The personal service Epstein is providing rivals the service offered by professional salespersons in stores like Nordstrom. But the clothes clients walk out with are a lot less expensive than the ones in those stores; in fact, they're free, courtesy of the Career Closet and the women who donated them.

In 1991 the nonprofit's founders, Pallas Chiogioji and Charlotte Krumwiede, realized that one of the barriers to getting a job for economically disadvantaged women was not being able to afford a professional-looking outfit, even when the items were available at a consignment or thrift store. And that lack of proper attire became an additional issue when trying to go out on a job interview.

So the women began small—from an actual closet in O'Connor Hospital—and have built an organization that has grown far beyond the doors of one closet.

The nonprofit group moved to its present location in Almaden Valley, 1375 Blossom Hill Road, in 1994 and since that time has helped 1,800 economically disadvantaged women throughout the county.

Through the glass doors of its Blossom Hill location, it looks more like an office than a clothing shop. There are a couple of desks with computers to the left, and to the right is a bland-looking waiting area with a couple of chairs and a side table. Barely distinguishable between the two spaces, a couple of rows of dark-colored clothing can be seen hanging on long racks.

It's designed that way, says Career Closet Executive Director Mary Boughton, because the shop is open only to female clients who are referred by agencies that pre-screen the women. Career Closet doesn't want to look like a retail outlet to the public, because it isn't.

The Career Closet provides clients with an interview outfit and a week's worth of business wear.

The shopping list is essentially the same for every woman who enters the shop: a professional-looking, dark-colored suit for an interview, nothing too flashy or showy, and a week's worth of job-appropriate ensembles, with coordinating shoes, purse and accessories.

Most of the donated clothes are gently worn, but occasionally the Career Closet receives something with a price tag still hanging on it. Much of the clothing parades fancy labels such as Donna Karan or Jones New York.

"We don't give out clothes," Boughton says. "We give out empowerment."

She adds that the time and care the volunteer dressers lavish on the clients has a "magical effect" on them. Since Career Closet's inception, more than 150 volunteers have helped out at the nonprofit.

"Many times [the clients] have never received kindness from an anonymous stranger," Boughton says.

And Epstein says the effects of that time and care are not limited to the clients.

"I don't consider it work," she says. "It's so gratifying for me to see the look on their faces. They've never had someone care for them or help them better themselves."

And these volunteers say that self-esteem isn't hanging on a rack next to a pair of Dana Buchman silk pants, but that it's something the volunteers at Career Closet hope to instill in their clients by way of fussing over them.

As she was adjusting the shoulders of a jacket on one woman and telling her how nice she looked in the outfit, volunteer Joan Berquist says the woman she was assisting began to cry.

"She said nobody had ever complimented her before," Berquist says.

And Boughton says it's the dedicated volunteers' one-on-one interaction with clients and the community's donations that make the program successful. Just 1¹/2 volunteer hours a week ends up helping 50 clients a year, she says.

Epstein became involved in Career Closet seven months ago after she noticed a sign advertising the need for volunteers in the window. Epstein decided to volunteer as a "dresser" in the evening.

"I love clothes and coordinating outfits," she says. "And I get excited about helping people feel good about themselves."

For Willow Glen resident Francesca Cutaia, helping other women select clothes was not her forte, so she offered her accounting knowledge and joined the organization's board as treasurer.

Cutaia says that before she started volunteering her time at the Career Closet, she looked into other nonprofit organizations, but wasn't impressed with the way some of the organizations allocated their funds.

At the Career Closet, "it's beyond being frugal," she says, adding that volunteers even bring in toilet paper to cut down on expenses. "Every dollar really goes back into society."

Volunteers run the website, the store, and the fundraising and are even looking for a sponsor to help pay the rent, Cutaia says.

She also likes seeing the direct impact that the organization has on those it helps.

"When they smile, it's because of something you did," she says.

Mary Dunn is still hanging onto some of the clothes she received from Career Closet in 1998. She was referred there by the Georgia Travis Center—which offers women and children hot meals, counseling, computer training, and much more—during a very difficult time in her life.

"I was homeless and in a divorce situation," Dunn says. "I had nothing."

During this time she also had medical problems, so she was unable to work full time. So while working a flexible job schedule, she was also able to volunteer at the center for five years.

"I've done a lot to give back because so much was given to me," Dunn says.

Eventually, when she regained her health in March 2003, she got a full-time job—right there at the center.

"I'm on my own and have my own apartment now, and I'm self-sufficient," she says.

Her experience at Career Closet—where she received a costume jewelry pin she still treasures because it has five children on it, representing her own five children—was one she says made her feel important.

Maria-Antonieta Cepeda, another past client of the organization, said she entered the shop a bit nervous, but left feeling confident.

"It was not only clothes, it was the empowerment I received that impacted me in a powerful way," says Cepeda, who was hired by CalWORKS, which stands for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids, and now helps in the referral process to Career Closet.

Success stories like Cepeda's and Dunn's often begin at places like the Georgia Travis Center or CalWORKS, and blossom at Career Closet.

"A woman I worked with, her confidence was low, but when she walked out to the parking lot carrying all those clothes, you could see she felt better," says volunteer Shirie Eshel. "She got a job in four days."

Walter Quintero, supervisor of the employment connection of the CalWORKS program, says the donations of clothes go to individuals who appreciate it.

"It will help them get employment, to become self-sufficient," he says. "Women in public assistance, they all want to work. They need a helping hand."

CalWORKS is a welfare program in the state's department of social services, and Quintero says the program he supervises helps women with résumés, interviewing skills and finding jobs.

"We show them how to fish instead of giving them fish," he says.

CalWORKS refers about 75 percent of the 150 monthly clients seen at Career Closet in Santa Clara County.

"Career Closet is a very valuable tool in the community. They have done wonders for our program in helping our clients," Quintero says. "I can't do it without them."

Often the exchange will end with a hug, as it did between CalWORKS-referred Maria Herrera and volunteer dresser Mary Coates. Herrera, a single mom of four, says she hasn't purchased anything special for herself for almost 18 months, because her money is usually needed for her children. At the end of their session, Coates reads to Herrera a list of reminders to help her through her interview and adds: "Wear your hair back and make sure it's tidy and clean. Make sure your clothes are clean, your fingernails are clean and manicured." And with a chuckle she says, "And don't wear any big diamonds."

Boughton says the Career Closet is always looking for donations of "gently worn" women's clothes. She adds that the Career Closet also provides opportunities for clients to shop for clothes that are not career-appropriate. One need, however, that does exist is for clothes in sizes 20 and bigger and 4 and smaller.

Cutaia says she's been so enthusiastic about the organization that three of her co-workers decided to volunteer at a second Career Closet location that was established in San Mateo.

Like Cutaia, Epstein says Career Closet was the right volunteering fit for her also, because she feels she's making a difference.

"I cannot believe some of the women's stories, that they had to leave other states and arrive here literally without clothes," she says.

Although the volunteers may not know the clients' whole stories, they are just lucky to witness the women's transformation, says Epstein.

Career Closet, located in Princeton Plaza Mall at 1375 Blossom Hill Road (between Kooser Road and Meridian Avenue), accepts donations Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information or to volunteer, call 408.448.3215 or visit www.careercloset.org.