Suit yourself

Donor support for the newly expanded Suit Yourself Closet gives students a leg up by offering free professional clothing and a welcoming, peer-supported space to prepare for their careers.

By Kit Tindall

Thanks to donor support, the Suit Yourself Closet at VCU Career Services started this year bigger and better than ever. The closet, which provides free professional clothing to students, expanded this past summer, and is now three times bigger. With this new, larger space comes a better experience for students, who can now shop the closet and even bring a friend for second opinions. 

“Many VCU students don’t have a budget for new clothing, and it can be hard to find professional clothing secondhand,” says Tay Knighting (B.A.’20, Cert.’24), employer development manager, who helped design and implement the new SYC space. “The closet was created to be a central hub for students who are looking for professional clothing that they can wear to interviews, networking events and career fairs. We can also provide the outfits they need for office jobs, trade jobs or work uniforms. We try to have a wide range of options to suit all students in all industries.” 

The SYC started as a small but mighty operation. Students could make appointments to meet with student staff members one-on-one and pick out clothing. But appointments were sometimes hard to coordinate and some students couldn’t access the service when they needed it. Based on input from student staff and feedback from students who used the service, the SYC team began to plan a new space where students could browse freestanding racks of clothes, try on outfits in a dressing room and get advice from staff and peers. They wanted to shift from an individual closet to a thrift store experience, create a space that could accommodate more students and make the SYC experience more fun and welcoming. 

“We get feedback both formally through post-appointment surveys and informally through talking to students while they’re in the space,” says Aimee Selleck (B.S.’15, Cert.’24),  student employment manager for VCU Career Services. “That feedback guides what clothing we stock, what donations we request and how appointments are set up. Ultimately, that feedback told us that we needed a different space for the closet and more flexibility in the experience. ”

SYC staff provide style guides to help students who are new to the professional world navigate workplace wear as well as other guidance, like showing them how to tie a tie or teaching them how to remove wrinkles. They host pop-up events across campus to make the resource even more accessible, especially for students who don’t know about or haven’t been to the closet before. And a second closet on the MCV Campus reopened this year to provide professional attire catered to health sciences students. Whether it’s on-site or at events, staff is always available to help students find the perfect outfit. 

“Those moments where I can connect with someone are the ones that make me cherish what I’m doing at SYC,” says Jaila Hendricks, a junior who has worked with SYC for three years. “Just last week, a student was trying on clothes and asking for advice while there was a group of fellow students shopping. Soon, we were all giving her compliments and suggestions until she felt confident she was making the right choices for herself. Allowing more students in the space is building connections between people who are using the resource.” 

The SYC is built by donor support and shaped by VCU students. The expansion was possible thanks to more than $600 in gifts from individual donors. All the clothing is donated by VCU community members. Student staff is central to decisions about how to use funding and create a better experience for students using the closet. 

“We certainly could not do this without student staff,” Selleck says. “They are the backbone of the program. They have the opportunity to grow into manager positions, and it’s exciting to facilitate those opportunities for development. I think it’s really meaningful for students to interact with their peers when they come to the closet. Student staff help them find career clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident. Now in the new space, there is even more room and resources for students to do just that.”