Houston Young Professionals WOW in a Tootsies Takeover — Powering Dress For Success’ Vital Programs

Empowering Women, Swag Bags to Swoon Over and a Fall Fashion Preview

BY Shelby Hodge // 08.30.21

photography Daniel Ortiz

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Allison Cattan, Norman Lewis, Donna Lewis, Emily Lewis at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Dress for Success president Lauren Levicki Courville, Summer Soirée chair Sarika Patel at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Blanca Jolly, Dr. Emma Lopez, Daisy Mendoza at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Catherine Murray, Anne Kalenits, Meredith Shields, Zan Winter at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Claire Hodges of Switch2Pure at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Joy Ku, Amy Becket, Jacquie Baly, Star Hand at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Karishma Asrani at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Kathryn Knoblauch, Winnie Hung, Natalie Dang, Gini Dube at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Liz McDonald, Emily Robinson, Karishma Asrani, Dipali Ely at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Miya Shay, Jacquie Baly at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

William Finnorn, Hannah Swiggard at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Paige Branam, Shelton Elwood at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Paulina Padilla, Marissa Wergin at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Radhika Inamdar, Crystal Wright, Cristina Subratie, Monica McNeill at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Richie Taubert, Franklin Parra of Polar Bear Vodka at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Allison Cattan, Norman Lewis, Donna Lewis, Emily Lewis at the Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée at Tootsies. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)

What: Dress for Success‘ young professional group Women of Wardrobe’s 18th annual Summer Soirée

Where: Tootsies

PC Moment: Always one of late summer’s most popular events, the WOW cocktail party saw a turnout of close to 200 mostly women committed to the evening of fashion, food and philanthropy. They were energized for shopping fall looks and inspired by the Instagram reel messages from featured designers Tanya Taylor and Mignonne Gavigan.

Keeping the turnout at 40 percent of potential participation in light of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the party was not lacking in enthusiasm and in fact raised more than $13,300 for Dress for Success programs that work to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools.

“Tootsies is an invaluable partner to Women of Wardrobe and Dress for Success Houston,” DFSH president Lauren Levicki Courville says. “This event is popular year after year while bringing the best of Houston together for our cause. We appreciate Norman (Lewis) and the Lewis family’s continued impact on the women we serve.”

Food and drink flowed thanks to a bounty of stations from Armandos, Austin Eastciders, Chloe Wine Collection, EggHaus Gourmet, Gulf Coast Distillers, La Table Houston, Local Foods + Market, Luck Springs, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Polar Bear Vodka, Postino, Space Cowboy, and Tiny’s Milk & Cookies.

Swag bags were over the top on this evening with gifts from ALTO, Bayou City Art Festival, Black Swan Yoga, Cheers Health, The Chocolate Bar, Liquid IV, Live by Being, MadHippie, MixHers, Pixi Beauty, Pastries by Paige, SheSpace, Switch2Pure, Tanya Taylor, Teleties, Topo Chico and Whisps.

PC Seen: Women of Wardrobe Summer Soirée chair Sarika Patel, Tootsies president Norman Lewis with wife Donna and daughter Allison Cattan and daughter-in-law Emily Lewis, Miya Shay Katherine Ross, Daisy Mendoza, Paulina Padilla, Bethany Buchanan, Katy Ellis, Lauren Abel, Hannah Swiggard, Vidhya Rama, Claire Hodges, Karina Barbieri, and Dress For Success Houston Advisory Council members Paige Branam and Crystal Wright.