Smart and Sexy Day

Over a working career, women spend an estimated 119 days deciding what to wear to the office. Smart and Sexy Day reframes that statistic: for women entering or re-entering the workforce, the right clothing is not a style question but an employment barrier. The observance pairs career readiness skills with something as fundamental as a properly fitting bra.

The day falls during Women's History Month and operates through ACDN member nonprofits across the country, providing free professional bra fittings from Smart & Sexy lingerie alongside job-seeking workshops, resume coaching, and wardrobe guidance. The premise is specific: women who feel physically comfortable and professionally prepared perform better in interviews and on the job.

The connection between professional clothing and job success is not just intuitive: it has been measured. For decades, workforce development nonprofits observed that women who felt confident in their appearance performed better in interviews and retained jobs at higher rates. That observation fueled the creation of organizations specifically designed to address clothing as a barrier to employment, and eventually gave rise to Smart and Sexy Day.

In 1996, Nancy Lublin, a second-year law student at NYU, used a $5,000 inheritance from her great-grandfather to launch Dress for Success from a church basement in Manhattan. The organization grew into a global network that has served over 1.3 million women with professional attire and career support. Its success demonstrated a clear market for workforce-to-wardrobe programming.

Building a national nonprofit network

Three years later, in 1999, five nonprofit executive directors across the United States formed The Women's Alliance. Their goal was to connect small, independent nonprofits that provided work clothes and interview clothing to women transitioning from welfare to employment. The alliance created a shared infrastructure for training, operational resources, and best practices.

As the economic landscape shifted and unemployment rose, member organizations expanded their services beyond clothing. They began offering resume workshops, mock interviews, professional development seminars, and job placement assistance. In 2014, the organization renamed itself the Alliance of Career Development Nonprofits (ACDN) to reflect a broadened mission that now included men, teens, and military families.

The birth of Smart and Sexy Day

In 2012, ACDN partnered with Ariela Balk, CEO and founder of Smart & Sexy lingerie, to create Smart and Sexy Day. The initiative addressed a gap that most career development programs overlooked: foundation garments. Poorly fitting undergarments cause visible discomfort, constant adjusting, and distraction during interviews and in the workplace.

Each Smart and Sexy Day event, held during Women's History Month in March, provides attendees with professional bra fittings, donated undergarments from Smart & Sexy, and workshops covering job-seeking skills, interview preparation, and how to build a professional wardrobe on a budget. ACDN member organizations host events across the country, combining the practical support of a fitting with the professional development tools their clients need to enter or re-enter the workforce with confidence.