After a two-year hiatus, the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary Dallas Fashion Show And Luncheon‘s Chic Boutique should have been brimming with a double dose of fashions at the Meyerson on Tuesday, May 3. But to reduce the thousands of clothes that had been received during 2021 Fashion Show Chair Kim Hext‘s year (that suffered from pandemic cancellation) and then for 2022 Fashion Show Chair Nikki Webb, it was decided to hold a two-day mega “First Call” shopping experience in the days before for underwriters and those who paid for the private sale experience.
Even so, there were hangers boasting Lela Rose dresses and a lineup of racks labeled “Couture” on the upper level of the Meyerson. At one table were a dozen Manolo Blahniks, Oscars and other designer shoes. A few feet away were a couple of tables and racks of not-name-dropping footwear cooling their heels, just waiting to be snatched up.
The man of the hour was fashion curator Ken Weber, who had accepted the Solomon assignment of deciding which donated clothes would make it to the final found. Like a world-class matchmaker, he assisted guests in finding the right outfits to take home.
Downstairs in the main lobby, the greetings were underway. For longtime SAWA volunteer/2020 Margot Perot Service Awardee Carol Seay, it was a memory maker as she posed for photos with friends like Melissa Sherrill, Mary Appleton and Carol’s daughter-in-law Stephanie Seay and her mother Deborah Wynne, SAWA Chair Elizabeth Gambrell, 2022 Margot Perot Service Awardee Kim Hext, Salvation Army Board of Directors Executive Committee Chair Shelle Sills, Laura Downing, Angie Kadesky, Jan Pickens, Venise Stuart, Kelly Perkins, SuSu Meyer and Runway Sponsor Highland Park Village posse (Victoria Snee, Reed Robertson, Sarah Branch, Emmy Berg, Isabel Miller and Jessica Smotherman).
Called to the concert hall by the Meyerson chimes, the guests were welcomed to the program by emcee Jane McGarry and Nikki, who recognized Honorary Chair Ellen McStay and introduced Salvation Army North Texas Area Commander Major Bethany Hawks.
For some it would be their first and last chance to see Bethany, who along with her husband Major Todd Hawks was already preparing to head for another assignment.
It was during the welcome that Bethany introduced a video of the Salvation Army’s future plans for the North Texas area. For newcomers, the video showcased a remarkable and innovative campus where healing and hope could take place complete with beautiful graphics including a chapel.
For others it was an official “tease” of things to come without details like location, timeline, capital campaign goals, etc. Bethany reported more would be revealed in the future.
To emphasize the importance of the work that the Salvation Army placed on helping those battling homelessness, poverty and addiction, Bethany introduced another video of Tammy Finney, who provided a testimonial on how the Salvation Army had been the turning point in her life.
Following the presentation of the awards by Elizabeth and Nikki and Highland Park Village’s Victoria Snee and Reed Robertson revealing the fall’s top trends, the fashion show of the top-drawer ensembles got underway with models of all ages, shapes and sizes in fashions that had been donated, updated and available for the highest bids.
As the last model disappeared from the stage, guests adjourned to the lobby for a luncheon and to get their bids in on the items that had just been previewed on the runway.