ATAS Cares About "Dress For Success"

An Alias red leather dominatrix outfit and a geisha girl getup shared the lobby of the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre with a demure 1960s suit from American Dreams and elegant satin doggie duds from The First Annual Miss Dog Beauty Pageant, along with costumes and sketches from That ‘70s Show, The Music Man and Hitler: The Rise of Evil. The display showed off the work of this year’s Emmy-nominated costume designers and supervisors, each of whom drew a drew a round of applause as Van Broughton Ramsey and Phil Wayne, governors of the Costume Design & Supervision peer group, read their names during the show.

Jeri Ryan

And as fashion shows go, this one had something for everyone. It was the inaugural activity of ATAS Cares, the Academy Foundation’s new outreach and community program.

Held August 19, the "ATAS Cares about Dress for Success" evening benefited the Los Angeles chapter of Dress for Success, a national nonprofit which helps economically disadvantaged people by providing them clothing and accessories for job interviews. "I’ve gone on enough job interviews to tell you," said the night’s emcee, KTLA Morning News reporter Gayle Anderson, "that half the job is looking nice." Agreed host Jeri Ryan of Boston Public, "When clothing works, people see you in a whole new light."

Indeed, according to a video shown about the organization, eighty per cent of a person’s marketability is based on appearance. Clients include men and women who are homeless, those on welfare, divorced or widowed women who have never had to work and young single mothers just starting out. Makeup and hair assistance bolsters the women’s transformation, and counseling to bolster self-esteem in the face of rejection is available to all.

The Los Angeles chapter was founded by Janet Lavender, now its executive director, out of her own need to find her way back to a productive work life from years of homelessness and substance abuse.

Debra Jo Rupp

"When I think back to seven years ago, when I started this in my one-bedroom apartment, till now," said Lavender, taking the stage to an enthusiastic round of applause, "I’m elated." With good reason: Since its 1996 inception, the L.A. chapter has outfitted 5,000 people.

The Academy-Dress for Success Alliance was born ten months ago when ATAS Cares committee chair Mary Rose, a former Costume Design & Supervision peer group governor, and her then-only committee member Karen Miller learned about the organization. "We made some inquiries," Rose recalled. "We knew this was the project we should pursue."

The evening’s centerpiece was the "Power Friends! Power Fashion! Image Maker Fashion Show," featuring celebrities, Dress for Success clients, Academy staffers and other volunteers modeling career-appropriate costumes from such series as Will & Grace, The Sopranos, CSI, Charmed, 7th Heaven, Malcolm in the Middle, Like Family, Life with Bonnie and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Performers strutting their shows’ stuff included Patricia Richardson and Brennan Elliott from Strong Medicine, Debra Jo Rupp from That ‘70s Show, Lindsay Korman from Passions, Loretta Devine from Boston Public, Penny Johnson Jerald from 24, Michelle Stafford from The Young and the Restless, Liz Torres from Gilmore Girls, Cynthia Preston from General Hospital and T’Keyah Crystal Keymah from that’s SO raven.

For more information or to make a monetary or clothing donation, visit www.dressforsuccess.org or telephone 213-629-3537.

- Libby Slate