Fashion Fusion Benefits Women’s Organizations in DC

The great thing about living in Washington DC is getting the chance to see the developing scene of fashion events that benefit charities and worthy organizations in the area. I work in communications at a non profit organization, and I recently became aware of a great event called Fashion Fusion, which is raising money for the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, which gives grants to my organization.

They set up a media piece on the local news, and filmed the piece at my office after interviewing one of our youth participants. It was exciting to watch the piece detail the successes of my organization (and one of our fantastic youth), the successes of Afua Sam (post to follow!) an amazing fashion designer from Ghana, and to watch Afua’s designs come to life on the models. The media piece will be on the news tonight (DC-area ladies, tune in to Channel 9 at 5:40pm!).

Fashion Fusion’s mission is Inspired Giving, Inspired Style and they will be hosting a fashion show (featuring Afua Sam’s designs, as well as others), a sample sale, cocktails, and a silent auction to take place this Saturday, June 28th. The proceeds benefit the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, which in turn supports many organizations doing great work in DC. This combination lines up with ClassyFabulous’s mission of creating sisterhood through fashion – a fabulous, fashionable event for a great cause!

Visit Fashion Fusion’s website to buy tickets for this Saturday’s event.

To see a list of the organizations that the WAWF supports, click here. [pdf]

Related: [WAWF Blog] How You Can Fuse Fashion with Compassion

Charity Auction: rethink breast cancer

Breast cancer afflicts so many women, and organizations like rethink breast cancer are doing hugely important work. In addition to working to educate, fundraise, and support research efforts, rethink is using fashion and beauty to connect women with the cause. As you know, ClassyFabulous absolutely loves organizations like rethink–bringing women together around such an important issue is the epitome of fabulous! Moreover, rethink is attacking the breast cancer issue in an innovative, energized, and positive way–we love it.

So how can you contribute to this fabulosity? Well, here’s a list of ways. For now, you can snag some exciting items at their online auction, which is going on through June 29 (as if you need more motivation to grab some Swarovski)!

We fully encourage you to splurge to help out this critical cause. If it’s not in the cards right now, not to worry–rethink has more fantastic plans for the fall. They’re working with the CFDA to launch a Fashion Targets Breast Cancer line when the weather cools down. We can’t wait!

Sale Alert! Cache

Like Cache? You’re in luck. In addition to the 50% off their Sale Rack items, now through June 29 you get an EXTRA 30% off in stores and online. It’s Friday! You should treat yourself…

This dress is only $41.30, for example:

and jewelry is on sale too…like these gold double-hoops (a steal at under $15)!

You could even get BOTH and wear them together!

We’re Feeling Lucky

Which might explain why we have been entering so many bag giveaway contests this week. That, or maybe we just can’t resist!

The Daily Obsession is giving away one Luxembourg Satchel by Andrea Brueckner. Head over to their entry page to check out the details. What do you have to lose?

Hide Your Credit Cards!

If you’re in the DC area, try to avoid Alexandria this weekend, unless you want to put a hole in your wallet for an investment (really, investment) in Diane Von Furstenberg’s summer collection.

This weekend, Alexandria-based Hysteria is hosting a Diane von Furstenberg trunk show. The show will feature her fabulous summer collection, made up of bright colors and bold prints, which makes us think of sand between our toes and chic garden parties.

The trunk show will be Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday noon – 5 p.m.

Hysteria, 125 S. Fairfax St., Alexandria. 703-548-1615

Related: [Washington Post] What’s In Store

Sale Alert! Free Shipping on Benefit Powders

If you’re as much of a Benefit fan as I am, you might want to take advantage of their free shipping offer. If you order any powder from their website, your order will get free shipping.

Benefit offers several powder shades in blushes and bronzers. While I mainly stick to Cargo Bronzing powder, I’ve had a chance to try Benefit’s Hoola powder before and I liked it. It went on easily with a contouring brush and smelled nice.

