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Some widows treat their late husband’s closet as something of a shrine and can’t let go of their clothing, preserving it as a reminder.
After her husband, Joe, died, Sue Farrell was left with a wardrobe of elegant corporate outfits. She was ready to give them a new life.
“I thought, ‘There’s got to be a good purpose for this,’” she recalls.
Before moving into executive corporate life, Joe was a U.S. Navy submarine officer who’d spent years spying under the sea during the Cold War.
Farrell, an agent with Joyner Fine Properties, Richmond, Va., knows how soon-to-be military veterans struggle to transition to civilian life and find their footing in the job market.
Clothes are a part of the equation.
Boots to Suits was born in 2014 when Farrell realized that Joe’s suits could help vets transition to civilian life by providing them with professional clothes for job interviews and new careers.
Today, she maintains a small leased space in Richmond, Va., lined with donated work-appropriate clothes for women and men preparing for their next chapter.
Farrell’s connections with veteran groups like the VA Transition Assistance Program and the Servicemember Transitional Advanced Rehabilitation Program at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond provide a steady stream of people nearing the end of their military careers. Boots to Suits services veterans from Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.
The Glow Up
When clients arrive, a Boots to Suits volunteer has already pulled clothes in their size, and a stylist helps assemble outfits. Each person leaves with at least two complete looks, along with shoes, belts, ties, accessories and so forth.
For those who have spent decades wearing military-issued clothing, the visit may be their first introduction to professional dress.
Others also are adapting to a new body: scars, internal injuries or prosthetic limbs. The clothes are stylish and current, and clients sometimes walk out in designer labels like Brioni, Valentino and Oscar de la Renta.
“Most major companies would feel lucky to reel these veterans in, because of the talent and training they’ve gotten through their military experience.”
—Sue Farrell
Volunteer tailors make minor adjustments to ensure a good fit, something especially important when tweaking a pant leg to be sure it falls over a prosthetic leg properly, for example.
Farrell’s favorite moment comes when clients step out of the dressing room and see their transformation for the first time.
“They look in the mirror and pause. There’s a glow,” she says. “You see it every time.”
One client who experienced that shift was Anthony Arroyo-Padilla, who’s wrapping up an Army career at Fort Bragg after specializing in psychological operations.
He faced the normal concerns about finding a job and wondering how civilian work would be after spending 21 years in the military. “But one of my greatest challenges was learning to dress correctly,” he says.
A Boots to Suits visit calmed his nerves.
In addition to new clothing, he left with insight into picking ties, combining colors and patterns, and creating a professional, polished look. “It was a great experience—a lesson learned—and they made it a little easier,” he says.
Arroyo-Padilla also quickly felt a connection with Farrell, noting her positive energy and ability to relate to military personnel. He says many veterans arrive with physical or mental disabilities, and that Farrell welcomes each person with love, warmth and care and puts them at ease right away.
Because of her husband’s Navy past, Farrell has a special affection for submariners and frequently retells some of Joe’s Navy stories and jokes with clients about life aboard submarines.
But beneath the lighthearted banter, she acknowledges that the severity of some clients’ injuries really pains her to witness.
“Sometimes I walk away for a minute because I don’t want to break up in there,” she says. “I don’t let my feelings show, but it’s challenging at times.”
When dressing vets, Farrell’s thoughts frequently turn to Joe. “Boots to Suits was because of him and his stories,” she says. “They drove the whole project. I hope—I’m sure—he’s smiling in heaven.”
Forging Connections for Veterans’ Futures
From the beginning, Farrell tapped her community relationships to get Boots to Suits off the ground, including National Association of REALTORS® members. “REALTORS® were a gamechanger. They were my early, hardcore donors,” she recalls. Her real estate experience continues to help her promote the charity. “Just like marketing a house, I’m marketing a program.”
Her outreach has built a wide donor network, including real estate professionals, clothing distributors, the Junior League, and a partnership with the PGA Tour’s Birdies for Charity, which has matched a percentage of monetary donations to Boots to Suits for the last decade.
Donors are generous, and Boots to Suits frequently has a surplus and sometimes can hand out 100 neckties in a week.
Farrell’s supporters admire her persistence and commitment.
Bill Gallasch, a fellow agent and volunteer stylist, says, “Boots to Suits is always on Sue’s mind. She’s always pushing and thinking about her guys and gals and making new connections for the charity.”
Building a Lasting Legacy
Despite the success of her profit, Farrell, who’s approaching 80 years old, remains troubled by one thing: How to make Boots to Suits outlast her.
She’d like to meet with federal decisionmakers, explain the program and its benefits, and get the government to help ensure its survival and growth. The NAR grant funding will help Boots to Suits close inventory gaps and buy clothing in sizes that are donated infrequently.
“My goal, before I expire, is to get Boots to Suits on every military base so that it has a lifespan well beyond me, my board and volunteers, and the service we do here in Richmond.”
Sue Farrell of Joyner Fine Properties, Richmond, Va., is founder of Boots to Suits which has dressed 7,000 veterans since the program’s 2014 inception. Farrell devotes between 20 and 25 hours a week to her charity.