area. 

But perhaps the easiest way you can support the cause is buying treating yourself too. Vanity Fair lingerie is proudly hosting the Buy One, Get One, Give One (BOGOGO) event this fall to help support women at Dress For Success. During the event you can stop buy your local retailer (like Kohl’s, JCPenney or Macy’s) to get a free Vanity Fair Bra fitting and when you purchase a Vanity Fair Bra you will get a second bra free. PLUS, Vanity Fair will then donate one to Dress for Success. 

Through this initiative, Vanity Fair has committed to donate 50,000 brand-new bras to Dress for Success, in hopes to provide one bra to every woman who walks through Dress for Success doors in the U.S. this year. Along with the donation, Vanity Fair is asking shoppers to write a note of encouragement to be sent along with the bra in order to give a woman at Dress for Success a little lift.

Buy One, Get One, Give One events will take place during designated weeks in September and October at major U.S. retailers across the country.

• Kohl’s: Sept. 24 – Oct. 3, 2015
• JCPenney: Oct. 7 – Oct. 12, 2015
• Sears: Oct. 11 – Oct. 17, 2015
• Macy’s: Oct. 14 – Oct. 18, 2015
• Bealls: Oct. 18 – Oct. 24, 2015
• Boscov’s: Oct. 25 – Oct. 31, 2015
• Belk: Nov. 1 – Nov. 8, 2015