On Thursday, Sept. 28, Dress for Success will hold its fifth annual Attire to Inspire Fashion Show Fundraiser at the Avalon
Attire to Inspire Annual Fashion Show in Fargo.
Events Center located at 2525 9th Ave. S. in Fargo from 6-9 p.m. Proceeds from the show benefit Dress for Success Red River Valley in providing confidence, professional clothing and career development services to support women seeking to obtain and retain employment and economic independence.
Tickets are $50 for general admission and $100 for VIP. The show is set to give attendees the red carpet experience. There will also be a silent auction and wine tasting, as well as special client stories of success. Of course, all of this will be capped with the aforementioned fashion show. Appetizers and desserts will be served as well.
I was able to get in contact with Amanda Even, program director at Dress for Success, who shared with me how the Attire to Inspire Fashion Show has progressed and some future goals for the organization.
“The show has grown immensely in the past five years,” Even said. “We’ve actually had to change venues because we’ve outgrown spaces with the number of attendees. The first year we had about 100 at the event — in 2016 we had over 400. The number of looks and models has also increased over the years. Last year, we added a photo booth, Pix Squad, which prints souvenir photos for guests. We’ve also been able to create a fun red carpet experience with photos and a backdrop. Our production company, Livewire, has been an amazing addition the past few years in enhancing the red carpet experience and by providing stage lighting and setting the ambiance for the show. This year they even helped us produce a video for the event to connect our audience with some of the women we’ve served.”
Even continued, “This year’s show promises to be the best one yet! Our goal is to connect the show more to our mission as an organization. Dress for Success provides professional attire, confidence and career tools to help women gain economic independence. This is achieved through suiting appointments for interview clothing, Career Center consultations and workshops, employment suiting appointments that provide a working wardrobe and post-employment retention support through our Mentoring Program. This year we will have past clients modeling in the show, women sharing their testimonials and a special display of past client stories. We want to showcase the variety of services Dress for Success provides. We will also have clothing from our boutique in the show to display the wide array of styles and sizes we have within our boutique. The goal of the event is to serve 500 women in 2018. It costs about $100 to sponsor one woman for a year through our services.”
Dress for Success is an international non-profit organization that was founded in 1998. The organization has now grown to 150 offices in
Previous years of annual Fashion Show lead to a bigger crowd this year.
27 countries. The organization has served over 1 million women across the globe are they are constantly expanding their organization of affiliates.
The Red River Valley location is one of the affiliates that work together with referral agencies, volunteers and companies all across the globe in changing women’s lives.
The organization firmly advocates for gender equality and that achieving it is essential to becoming a more sustainable and just world for all. They believe it all starts by acknowledging the important role that women play in our economy.
The Red River Valley Dress for Success is always looking for volunteers, and if you are interested in getting involved, you can contact them at redrivervalley@dressforsuccess.org or visit their website redrivervalley.dressforsuccess.org for more information.