Wichita Falls turned chic Thursday evening when United Way and the owner of Tangles Salon rolled out a red carpet and put on the city’s first Fashion’s Night Out to raise money for women and children of the community.

Fashion’s Night Out is an international event that occurs annually on Sept. 6. Every city takes their own spin on it and raises money for different causes.

Robin Cook, owner and master stylist at Tangles Salon, decided that it was time for Wichita Falls to join in. She met with Shirley Craft, who became a consultant on the project and part of the Steering Committee.

Early into their planning, women from United Way contacted them, asking to join forces and blend Fashion’s Night Out and Power of the Purse into one evening. Power of the Purse is an event that has taken place over the past 7 years, in which United Way hosts a silent purse auction to raise money for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

“Imagination Library funds books for children in this community of elementary school age,” Craft said. “When they apply for that, they get a book a month in their mailbox, so they can start reading early.”

The Steering Committee, which included Regan Benabides, Robin Cook, Shirley Craft, Kristi Faulkner, Maurine Grant, Jackie Hoegger, Becky Lindemann, Dottie Murphy Morrison, Jana Ono, Diana Phillips, Betty Rea, Jackie Riley, and Leah Thomas, decided to stick on the same path and help women with education. Faith Refuge for Women is a local shelter for women and their children in the community who have found themselves homeless.

According to the FNO – POP program, “these women from the streets are caught in a downward spiral of desperation and hopelessness that overwhelms them and robs them of everything of value.”

Faith Refuge for Women has a year-long recovery program called New Beginnings.

“It is very unique,” Vicky Payne, Director of Marketing and Development for Faith Mission, Faith Refuge for Women, and Faith Mission Thrift Shop, said. “If you ever try to find a place that will take you with a drug addiction, it’s very hard to find one without a waiting list and won’t cost much.”

Faith Refuge for Women has a scholarship fund in place for these women.

“When they come out of the program at Faith Refuge, they have some education money available to them that they can use to learn a trade or go back to school or do something to help them to learn and have the skills to be sustainable,” Craft said. “A lot of these women, when they come into the shelter, have not worked in a long time. Some of them haven’t completed their education, so we want to help them do that.”

Brendan Cannon, a celebrity stylist from New York who came down to style the fashion show, spent an entire day visiting Faith Refuge for Women and United Way. He wanted to understand the non-profits and get to know them.

“I went down to Faith Refuge and it broke my heart,” Cannon said at the event. “The people down there are doing amazing things. Then there is United Way. It is really special because they help with families that are dealing with drug addiction and people who cannot do things on their own.”

Once the focus had been decided, the committees had a very short time period to put everything together – 90 days! They quickly searched for interest in sponsors and donators.

Carlin Development Co. allowed usage of the old Dunlap’s building, and Two Clever Chicks were the event production team that did the room.

“It was an amazing production, because there was not one thing in that building,” Craft said.

The location steered the idea to get community involvement from surrounding Parker Square businesses including: Tangles Salon, The Shoe Closet, Annie Jewel and Charlie’s Kids, Harvest Boutique, Holder’s Jewelry, First United Bank, Fidelity Bank, Wells Fargo, Jason’s Deli, Pasqual, Ganache Cupcake Lounge, and Edible Arrangements.

“Most of them were sponsors with food, drink, or donations,” Craft said. “Shoe Closet and Tangles were also in the live auction with big packages that they put together with items at each of their stores. Jason’s Deli was a food contributor and Ganache Cupcake Lounge and Edible Arrangements donated the desserts for the event.”

The amount of money raised through ticket sales, donations, the silent purse auction and the live auction will not be finalized until later this week.

The clothes in the style show were mostly from stores in Parker Square, and then there were a few things that Cannon brought from designers in New York. Most of the models were local, but there were a few professional ones who were hired for the event.

The fashionable night on the Square came together in a swift motion to create a glamorous, inspirational evening in Wichita Falls.

“This amazing group of women were honored to come together to work in a unique way of joining these two events on one amazing night to benefit education for children and women in our community,” Craft said. “The community just loved going to the event and being part of that…and of course seeing an amazing fashion show on a caliber that you don’t see often in Wichita Falls, with all the New York influence in it.”