March 31st, 2023Free fashion for those in need of fine threads

IT’S been said that “clothes maketh the man” – and there’s little doubt that applies for women as well.
But sometimes obtaining snappy threads, so essential to making a vital good first impression, is easier said than done.
That’s where Thread Together comes in. Based in Sydney and also run in Victoria, under a partnership arrangement, by Ballarat’s Cafs (Child and Family Services) this not-for-profit provides new in-vogue clothing and accessories to those who otherwise could not afford such goods.
We’re talking new fashion house labels provided gratis to those doing it rough, thus diverting countless tonnes of perfectly good new clothing that would otherwise be dumped in landfill annually by big fashion houses.

In recent days Thread Together, or TT, held its second ever pop-up day in
Daylesford, working in with the town’s Thursday Good Grub Club to reach folk in
genuine need of the innovative free quality clothing and accessories.
Cafs TT program and volunteer lead Nicole Roberts says Threads Together is
extremely rewarding to be involved with and, come July, will have been running in
Ballarat for two years.
She says TT held its first visiting pop-up event in Daylesford in March last year
and it was extremely well received, providing free quality new clothing and accessories
for men, women and children.
“I absolutely love it,” Nicole says, recounting some of the heart-warming stories of
those whose lives have been changed for the better as a result of TT.
“I remember one young guy, a teenager, who lived in a caravan at the back of a
factory and had been offered a job interview in hospitality, but didn’t want to attend
his interview because he didn’t have anything suitable to wear.
“We decked him out in quality labels including R.M. Williams boots. And he got
the job. He was so kind and grateful.”
In the time it’s been helping out residents of Victoria’s Central Highlands
region TT has helped so many people doing it tough including some who have led
comfortable lives but, due to circumstances, have found themselves in a place they
never thought they’d be.
Sometimes it’s domestic violence escapees, sometimes it’s prisoners coming out of
prison with nothing, who need to find work and reintegrate.
“Sometimes it’s people with a serious illness who can’t work,” Nicole says.
“There was a lady, a single mum, who had a terminal illness and had nothing to
wear to her son’s debut. We were able to deck her out in a beautiful Carla Zampatti
dress.”
Besides Daylesford, TT is also delivering its pop-up visiting van services to
Bacchus Marsh and Ararat, driving out to locations in the Cafs van full to capacity
with new fashions of all sizes and styles.
“But now we’re about to get a new dedicated wardrobe van – and we will be
returning every three months to Daylesford in the future,” Nicole says.
She says presenting well in new, impressive attire for a job interview, work
placement or application for a rental property can be the first step towards a better
life for many doing it tough.
“It can break that cycle. It’s that one step forward, which means someone can
then keep taking more steps forward,” she says.
To use TT clients have to first receive a referral to it from another agency – or
from Cafs itself.
“All of the clothing is new and is donated from fashion houses. The fashion
industry regularly pays for landfill and TT was started about 15 years ago by Andie
Halas, a partner in Seafolly, who thought that surely it would be possible to do
better,” Nicole says.
Thread Together headquarters remains in Sydney and Nicole says the donated
clothing is transported free of charge by Toll.
As a non-profit, TT runs on fundraising, and the Hepburn Springs Golf Club has
become a staunch supporter through its annual Tee-Up for Kids Day, held in memory
of Ian Stanley.
Now, as TT introduces its new quarterly seasonal pop-up visits to Daylesford with
its new dedicated wardrobe van, Nicole says it is keen to provide the pop-up visits for
those in need wherever it can throughout the Central Highlands region.
“We are open to everywhere that it’s possible to get to,” she says.

Words: Eve Lamb | Images: Contributed