A clothing and careers initiative that helps disadvantaged women back into work is celebrating its first birthday in Belfast.
Dress for Success NI has been run by Foyle Women's Aid in Derry for four years and opened its boutique doors in Belfast in March of last year.
The initiative is based on providing clothing for women to go to job interviews or important milestones dressed for the occasion and with the confidence needed to prosper.
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Sarah Quinn is the Programme Manager for the scheme and emphasised that alongside the clothing provided, there is also career advice, confidence-building exercises, CV training and a sympathetic ear.
"Any woman who's unemployed, particularly women who are coming from a disadvantage or a trauma or they've experienced something in their lives that has inhibited them from being able to work, then we're here to help them," she told Belfast Live.
"As you can see, we've a beautiful boutique, it's very intimate for the client, so they can come in and it's very private, they're in a safe, comfortable place.
"We basically give them one hour of our time, we help them with an outfit, whether it be for interview, attending court or even if they've recently started employment and they need that bit of help top get them started."
Sarah said the power of a new outfit to change someone's outlook cannot be underestimated and said it was extremely rewarding to see the difference it made with the women they work with.
"It's not just about the clothes, it's really about the confidence," she said.
"We can see it when a client comes in if their confidence is quite low, their head's lowered, their body language maybe isn't great, they're maybe not making eye contact with us.
"They come in and we spend a bit of time asking them what they feel comfortable wearing, we provide them with a couple of different choices and they pick which one they feel most comfortable in.
"You just see the lift in their face, they smile and we actually find sometimes the woman can get quite emotional, because they don't sometimes recognise themselves in the mirror, once we have put that outfit on them, so that's really lovely to see.
"It's just something we feel empowers women, it gives them that confidence they need, the tools and skills to help them go back out into the world of work."
The initiative also works connecting women with volunteering opportunities that they might be interested in and building up their confidence.
In some cases, women are availing of the services having suffered traumas or domestic abuse and Sarah said her other role helps her deal with that too.
"I am employed by Foyle Women's Aid so I am actually based in one of our refuges," she said.
"So I would see it quite regularly, we would have clients who would come to our door, where they've had to flee their home and they're coming with the clothes on their back and they maybe have children with them as well.
"What we do is we keep a supply of clothes for those clients, we would keep all different sizes, mostly comfortable clothes, warm clothes and we provide them with a couple of outfits then when they arrive."
The focus now is on growing the initiative, which is part of 147 affiliates across the globe, having originally started in New York.
They have been able to draw on corporate support from the likes of Allstate NI and are keen to get more sponsors on board to broaden the help they are able to offer women who need it most.
"We have the support of the public, they donate clothes, but we also have a lot of clothes that are brand new and we've worked with Marks & Spencer in the past," said Sarah.
"They have donated clothes that are coming through their end of line and are otherwise going back to a warehouse, so we have a great supply of clothes available."
If you would like to get in touch with Dress for Success or learn more about the service, info can be found here.
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