Why love, size and a well-cut suit matter

Good morning members, Dan here. As we reminded you on Monday, it’s now a month since our campaign ended. To recap: we agreed to fulfil five pledges to Sheffield if we got 1,000 new members in a month. Having successfully reached that benchmark, it’s now delivery time.

Of the five pledges, the one closest to my heart was the promise to produce a monthly good news edition. Lots of news inevitably focuses on the bad, but we know that doesn’t paint an accurate picture of all the positive things that happen in the city. The Good News Edition is our attempt to correct that wrong (our first came out last month and was penned by Mollie — head here if you missed it). Now it’s my turn!

Suits you, sir

As I arrive at The Suit Works on Carver Street a man with a lilting Welsh accent is dropping off armfuls of bags and boxes filled with clothes and shoes. “There’s a Ralph Lauren suit in there somewhere,” he says. “It’s really nice but the inside pocket is ripped.” Staff member Sam Cleasby explains they don’t normally accept damaged items, but are prepared to make occasional exceptions for things like, well, designer Ralph Lauren suits. “Don’t worry, I'm a really good seamstress,” she says.

The Suit Works is a charity that helps people with employability. However, rather than CV advice or help with skills, instead they help their clients look the part when they go for interviews. Founded a decade ago, they launched with just 10 suits and only dressed men. Over the last 10 years they have added a service for women, thousands more items of clothes, while around 2,000 clients have come through their doors, including 420 in just the last year. The charity’s mission is to teach sartorial elegance as a soft skill. Or, as chief executive Faye Mellors puts it to me, “use fashion for good”.