Aside from absolutely loving our 120+ members and incredibly dedicated 16-lady committee, we do it because every single cent we raise through our events and activities, benefits an organization that does very important work for disadvantaged women in our community – Dress for Success Vancouver.

So not only does YES! create opportunities to meet motivated, professional women in Vancouver at fabulous minglers, panel and shopping events, we are raising funds to help women learn the skills they need and find clothes they can wear to feel confident and enter the workforce at their best.

For us, it’s a win-win and now, more than ever, we’re thrilled to be leading YES! through another successful year. In 2012, we raised more than $18,000 for Dress for Success and this year, our goal is to reach $20,000. With a full calendar of exciting events planned – Spring Panel Event for Women in Fashion, Lawn Bowling, Summer Minglers and our Fall Signature Event with cocktails-a-plenty – we’re confident we’ll get there.

Beyond being a ton of fun and a great opportunity to expand your professional network, we invite you to say yes to YES! and feel great about giving your support to Dress for Success.
Hope to see you at a YES! event very soon!

Cheers,
Sarah & Candice

Questions? Comments? Visit: www.yesvancouver.org/contact

This was definitely not your typical networking event, as attendees chatted while flitting in and out of changing rooms in the latest and greatest. There were so many great brands to choose from – Alice and Olivia, Joie, Michael Kors, Paige Denim, and Rebecca Taylor – to name just a few! With vibrant spring colours and floral print pants there was a spring look for everyone. As the sun went down and the evening came to an end, it was great to see so many YES! ladies with smiles on their faces and shopping bags in tow!

Thank you to all those who purchased the delicious cupcakes! Much to the surprise of many, these cupcakes were baked by some of the “sweet” ladies on the YES! Vancouver committee. I don’t know about you, but I am all over seeing these cupcakes at future YES! events.

To wrap up, we’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to our venue sponsor, Wear Else, as well as our generous wine sponsor, Select Wines for representing Poderi dal Nespolino. Thank you as well to all those who brought in gently used clothing and accessories for Dress for Success. Through the support of many, we raised over $700 for Dress for Success!

Stay tuned for details on our upcoming Signature Panel Event!

1. What are some tips on organizing a closet?
Try to choose a theme when you organize. I like to separate clothing by style (i.e. suits, pants, dresses…) or by colour blocking. Always keep your items cleaned and pressed. We all have days when we are literally running out the door, if your clothes are ready to go, so are you. Similarly, in the evenings when you come home, put your clothes away. Organizing is one thing, but keeping things organized requires a little effort.

2. What about accessories, any tips on organizing shoes, handbags, etc…
Keep things clean and polished. Use labelled rubber bins/boxes to store items like shoes and scarves. If you have space, try to make room exclusively for items like handbags. Don’t forget to cull! That purse you bought when you were 16 may have a lot of sentimental value, but it’s taking up space. Take a picture and keep it in a memory book and donate the bag so you can let someone else make new memories. At DFS we are all about creative solutions, whether it is foam tubes to keep our winter boots in tip top shape, or shower rings to keep our scarves organized.

3. Do you have any style tips for our Y.E.S ladies?
Keep it classy. Trends will come and go, but classic cuts and styles will always stay. A classic navy blazer, a pencil skirt and some pearls can go a long way and transcend any season. Personally, I love colour. So if you want to be trendy, choose a trendy colour instead of a trendy cut.

4. Are there any items on the DFS Spring Wish List?
YES! Spring time at DFS means we need DRESSES in sizes 0-8 & 14 & up. Handbags and shoes is where it’s at. We can never have enough of these. Light jackets and fine knits are also popular for going to the office on those cool Vancouver mornings.

Still looking to add to your spring wardrobe? Check out our exclusive “Spring into Style” event at Wear Else West 4th – 20% off regular priced merchandise! We’ll also be taking donations for Dress for Success, so bring your gently used professional clothing and give to a great cause!

Tell us about yourself.

1. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it for?

I’m an Independent Star Stylist, leader and mentor with Stella & Dot and I’ve been in the business for 3 years now.   I divide my work time between doing private Style Sessions for my clients and their friends and also mentoring and training stylists on my team.

2. When you’re not working, where might we find you?

Laughing with my girlfriends, enjoying my family or walking my dog.

3. What are you dying to check off on your bucket list?

Travel.  I travel a fair amount for my business which is great but, I’d love to expand the travel to other continents.  Packing up and living in Spain or the South of France for a couple of months is on the list for sure.

