The Wardrobe

About Us

The Wardrobe is a diverse group comprised of over 35 students from every college at Cornell! With various majors in all 5 functional sub-teams, Operations, Marketing, Technology, Finance, Events, and Management, the Wardrobe aims to bring together these passionate students for our common mission. At our cores, we want to give back to the community so that Any Student can feel their best in Any Opportunity.

Mission

The Wardrobe aims to provide free professional attire to all members of the Cornell community. We believe the inability to acquire professional clothing should not be a barrier to an individual’s pursuit of professional opportunities. For students who have a need for professional attire in order to succeed in club recruitment processes, job interviews, and/or social events, The Wardrobe desires to level the playing field — we seek to embody our mission: “Any student, any opportunity.”

The Problem

In 2017, The Wardrobe surveyed 96 Cornell students, and the results were astonishing:

64% have felt underdressed at an interview or information session
34% didn't attend an interview or information session because of a lack of professional clothing
50% of those without proper attire were limited by cost constraints
50% of those without proper attire were limited by time and place

The lack of professional clothing does not discriminate across gender and graduation year. These results have been verified to be statistically significant by Cornell University Statistician and Professor Cindy Van Es.

The Solution

We offer a free professional clothing rental service for students at Cornell. The rental service allows students to rent a diverse array of professional clothing, including but not limited to dress shirts, suit sets, blazers, blouses, ties, and dress shoes, in all sizes. We also host semesterly pop-up shop events, in which we distribute old inventory to the entire student body for free. With this two-fold approach, we serve all students at Cornell who are in need of professional clothing.

Student Testimonies

"It really means a lot to low-income students like me. They really value students and treat us with respect - they honor the students." - Vinh L.
"I appreciate the Wardrobe tackling a problem that many universities don’t realize has a large presence on campus. To me, Wardrobe means accessibility and opportunity." -Emma D.
"I was selected to present my research at a national conference in Houston, TX with my team. The school was paying for our trip and I was really excited. As an international student born in Vietnam, I didn't grow up needing or even wearing suits. I am so thankful to the Wardrobe who has been a resource that is not only reliable, but helped me become more professional with no expense. I felt so confident when presenting at the conference and really felt that I even performed better!” - Annie R.

Our Challenges