Dress for Success Georgia

Dress for Success Georgia helps women achieve economic independence by pairing professional attire with the coaching, training and network that turn an interview into a career. Its mission is to provide a network of support, professional attire and development tools so women can thrive in both work and life.

The Atlanta affiliate opened in 1997 as an independent member of the Dress for Success family and was best known for interview suits. Since 2018 it has grown into a full workforce development organization, and in 2026 it took the name Dress for Success Georgia as it began carrying services statewide. Clients are mostly women between 25 and 45, though the work has reached teenagers, women in their late 60s, women who never finished high school and women with advanced degrees. Many have experienced homelessness, domestic violence or human trafficking, and many are working more than one job to make ends meet.

Support usually starts with a career assessment, a resume review and mock interviews tailored to the kind of job a woman is pursuing. Volunteers, including teams from corporate partners, offer one-on-one coaching, and volunteer stylists select professional attire through interview styling, new-job styling and career fair and networking styling. Workshops and classes cover resume writing, workplace communication, networking, conflict resolution, time management, personal branding and financial literacy, along with digital skills such as Microsoft Office, customer service and bookkeeping. Coaching does not stop at the job offer: after a woman is hired she can keep working on workplace etiquette, leadership and advancement, and join monthly empowerment gatherings on topics from vision boarding to homeownership.

In 2026 the organization unveiled the Success SprintHER, a pink Mercedes-Benz Sprinter mobile career center donated by Mercedes-Benz North America. The van takes digital skills training, career coaching, mentorship, leadership development and professional attire to partner organizations across the state, starting in Columbus and moving on to communities including Macon, Augusta and Savannah. The plan is to help 3,000 more people enter the workforce by the end of 2029, and virtual workforce development for men is planned alongside the primary mission of serving women.

Partnerships carry much of the work in metro Atlanta. Atlanta Children's Day Shelter, Center for Family Resources, GilGal, Nicholas House, Our House, STRIVE Atlanta, WellSpring Living and Year Up work with Dress for Success Georgia to connect women to workforce support, and employers such as Georgia Power back the statewide expansion. In 2025 the organization acquired Little PINK Book, an Atlanta women's networking platform, and is developing it into a leadership initiative with twice-yearly networking events, including the PINK Women's Leadership Conference on October 1, 2026.

A woman can self-refer through the website or be referred by a partner agency, then register for classes on the client calendar. Volunteers serve as career center specialists, image consultants or personal shoppers and super sorters, beginning with a quarterly orientation at the office on Barfield Road. Individual clothing donations of 10 items or fewer are accepted every other Monday, and supporters can give monthly through the EmpowHER Circle, attend the Closet Confidential shopping event on November 7, or host a clothing drive.