4. Do you have any secret special skills?

If I told you, then they wouldn’t be secret would they?   But, seriously my ‘secret’ special sauce is an ability to help women shine more brightly from the inside out.   It’s something that happens when I’m styling a client and it may begin with something external – like a necklace – but, in the end, it’s so much more than that.  There’s a more sparkly person on the inside as well as on the out.  It’s a joy-inducing kind of thing.

5. Why did you join YES! Vancouver and what has been your favourite YES! event so far?

I joined yes to connect with other like-minded women in Vancouver while supporting a great cause in DFS.   I’ve made some good friends through YES!, have made business connections but above all have had fun.

Oh my favourite event?  It’s hard to choose as there have been so many!  The Signature Events at Legacy Liquor, The Bay and The Loden were fabulous but, high tea at The Urban Merchant and VIP shopping at Fine Finds was fun too.  And, then there’s the Panel events..  Hmm I can’t choose a fave.

We want to get to know you even better… via some Strombo style rapid-fire questions:

1. Heels or Flats?

Wedges.

2. Shiraz or Hefeweizen?

Shiraz

3. Maroon 5 or The Black Keys?

Maroon 5

4. Yoga or Spin?

Yoga

5. Shop online or in store?

Both.  LOL.

Want to learn more about Adina?

Connect with her via Facebook and Twitter:   

As one of the event’s many volunteers, I got to chat with guests while they mingled, enjoying fine wines and hors d’oeuvres, and listened to motivational stories from DFS’ own ‘success story’ clients.

But what fundraising event would be complete without special door prizes, exciting live auction packages and an amazing grand prize for guests? In total, more than 80 prizes were donated from the organization’s generous sponsors and partners, including the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, the Shangri-La Hotel, Houston Landscapes, Hawksworth Restaurant, Calvin Klein, TELUS, and many many more.

After helping guests claim their prizes, my fellow volunteers and I offered each other many warm thanks for showing our collective support for Dress for Success. At the end of the day, what I love about Y.E.S! Vancouver is just that – the genuine camaraderie among volunteers and members all working together to help other women discover their own meaning of success.

For more information about Dress for Success and how you can get involved, please visit dfsvancouver.org.

My name is Jen McParland and I am the Co-Chair of the Events Team on the fabulous Y.E.S! Committee. I’ve been on the team for almost three years now, and I’m honored to be writing our very first blog post.

Last Tuesday, March 19, Y.E.S! Vancouver hosted its first ever Craft Beer event. We have held numerous fashion, wine and career-building themed events over the years, but never beer. This was exciting first for us and we couldn’t have done it without the amazing support of Incendio Pizzeria in Gastown who hosted us for the evening and provided the most scrumptious pizzas (more on that later!).

Our host of the evening was certified Cicerone, Adam Henderson, Founder of Copper and Theory Artisan Beer Supply Co. Adam’s company imports beers from around the world.

You’re probably thinking, “What the heck is a Cicerone?” A Cicerone is essentially the same thing for beer that a sommelier is for wine, so, in other words – Adam is a beer master, wizard, chief, connoisseur… take your pick!

Adam led us through a series of three beer tastings: Upright 7, Ninkasi Brewing and Gigantic Brewing. Much like you would pair wine with cheese, each beer was paired with a specialty pizza. The talented chefs at Incendio carefully considered each ingredient of the pizzas to pair with a specific beer, so our guest could enjoy all the flavor profiles of both the beer and pizza.

How good does this sound: slow cooked pulled pork, caramelized onions, roasted pepper, BBQ sauce and mozzarella cheese. Music to my ears!

Yum times three!

The room got louder and louder as the tastings went on (I wonder why…?) but Adam did a wonderful job educating us on the different beers, and kept everyone laughing with his entertaining stories.

While everyone had a great time tasting delicious beers and pizzas, the other main focus of the evening was of course raising money for Dress for Success Vancouver. We had an amazing raffle that included a jewelry prize-pack, two 5-day passes to Vancouver Fashion Week, a private craft beer tasting for 6 at Legacy Liquor Store, and two free passes to Y.E.S! Vancouver’s Signature event this May.

Overall the evening was a great success raising over $2,000 for Dress for Success. We hope to bring it back on our 2014/2015 calendar of events!

Stay tuned for details on our next event, which will include shopping and champagne! Cheers!

Thanks to the fabulous Sara from SCM photography for the great photos from the event.