Behind the Seams: The Transformational Power of Being Seen with Suited to Success

Everyone deserves to feel confident and empowered. Fashion is an essential tool that helps us express our individuality, helping us take pride in our unique shape and style. 

Suited to Success play an important role in our community to help empower women and men to radiate confidence and guide them to build brighter futures. There’s a transformational power of being seen. 

At adorne, we have the community at the forefront of our minds. Making women feel empowered, seen and heard is extremely important to us. That’s why we have created a unique partnership with Suited to Success/Dress for Success to assist in providing new clothing and accessories to their boutique for styling and wardrobe restoration services. 

This partnership would not be possible without the incredible Tamara Smith, CEO of Suited to Success QLD. We sat down with her to learn more about the amazing services that they provide to assist women and men to feel seen, heard, and empowered to build a bright future. 

Suited to Success Volunteer, Sophie, merchandising donated adorne bags.

Who are you, and what is Suited to Success?

Tamara: Suited to Success and Dress for Success Brisbane provide free styling, clothing, and career support services for people in need. Our services are powered by volunteers and community support.

Our clients include people who have experienced domestic and family violence, people living with a disability, and newly arrived migrants and refugees. Our services are provided at no cost to the people who need them. Partnering for impact is at the heart of what we do at Suited to Success. Around 80% of our clients come to us through referrals from other organisations and charities.

Gifting someone with new clothing is about much more than the outfits they receive. It’s about saying, ‘we see you’ and ‘we believe in you’ and ‘you are welcome here’. It’s about community care and connection. Our goal is for our clients to leave Suited to Success, knowing someone is behind them – cheering them on. For them to have experienced the transformational power of being seen.

Are there any impact stories that have stuck with you during your time at Suited to Success? 

Tamara: I feel grateful daily that Suited to Success is here to support and care for those who need us. Every day we get to help people – and every day, people tell us how much our services mean to them. We hear feedback like:

"I’m so thankful to have this opportunity. What you've done is amazing and will change my life. Thank you for making this amazing. It's overwhelming in such a great way. Thank you, ladies, what you do is amazing."

"I didn’t have any interview clothes, so I didn’t feel confident going for interviews. Now I feel really happy. I feel like singing. I’m really glad I came because now I have something to look forward to. When I put on this outfit, I will feel really confident. The stylists made me feel like a better version of myself. They were like angels or fairy godmothers. I felt like Cinderella.”

Suited to Success Client, Pushpalogini. Gifted a styling session and new outfit.  

What does a typical day look like at Suited to Success/Dress for Success? 

Tamara: On a typical day we welcome clients to our boutiques and gift them with styling sessions and new outfits. Each client works with their own stylist. We also run a Virtual Career Hub, which helps people with resume writing, cover letter writing, and interview skills. Our social enterprise retail store is where the community can ‘shop for a cause’ with us, and all the profits go towards providing our free services for people in need. Most days, we also sort through clothing and product donations – so they are ready to stock our boutiques and retail store.

How can people get involved? 

Tamara: There are four main ways!

• Donate. We rely on the community's support to fund over 80% of our free services. 
• Shop with us in our social enterprise retail store. Located at 5/20 King St, Bowen Hills.
• Donate a wish list item. We have donation drop-off days at the end of each month.
• Connect with us on social media and help spread the word.

Volunteer Stylist, Lydiah at Suited to Success boutique.

Suited to Success is changing lives in the Queensland community through its unique approach to making men and women feel seen, heard, and empowered.

Through our partnership, we are providing new clothing and accessories to their Boutique for styling and wardrobe restoration services they provide. By supporting Suited to Success, we are helping to empower people to take control of their lives, express their individuality and feel seen, heard, and appreciated. 

Tabatha and Melissa from adorne with Suited To Success CEO, Tamara Smith.

If you want to get involved, consider shopping in their social enterprise retail store in Bowen Hills, donating a wish list item, or connecting with them on social media to help spread the word. Together, we can create a more inclusive and supportive community.