I’ve always loved playing dress up - and not just for Halloween! From the toy box in the playroom to my best friend’s closet, I knew clothes had power to transform very early on.
But as we age, our dress up changes. Sunday best becomes ‘date night’ ensemble. Shorter homecoming dresses become ‘cocktail attire’ and floor length prom gowns become ‘black tie affairs’. And, hopefully, our first suit becomes the perfect interview outfit!
Except, sometimes, it doesn’t.
I grew up in Naples, Florida, and often sum it up by saying ‘I grew up near wealth.’ When I would go out with friends, they dressed me head to toe. Literally. Designer dresses, handbags and shoes. Luxury brand lipgloss and the perfect accessories. We called it ‘playing Barbie with Kat’.
And it was fun! I enjoyed the dress up, they enjoyed watching the transformation. We had fun meeting new people. And I would eventually return to my quirky, offbeat clothes and head home.
It was years before I really understood what was happening there. I was being given a full-access pass to places and people I might not otherwise have been welcome. (I say ‘might’ because there are many things at play here.) But those clothes got me into places so easily! And as I realized their power, I was both fascinated and frustrated.
Not everyone had friends as generous as mine, sharing both wardrobes and influence so graciously. And no where was this clearer than my time as a foster mom here in Iowa. I met women who didn’t even know how to get past the interview. These women didn’t own their first suit… because they didn’t own a suit yet at all.
So when I met Teresa Choi, and she mentioned Dress for Success, I knew I wanted to contribute to their mission ‘to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life’.
This is an organization helping women get past the interview, but DFS isn’t just dressing them up like Barbies - they are also supporting them and helping them develop the skills they need to gain real independence. I want to help empower these women because of the way my friends provided for me!
Dress up reveals a deeper truth - that there is power in how we present ourselves - and lots of lots of power in our clothes. And every woman deserves the perfect interview outfit and to find out what future is beyond that hire!
I’ll be revealing a very special fundraiser for Dress for Success this week, but our newsletter subscribers can find out all about it right now! Click here to read about Fashion (moving women) Forward, a one of a kind, fashion portrait experience that benefits Dress for Success.
Take a look at these women featured here. They are celebrating different decades of their lives, in clothes that make then feel fabulous, all to inspire the next generation of women to find their own strength and style.
I hope you will join with me and share the ensembles that make you feel unstoppable!
With love,
Kat
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