Three women from three very different backgrounds come together to change the lives of women who are unable to get a job because they don’t have an outfit to wear to an interview. Here they create Suitability designed to get women back into the workforce and gain confidence. However, the women they endeavour to help are the only ones who need a boost of confidence. Anna, Claire and Molly all need to be lifted too.


You can clearly see that Christine has a deep personal connection with the charity Dress For Impress, which
inspired this novel.

The Changing Room focuses on three very different women who are brought together by by their involvement in ‘Suitability’, a program the author models on Dress For Success, a worldwide non profit organisation launched in 1987 whose broadest aim is to empower and support women in need by providing them with professional attire, with whom Christine Sykes herself has been a volunteer for several years.

Conscious of her privilege as a wealthy, successful businesswoman married to a surgeon, Claire is the driving force behind the founding of Suitability.

Anna, in her late 50’s, becomes a volunteer with Suitability when she is abruptly fired from her position as an Executive Assistant and at a loose end.

Molly becomes a client of Suitability when she is in need of appropriate clothing to attend court while trying to regain custody of her four young children.

Exploring a myriad of themes women might confront at various stages of life Including relationship breakdown, unemployment, domestic violence, ill health, new love, and loss, I enjoyed the individual stories of these women. Despite their disparate circumstances and experience, Claire, Anna and Molly develop a friendship and provide support for one another when in need as their participation in Suitability proves to be a catalyst for change, occasionally in unexpected ways.

Generally I thought The Changing Room was well written, however I wasn’t keen on the over-broad speech denoting Molly’s disadvantaged social status. Not that it could be considered inaccurate as such, but it’s awkward to read and could have been toned down without compromising the character.

Still this is a strong debut from a new Australian author, and I thought The Changing Room was an engaging and ultimately uplifting contemporary women’s fiction novel

Well, I must say this book was a lovely refreshing debut novel. The story of three women from three backgrounds whose lives come together because of a single simple enterprise.

Molly has always had a tough life, abandoned by her mother and looked after by her beloved grandmother, she falls in with the wrong crowd and ends up the mother of four children by the time she is 21.
Anna is an efficient and reliable executive assistant to a businessman. She even has a trophy to prove it, until, because of circumstances, she finds herself out of a job.
Claire has always had a somewhat privileged life, married to a doctor and reveled in her role as the hostess with the mostess! She also is a partner in an executive coaching business with her friend Alice.

Over a glass of champagne they come up with the idea of a business that helps women who couldn't get a job or interview because they don't have the right clothes to wear. They decided to get this off the ground and call the business Suitability. This is where the three women come together.

This book was an excellent read. As well as being a page turner it covered subjects such as loneliness, domestic abuse, poverty but most importantly female friendship. An impressive debut novel from another new Australian author.

Anna, Claire and Molly are three women from different generations, different walks of life and in vastly different circumstances. They are brought together and are then bound together by Suitability, a foundation set up to help disadvantaged women by providing clothes. Their lives are in various states of falling apart, and they have to put themselves back together piece by piece. Through their involvement with Suitability they are able to change, become stronger and more resilient. And most importantly they develop a friendship which leaves them stronger than ever and positive about their futures.

I loved the premise of the story, I thought the characters were diverse and well developed too, but overall it wasn’t always a seamless transition between the story, characters and writing. It felt a bit clunky at times. I suspect this is a debut author? I would definitely read more from this author especially if it’s another story in the women’s fiction category.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. What a incredible story based on Dress for success and how it helps ladies realize their potential.

I love the idea of this book. A group of women, each completely different from the others, bonding over one thing they share in common- the desire to help women to empower themselves.
Sykes was a volunteer for Dress for Success, a registered charity that ‘improves the employability of women in need’. If you haven’t heard of them you should check them out. They do amazing work!
The Changing Room is a fictional story based on the idea of DFS.
The main characters are likeable. All strong women but all with imperfections and weaknesses. I enjoyed watching them evolve and grow as their stories were played out.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, the writing style was a bit lacking. I found it quite stilted, especially the dialogue, which distracted me from the main story.
I’d like to thank NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book, that will be published in early November, in exchange for my honest review.