Women of Wardrobe members kiss summer goodbye the trendy, charitable way Dress for Success Houston raises $20,000 at Tootsies during 14th annual "Summer Soiree"

Chairs Bria Wall, from left, Mary Patton and Lauren Granello at "Sizzling Summer Soiree" hosted by Dress for Success Houston's Women of Wardrobe, at Tootsies. (For the Chronicle/Gary Fountain, August 23, 2017) Chairs Bria Wall, from left, Mary Patton and Lauren Granello at "Sizzling Summer Soiree" hosted by Dress for Success Houston's Women of Wardrobe, at Tootsies. (For the Chronicle/Gary Fountain, August 23, 2017) Photo: Gary Fountain, Gary Fountain/For The Chronicle Photo: Gary Fountain, Gary Fountain/For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Women of Wardrobe members kiss summer goodbye the trendy, charitable way 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Since 1998, Dress for Success Houston's modus operandi has been to outfit disadvantaged women in professional attire. Wednesday night, inside a jam-packed "Summer Soiree" at Tootsies, the dress code wasn't exactly professional, though there were plenty of noteworthy outfits.

Women of Wardrobe (DFSH's next generation group) president Lauren Granello, Mary Patton, and Bria Wall welcomed 300 trendy young things to the West Ave. shopping destination. Among them, Hannah McNair – fresh from a Houston Texans practice at NRG Stadium – rocked an envy-inducing take on casual chic in diamonds, cutoffs, and desert booties. Meanwhile, her equally striking twin sister Joanna Hartland Marks paired summery white lace with coral Suzanne Kalan jewels, presumably unearthed at IW Marks.

But it was another designer, Lisa Freede, on hand to meet-and-greet charitable customers; one lucky fan even walked away with a bracelet from her latest jewelry collection. Event partners Parker and Schutz took part in the giveaway game, too, offering up a dress and pair of shoes, respectively.

Still more door prizes were up for grabs courtesy of sponsors including Tootsies, SoulCycle, Suzanne Bruce and Associates, Armandos, Eddie V's, Milk + Honey, Basu, Parry Botanicals, Bayou City Arts Festival, and the Deer Lake Lodge. That's in addition to small bites and libation stations manned by Armandos, Deep Eddy Vodka, Del Frisco's Grille, Eddie V's, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Oxbow7 Restaurant & Bar, Revolve Kitchen Bar, Snap Kitchen, Shri Balaji Bhavan, and Total Wine.

Emcee and KHOU-11 reporter Mia Gradney paused the frenzy to introduce Lauren Levicki Courville, DFSH Vice President.

"The $100 from your membership allows us to dress a woman from head-to-toe," she explained. The non-profit organization also provides clients with developmental tools and a support network. "More the 61 percent of the women we serve are now employed."

Courville encouraged the crowd to put their $25 Tootsies gift cards to good use - a portion of proceeds contributed to the evening's $20,000 raised - before distributing "thank you" orchids. "As the oldest all-female group in Houston with more than 300 members, we haven't wilted – we've risen."