About Dress For Success Vancouver
What we do is about so much more than the clothes
Since 1999, Dress For Success Vancouver has helped women and gender-diverse individuals across Metro Vancouver build confidence, skills, and careers.
Here's how it started, and how it’s grown.
Dress For Success Vancouver opened with a clear vision: help women make a strong first impression through workplace attire. What started with a suit has grown into much more.
Since then, Dress For Success Vancouver has grown from providing workplace attire to offering a full ecosystem of programs, built around the belief that she needs more than an outfit to take her next step. She needs skills, community, and confidence that compounds over time, from that first appointment through every step that follows.
That progression is not accidental. It’s the shape of everything we’ve built. Today, Dress For Success Vancouver serves women and gender-diverse individuals across Metro Vancouver, all at no cost, made entirely possible through the generosity of volunteers, donors, and community partners. We provide a comprehensive suite of resources because we know economic mobility is about more than just the clothes. True resilience requires sustained, integrated support.
Dress For Success Vancouver was founded in February 1999 by Astrid Levelt, becoming the 27th Dress for Success network member, and the first outside the United States. The first boutique opened in a former nun’s residence at St. Patrick’s Parish on Main Street in East Vancouver. The organization’s first paid Executive Director, Deborah Twocock, led Dress For Success Vancouver into a new era, introducing the Working Women’s Group, career, and mentorship opportunities.
Purpose
Dress for Success Vancouver is a community helping unemployed and underemployed women achieve economic mobility and personal success.
Vision
A world where every woman thrives in work and in life.
Values
Dignity. Inclusion. Hope.
At its core, Dress For Success Worldwide believes in a holistic approach to delivering the support, skills, and access women need to thrive in work and life.
By the numbers
Of 2,500+ women and gender-diverse clients served in the past year:
Client Outcomes
Behind every number is a woman ready for what comes next. Most of the women who come to us are newcomers to Canada, with strong representation from India, China, and Ukraine. Many are well educated and in their mid-thirties to mid-forties, and when they first reach out, most are unemployed or working part-time and earning below a living wage. Through our programs, they move into better work and report stronger confidence, resilience, and communication skills, the foundation for real economic mobility and personal success.
62% achieve their outcomes through a single service; 38% draw on more than one.
That progress is measurable:
44%→28.5%
Cut their unemployment rate nearly in half after accessing our services
20.4% → 31%
Moved from part-time into full-time work, a meaningful increase
23%
Moved into a higher-level role or advanced in their careers
Land Acknowledgement
Dress for Success Vancouver is grateful to operate as uninvited settlers on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We acknowledge the deep and ongoing harm caused by colonialism, particularly to Two-Spirit people and Indigenous women, and we actively commit to uplifting Indigenous voices in our work toward a more equitable world.
The 5 D's are the Dream, Dress, Develop, Drive, Donate journey framing, so this paragraph should give partners the concrete program picture first, then hand off to that arc. Here's my recommended direction: Our programs meet women wherever they are on the path to meaningful work. It starts with Dressing Services and interview-ready workplace attire, moves through workshops that build practical skills from interview prep to financial education, and continues with Leadership Programs, including the Working Women's Group, that support women well beyond that first job. Every service is a step in the journey that follows.
Introducing
The 5Ds of Success
Five ways we support women on their journey.
Every woman’s path here moves through five steps. It starts with a dream, as she imagines new possibilities with a coach and sets goals worth working toward. She learns to dress with intention, stepping into interviews with confidence and workplace attire that matches her ambition. She develops in-demand skills through courses and coaching, from digital and AI tools to the technical know-how employers are looking for. She drives her own momentum, building the resilience to balance caregiving and career, explore entrepreneurship, and grow the financial education that sustains long-term advancement. And when she’s ready, she gives back, mentoring, hiring, and advocating so the next woman can begin her own story.
Be Part of Someone’s Next Chapter
Whether you’re looking to volunteer, donate, host a fundraising event or donate clothing, we’re grateful for your support. Your generosity helps women and gender-diverse individuals across Metro Vancouver achieve the futures they deserve.