The first rule of any successful job interview is to look professional.

But how do you do that if you can't afford to buy a new dress or suit? Or if you don't have the money to buy the necessary clothing to wear to work after landing the job?

The Pennsylvania Working Wardrobe Program, which operates in conjunction with the Department of Public Welfare and the Lancaster County Council of Churches, does just that by providing professional clothing for people seeking employment.

When Lancaster attorney Mike Winters heard about the program, he thought who better to help out the agency than his nicely dressed colleagues.

With a few phone calls and e-mails, Winters and the Lancaster Bar Association spread the word to Lancaster County lawyers — male and female — asking them to clean out their closets and donate suits, ties, shirts, shoes, purses, belts and briefcases, or anything else they no longer were using, to help the project.

"Whether we like it or not, we are judged on our appearance and what we wear does make a difference to the observer," said Winters, a partner in the downtown firm of Patterson, Cody, Taylor and Winters.

"To those of us in the legal profession, the observer may be in the courtroom," but for people looking for a job, Winters said, "the observer is often a new or prospective employer."

"Lawyers must look the part to succeed in their careers and, for others just starting a career, looking the part helps give them a chance for success, too. If the members of the Lancaster County Bar can help others succeed with these donations, the whole community benefits," Winters said.

Rachel Martin, who has coordinated the local Working Wardrobe operation since the shop opened in July at 344 N. Marshall St., said the project is more than just suits and ties.

It offers multiple sets of two-piece cotton medical scrub uniforms for health-care workers, and a supply of black slacks, white tops and non-skid shoes for those in the restaurant industry or other jobs where such attire is standard.

A receptionist or sales clerk could be given a variety of clothing for a week's worth of work.

While she doesn't have a background in retail clothing, the 21-year-old Martin does have a cosmetology license and an eye for what looks appropriate.

"Most of the people who come in are young women," Martin said. "We try and expand their horizons. They'll say, 'I never buy this kind of clothing.' But we try and make them feel comfortable, and they come out of the dressing room with a big smile.

"It does boost their self-confidence, and that's a good thing."

There are several such Working Wardrobe sites across the state, Martin said, and in each case, clients must be recommended by the state welfare office, or locally, by the Lancaster Employment and Training Agency.

The clients then make an appointment with Martin and come into the shop. With her guidance, they try on and pick out what they need for a job.

"We're serving more than 50 people a month, with more than 100 referrals a month," Martin said, adding that the numbers are multiplying rapidly as word of the program spreads.

"We don't give them junk. Some of these things are brand new," Martin said, including donations from local businesses and health-care centers.

Local lawyers are collecting clothing through this week at the Bar Association headquarters on East Orange Street, but are encouraging others to keep supporting the project.

With donated building supplies, volunteers transformed a section of the warehouse at Lehigh and Marshall avenues, into the PA Working Wardrobe shop, complete with racks and a changing room, decorated in earthy orange and blue.

"It's just like a store," Martin said, quickly adding, "minus the cash register."

Martin, who previously worked as a secretary at the Council of Churches, runs the shop with several employees and a regular army of volunteers — from teenagers doing service projects to retired senior citizens — who help her sort, size and organize the donations.

And whatever donations can't be used for the Working Wardrobe are donated to the clothing bank, which is just on the other side of the building, Martin said.

"Nothing ever goes to waste here," she said.

For more information, contact PA Working Wardrobe at 291-2261.


Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.