Need clothes for a job interview, funeral, court, or another important event but can’t afford them?

An op shop about to celebrate its one-year anniversary at its Franklin Street location helps Canberrans become their best dressed selves.

People who are down on their luck walk in to Communities at Work’s Best Dressed store and walk out onto the streets of Manuka with the confidence to blend in with the precinct’s affluent inhabitants.

Trevor Gilbertson, manager of social programs at the not-for-profit, has managed the niche op shop, which only accepts workwear-appropriate clothing, for the past seven years.

In that time, he has seen many clients walk out the door with a “smile on their face and a higher step”.

The Best Dressed store first began in Dickson, as an extension of the Communities at Work’s clothing program, which helps financially vulnerable people who are returning to or starting work by providing business attire free of charge.

Thanks to generous donations, the program had enough leftover quality menswear and womenswear to start a small store. And so, they did.

“Today, all the money we raise from the store goes back towards our food pantries,” says Trevor.

Just the two pantries service about 500 households a week in Canberra, a number he says has grown dramatically over the past year.

“We’re now seeing new demographics like double-income households come to the food pantry … Canberra is an affluent city but there’s a still a huge part of the population with a lower income level, and it’s a battle for them.”

At the Best Dressed store, a wide range of local shoppers contribute through buying and donating clothing. “People in search of a bargain, treasure hunters, and those who just want to be green.”

Despite stocking a wide range of upscale and designer items – much still with the tags on – the clothing is priced as low as $5, and never more than $50.

The permanent shopfront also provides a new base for the Clothing Program.

Best Dressed coordinator Hayley Storen trains new recruits on how to host clothing appointments, which operate via referrals from employment agencies, Vinnies, and crisis workers from the pantries.

“It’s important for everyone to have access to quality workwear because it helps us fit into our environment … it’s one less stressful thing to worry about,” says Hayley.

One client said, “I was living in my car, knowing that once I got a job, things would change. I did get a job, but none of my work clothes fit because I had been eating differently and I think stress took a toll on my body.

“I went to Communities at Work, even had a shower and a hot meal, and got free work clothes that fit so I could be comfortable in my new job.”

The program can provide up to five outfits for a whole work week.

“I was so relieved – I didn’t want to be judged at my new job, I wanted to fit in, and now I could.”

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