Germany-Operation Deploy Your Dress Logo (Germany-Operation Deploy Your Dress)
“Oh hey, I bought us some tickets to a military ball next week,” my spouse casually brought up one day as if he was just commenting that his shirt was blue.
“Wait, what?” I inquired, as I was completely unprepared to be ball-ready within a week. It had been six years, and two PCS moves since the last ball, and I had no idea if that previous dress still fit. Thankfully Operation Deploy Your Dress came to my rescue.
Many dresses hanging on three racks at Germany-Operation Deploy Your Dress (Tamala Malerk (taken at Germany-Operation Deploy Your Dress))
Operation Deploy Your Dress (ODYD) espouses the goal of “Deploying America’s patriotism one dress at a time.”
They provide free formal wear for DOD ID holders across the US and Germany. ODYD isn’t just there for military balls, but also formals, proms, homecomings, etc.; they even have a separate area with wedding dresses.
The organization is a great resource when you didn’t budget a ball gown or formal attire, or if you’ve PCS’ed somewhere that leaves shopping options wanting.
If you are a DOD ID holder, you are entitled to one dress and one accessory for free from ODYD every year.
ODYD-Germany is located at the KLSA Thrift Shop on base in Landstuhl and, fear not, they do pop-ups at bases across Germany if you are not in the KMC area.
The shop manager, Katie Cool, was the best. As soon as I walked in, she greeted me with a smile, asked my dress size and immediately started pulling dresses that she thought would suit me while sending me to another rack I could browse. We quickly found six options for me to try on.
Row of six different colored dresses hanging in a dressing room (Tamala Malerk (taken at Germany-Operation Deploy Your Dress))
Katie warned me that sizing may not be true-to-size because people donate items that have been specially tailored for their bodies. Thanks to special tailoring, or too many carbs over the holiday season, I quickly narrowed it down from six to four. Katie, and fellow shopper, Rebecca, helped me narrow the choices down to a top two.
Writer in two different dresses (Tamala Malerk (Taken at Germany-Operation Deploy Your Dress))
I then enlisted the help of my coworkers and spouse via smartphone photos and chose the winner: The black jumpsuit.
From then, Katie helped me pick out a pair of earrings that paired well with the dress (unfortunately, none of the heels onsite were my size, but I had a pair at home that would work). I was ready for the ball despite having less than a week’s notice.
I was lucky enough to not only get to speak with Katie, but also with fellow shopper Rebecca who was there helping her daughter find a special occasion dress.
To learn more about ODYD Germany and hear some personal experiences shopping there, watch the accompanying video.
Operation Deploy Your Dress-Germany is open four times a month either at their Landstuhl location or at one of their pop-ups. You can follow their Facebook page to find each month’s calendar. If you have donations for ODYD, you can drop them off at the KLSA Thrift Shop during their open hours throughout the month, and just specify that it is for ODYD.
Unfortunately, Katie is leaving in May and there is no one to take her place. If she cannot find people to help out, then ODYD will close for the community. Reach out on their Facebook if you are interested in helping to save this awesome community resource.
