Dress for Success Buffalo hits the road with its first mobile store

BUFFALO, N.Y. — For the past four and a half years, Dress for Success Buffalo has been offering free professional clothing and job interview coaching at its Hertel Avenue store.

Now they’re hitting the road.

The new Dress for Success mobile store will visit community events and neighborhoods across the city of Buffalo, bringing free clothing, shoes and personal care kits for women.

General manager Michelle Barron says transportation is a major barrier for some customers.

“We can set up different sites throughout the city and maybe closer to home, and then they can come and take advantage of all the services,” she said. “The same services that we offer in store outside of the workshops are the same services that we will offer in our mobile unit.”

She even rented a U-Haul a few summers ago to test how a mobile unit worked.

“We moved from the U-Haul to a Mercedes-Benz sprinter and we’re very grateful,” Barron said.

M&T Bank, the Buffalo Bills Foundation and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield financed the van.

Former Highmark intern Jacquelyn Htay shared how she came to Dress for Success when she was applying for the position.

“You feel very confident. Even though I can be nervous inside, but because of the way I dress and everything, I’m very confident,” she said. “That’s exactly how I feel today. That’s exactly how I felt then.”

To learn more about Dress for Success Buffalo and their services, visit their website.