Clothed in independence: Dress for Success Twin Cities assists people on career paths

By
June 9, 2024

Red and green lights illuminated the runway as a model wearing a polka-dot blouse, striped pants, a black leather belt, ruby-red high heels and a pair of red-rimmed sunglasses strutted down the runway at the Sallynoggin College of Further Education’s April 2018 fashion show in Dublin, Ireland. A second model later stepped into the scene sporting a mesh black dress overlaying a dotted skirt, a pair of black combat boots and a fiery red handbag.

A model walks a fashion runway.
Showcasing her final styling project at the Sallynoggin College of Further Education April 2018 fashion show, Sara Poldrugovac Darst’s first model struts down a runway in Dublin, Ireland. Darst and her classmates were asked to select a fashion era from the 1960s to the 2000s and create looks representing these distinct time periods. (Courtesy of Sara Poldrugovac Darst)

Seated in the audience, fashion student and aspiring stylist Sara Poldrugovac Darst felt excited and proud knowing she put her heart and effort into her final college project dressing a model for the Fashion Decades show. She chose the ‘90s era as her inspiration because she “liked the sophisticated, rock style.” Now, her calling in the fashion and styling industry is to help women feel their best in what they wear and be empowered both in their personal and professional goals.

Darst’s love for fashion and design was ignited during her early days in the coastal town of Labin, Croatia, where she spent time organizing her sister’s closet, curating outfits and developing an eye for bright colors. During her family’s shopping trips to Italy — an hour away from her town — she found inspiration in the streets.

After moving to Minnesota with her husband in 2019, Darst had a mission — to get a job doing what she loved. She just needed the network and the outfit.

Dress for Success Twin Cities, an affiliate of Dress for Success Worldwide — the global organization that assists women in their careers — helped Darst get a job as a front desk receptionist at Bell International Laboratories. Today, she continues to follow her dreams in fashion and is inspired by volunteering at DFS events in the Twin Cities, where she has used her stylist skills to help women like herself. Dress for Success Twin Cities opened in 2010.

“A lot of women don’t believe in themselves and don’t do things for themselves, so I want to be the one who shows them how,” said Darst, who currently lives in South St. Paul.

Since 1997, Dress for Success Worldwide has focused on female professional development and has helped more than 1.3 million women like Darst in their careers.

Envisioning success

As soon as she arrived in the U.S., Darst designed a vision board. She gathered photos from online representing where she wanted to travel, what books she wanted to read and themes of a healthy lifestyle. Statements about networking with other professional women and working as a stylist were among the items on her virtual vision board. Among the images was the DFS logo, an organization she had become familiar with while in Ireland. At the time, she was not aware of their U.S. affiliates.

“I really wanted to connect with an organization that is working with clothing and people — women in particular — and work where I can use my social and creative styling skills,” she said. Darst had a background in hospitality and retail but wanted an outlet for her passions for female empowerment and styling.

About two weeks later, Darst emailed Dress for Success Twin Cities and received a response. Even during the height of the pandemic with no job or driver’s license, she began to walk her own professional runway. She took part in volunteer orientation classes, Zoom meetings, emotional intelligence courses as well as walk-and-talk sessions around local Minneapolis lakes.

Style coach

In 2020, Darst volunteered as a style coach twice a week at the old DFS facility in St. Paul. One or two female clients a day would come in to receive style coaching from Darst. She customized business outfits for women. Similar to solving a puzzle, Darst mixed and matched donated professional blazers, slacks and blouses, favoring collared shirts, bright colors and patterns to tie looks together.

“(The clients) get really excited and always want to try more things just to see what (the outfits) look like. They’re really grateful for all that,” Darst said.

During the pandemic, the organization’s in-person style coaching subsided and Darst and the program directors decided to brainstorm a method to continue the service throughout the worldwide lockdown. It was during this time that confidence kits — a package complete with professional, customized outfits — were born.

Clients were offered an online form to clarify their career goals and professional style, and given three options for how to receive their confidence kit — having it shipped to their homes, having it delivered in-person by a volunteer or allowing the clients to pick it up at the DFS warehouse.

Many of these clothes were donated by local Minnesota organizations, such as the agricultural company CHS Inc., which hosted a professional clothing drive.

Employee Volunteerism and Giving Specialist Kathy Swenseth was the primary lead of the initiative and said many women expressed nostalgia as they cleaned out their closets and appreciated knowing where their clothes were going.

“I think for some people, it’s been both a trip down memory lane and also a step toward empowering other women in the community who want to take that next step in their career and have the confidence to do so,” Swenseth said.

Charity partner

The University of Minnesota’s Women in Business group selected Dress for Success Twin Cities as the charity partner for their gala this year on April 6, laying the foundation for female empowerment within Generation Z. Amber Pietrowski, vice president of philanthropy at the U’s Women in Business student organization, said she has connected with the nonprofit’s mission.

“It’s one thing to work or volunteer somewhere, but it’s another to truly be invested in it, and that’s what I see whenever I look at Dress for Success. Women supporting women is everything,” Pietrowski said.

As Darst continued as a client and style coach at DFS, she was named as a leader of the Ulead program in 2022-23 — a more personalized professional development program. She said that she began leading online confidence kit sessions, gave her own presentations on style and was helping with other projects. In this role, Darst supported women from different cultures and backgrounds as they worked toward their own career goals.

“These are also women of an older age, you know, they’re not (only) in their 20s or 30s. It was just amazing to see that they have no fear. They just go for it. You know, it’s very motivational and inspiring,” Darst said.

A focus on sustainability

DFS also has helped solidify Darst’s desire to pursue a styling career with a focus on sustainability.

“Especially here in the U.S., where you have so many secondhand stores and brand-new clothes in those stores that are almost never worn … I think I should invest more in secondhand,” Darst said.

She continues to look for a job that combines styling and sustainability. To this day, one of her favorite styled looks was her photo shoot project in college, titled “Sophisticated Artists.” The look featured a sophisticated woman wearing black pants, black tennis shoes and a white button-up shirt with a blue and yellow string around her.

“That was one of my favorites, but what I really enjoy is helping women at Dress for Success with all their outfits when they tell us what they need it for and what they like or dislike. I combine it with what we have because, you know, it’s secondhand … it’s really creative work,” Darst said.

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