Dressed for success: Students find professional clothing at Career Closet:- Friday morning saw over 1,500 new and lightly worn professional clothes in the Stanford Career Education (CareerEd) Center. Stanford students adopted blazers, shirts, skirts, dress shoes, and ties throughout the day.
Dressed for success: Students find professional clothing at Career Closet
In CareerEd’s offices and halls, students tried on interview outfits, browsed dress shirts for internships, and bought new purses and handbags.
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Students on campus received new and lightly worn professional attire from the Stanford Career Closet event. The yearly event was coordinated by the Stanford Parents’ Club, CareerEd, and FLISSC.
CareerEd organizers equipped meeting rooms with clothing hangers. One space allowed pupils to try on shoes and accessories. Offices became improvised dressing rooms, and the bottom level lobby became checkout.
“I really needed a suit for myself,” Zhangyang Wu ’27 stated. “It feels like shopping at Macy’s, and the staff is very helpful. I absolutely enjoyed it.”
Many Stanford Parents’ Club (SPC) volunteers help students find belongings and get to dressing rooms. The SPC helps students, parents, and sponsors connect with Stanford.
Rita Patel, SPC Career Closet co-chair, said it has “become this really inclusive event that creates a win-win in the community”. After joining the SPC when her son, who graduated in 2019, attended Stanford, she proposed the inaugural Career Closet last April.
Patel described how SPC volunteers collect, sort, and label clothing and coordinate with ASSU, the Stanford Alumni Association, Stanford Research Park, and the bookstore to prepare the Career Closet. Patel said organizations donate clothes or conduct events.
The Office of Sustainability worked with the event to promote clothes reuse, she said.
Assistant Vice Provost and CareerEd Executive Director James Tarbox says preparation takes over a year. He said that event planners decide which campus groups, including Stanford parents, can participate in garment drop-offs over reunion homecoming weekend.
Tarbox said organizers plan the CareerEd center’s appearance and how to promote the Career Closet to students, and volunteers select clothing by kind and size in the days before the event.
Tarbox recalled a student who told him they donned items from that year’s Career Closet the week before Democracy Day. He recalls the student saying, “‘If it weren’t for that event, I wouldn’t feel as good about who I am going to this event.’”
“I’m just so thrilled to hear that,” Tarbox added. “Seeing that people use these clothes immediately is heartwarming.”
Students felt similarly at this year’s Career Closet. According to Amaya Marion ’25, she bought professional clothes for a class simulation on Friday.
“Suits and a lot of these professional clothes are expensive, so [the Career Closet] really helped me get the items I need in the future,” Jacob Shafik ’27 said.
America Sophia George ’24 M.S. ’24 said the occasion allowed friends to discuss “what looked good and what we were looking for, and helping each other out.”
In collaboration with FLISSC, the Career Closet opened to community students from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and to all students from 2 to 4 p.m.
“It took a lot of planning and intentionality to get our variations right,” Lien Truong said. Truong, FLISSC’s associate dean and freshly endowed Kelsey and Robert Murphy director, stressed the event’s inclusivity and diversity in apparel sizes, styles, and selections.
Truong commended CareerEd and SPC for creating a time for FLI students. The event gives FLI students more fair access to expensive professional attire, which she called a “enhancement to [FLI students’] academic journey.”
Patel, Tarbox, and Truong would like a permanent Career Closet for students. Tarbox keeps a closet of blazers and a few shoes in his office for students who need business clothing outside of Career Closet events.
“How does it feel to dedicate a room that’s always full of professional clothing, where any student can come and put an outfit together?” Truong said.
Career Closet objects have red tags. “We are thrilled that you are the new owner of this garment! Hoping you’ll repay the favor.”
“I love what Rita [Patel] created in terms of that tag,” Tarbox added. “I truly believe ‘as we rise, we lift others with us.’”
Jack Quach ’27 is a News staff writer and research and awards beat reporter. He is a San Francisco native who enjoys cheering for his hometown sports teams, enjoying the outdoors, learning new recipes, and serving as the official S.F. expert/tour guide for friends.