When Angela Wilson split up with her husband ten years ago she says everything around her “just fell away”. The couple worked together in their own consultancy company, leading team building sessions for large businesses.

“When we split up, not only did I lose my livelihood, I lost my selfesteem too,” she says. Wilson suffered from stress and depression and was unable to work. “In the end I was out of work for more than five years. I didn’t think I would work again.”

But five years ago Wilson got a job with Hillside Clubhouse, in North London, a charity that supports people with mental health problems.

She helps to place people in employment and training, but when she started liaising with employers and visiting offices she hit a stumbling block. “I didn’t have the right clothes. I went into one place and my clothes were totally wrong— I’ve never been so embarrassed in all my life. It totally affected my confidence and my ability to do the job,” she says.

One of her clients was referred to the charity Dress for Success through a Jobcentre and she went with her. “I said I needed help too and they helped me to put a whole outfit together. They make you feel comfortable in a professional environment.”

Helping women to get to grips with the world of work is what Dress for Success does. The charity was founded in New York in 1997 by Nancy Lublin, who had the idea of donating clothes to disadvantaged women looking for work. “From that tiny acorn a massive oak tree grew,” says Juliet Hughes-Hallett, the head of Dress for Success in London.

Clients are referred to Dress for Success by a number of agencies, including Jobcentre Plus, colleges and charities. On the client’s initial visit she is given an outfit appropriate to the job for which she is being interviewed as well as advice on interview etiquette and techniques.

After clients find employment they are given more clothes to wear for the first month of the job and shown how to combine them. If they do not get a job they can return to Dress for Success for sessions with trained professionals who act as mentors, offering advice on CV writing and interview skills.

“The clothes are just part of the experience,” says Wilson. “Dress for Success gives you confidence. Even if you have never been into a corporate environment before, it gives you a taste of what it’s like.”

Wilson sends clients to Dress for Success regularly and says the impact it has is clear: “I see women walk in there with their head bowed and come out with their head held high. Two days later they are walking confidently into an office in the City.”

“It’s frightening when you have been out of work for a long time,” Hughes-Hallett says. “This isn’t just about dressing clients; it is about helping women to gain confidence.”

Although the recession has taken a toll Hughes-Hallett says Dress for Success is still bucking national unemployment trends. In the past three months one in three clients has landed jobs, compared with one in two during the same period last year. And, in response to the economic climate, Hughes-Hallett says the supporting mentoring programmes have been developed more fully, often in partnership with their corporate supporters, which include Accenture, the careers consultants.

Isabel Naidoo, the head of human capital and diversity at Accenture, says: “We want to support a charity that builds skills and gets people back in employment. Dress for Success has a diverse range of activities our staff can get involved in.”

Every employee is given three days a year to spend volunteering and Accenture is keen that staff use their core skills. “We have had staff help with communications, marketing and media training, providing substantial support to a small organisation.”

Times Recommends

• Inspirational leadership
• How to get a new job
• The reluctant CEO