To get free shipping, enter promotional code BOXPOWDR at checkout.

Related: [Beauty Parler] Faking it…my favourite bronzers

Tonight in DC: Drinks and Discounts in U Street Boutiques

Special discounts, cocktails, snacks, and socializing can be on your agenda for tonight rather than a typical Happy Hour after work. From 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., MidCityLive! hosts Third Thursdays on U Street. Enjoy special discounts in countless boutiques. Third Thursdays is a great activity with girlfriends that only rolls around once a month! Some of my favorite stores include Circle for carrying the Iron Army denim line, and Pop, which always has cute dresses and unique styles.

Related: [ClassyFabulous] Dekka Takes on DC’s Fashion Scene
[Washingtonian After Hours Blog] The Lookout: Third Thursdays for U Street Shopping

Sale Alert! Ann Taylor and Talbots Summer Sales

If you’re hoping to add to your professional wardrobe, hit up Ann Taylor and Talbots stores in your area. Ann Taylor is taking huge discounts from merchandise, is running a Suit Sale, and has $6 shipping on any online order! We love this 4-Button jacket, which would look fantastic with a pencil skirt or slim slacks. Lookin’ sharp!

Talbots has mark-downs of up to 50% off. Our bargain pick? This white belted skirt, at $54.99 from $110. We love it with easy brown flats, as shown, and gold accessories.

Enjoy the summer sales!

Clean Closets Can Make You Feel Prettier

There’s just something about a clean, organized closet that makes me feel radiant. Going through my hangers and shelves and parting with unused, or overused (!!), pieces refreshes me. With summer officially starting in just a few days, a closet overhaul can help transition into the shorts and dresses season.

Capitol Hill Barbie wrote a cheeky but truthful step-by-step guide to getting organized. She suggests donating your slightly used items and offering others to a nearby consignment shop.

We love the charity Dress for Success, which is a global organization that accepts donations of professional women’s attire. Their mission says that they “…promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.”

Once Upon a Prom is a Washington, DC based charity, where “every girl is a princess.” The charity collects dresses and distributes them to high school girls in the metropolitan DC area so that they can feel like a princess on their prom night. Even though prime Prom season has passed, if you are in the DC area, consider donating dresses that you have grown out of. Consider yourself warned: once you have donated, you may feel the need to replace the old with new. In this case, refer to the ClassyFabulous posts discussing dresses and several of our awesome Sale Alerts! to garner inspiration.

Finally, don’t forget your local Salvation Army or Goodwill. Be sure to wash all clothes and strip them of excess lint or pet hair before donating. Check for stains, seams gone awry, loose or missing buttons, frayed material, and holes. If anything is fixable, such as re-sewing a button in, then go ahead and take care of it before you send it over. If there are problems, then you should set the clothes aside and refrain from donating them. Instead, search the web for ways to reuse the material, or recycle it if possible.

Cleaning out my closet always gives me the chance to do a basic inventory and I always rediscover pieces I’ve forgotten about. Consider it a win-win situation when you make room for your new purchases and give your stylish threads to someone who will use them more than you have.

For more information on Dress for Success, visit www.dressforsuccess.org

For more information on Once Upon a Prom, visit http://onceuponaprom.org

Related: [Capitol Hill Barbie] The Closet Chronicles

[CosmoGirl Fashion] Turn Your Closet into a DIY Dream

Want to win a Miu Miu or Fendi bag?

Okay, okay, so we’re full of silly questions lately. Of course you want to win a Miu Miu or Fendi bag (take your pick!) this summer. So do I, which is why I was excited to see that The Bag Snob is offering up a giveaway, sponsored by Net-a-Porter.com – fabulous!

The only dilemma is choosing! Miu Miu’s bag would be chic year round, but I am absolutely pining for a white bag for the summer. What will you pick? To enter, head on over to The Bag Snob and check out the entry page.

Fendi Doctor style tote, pictured above, available at Net-a-porter.com