Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business hosted their first “Dress for Success” event on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Students could come to the event to get business professional attire for free. The clothing was donated by Millikin faculty and staff.

“We took donations of business professional clothing from faculty and staff at Millikin, and we’re now offering it to students who either don’t have the means to get it themselves or if it just wasn’t something they considered when coming to college, that they’d need business professional clothing,” Alex Pratt, president of Millikin’s Delta Mu Delta chapter, said.

Students could choose clothing from several racks set up in the UC ballrooms. An employee from The Brass Horn, a local men’s clothing store, helped them find the clothes that they needed. Delta Mu Delta approached The Brass Horn to sponsor the event and provide fashion advice to students. 

  “We’re not really fashion experts, as much as I like to think I am,” Mikayla Krieger, the vice president of Delta Mu Delta, said. “We just went into The Brass Horn and we asked them about it…They were really excited about helping.”

Other sponsors included Waite’s Dry Cleaners and Pride Cleaners, two local businesses. Members of Millikin’s theater department also provided alterations as needed.

Alicia Gullidge, a student employment specialist from the Center for Academic and Professional Performance (CAPP) office, was available to help students with their resumes.

“It was a collaboration across campus,” Gullidge said. 

Delta Mu Delta put out the call for clothing donations a few weeks ago. They set up donation boxes across campus and sent emails to faculty and staff.

“We had over a hundred items of clothing donated, and then we got it all dry-cleaned and ready for people,” Krieger said.

Dr. Najiba Benabess, the Dean of the Tabor School of Business and adviser to Delta Mu Delta, presented members with the idea for this event a few months ago. She knew that many colleges host “Dress for Success” events, and she suggested that Delta Mu Delta could plan something similar.  

Members of Delta Mu Delta were surprised by the amount of donations that they received and the number of students who attended “Dress for Success” to find clothes. After the success of the event, they hope to make it an annual occurrence.

“It’s been great to see [students] get clothes that fit,” David Bruns, the secretary of Delta Mu Delta, said. “Seeing them come together in their business professional wear and trying it on has been really rewarding for me.”