Friday night Karl and I attended the Butterfly Bash, a gala to raise funds for Fair Chance DC. Proceeds from the event allow Fair Chance to strengthen the sustainability and performance of community-based nonprofits to achieve life-changing results for children and youth living in poverty. Since 2002, Fair Chance has engaged more than 100 nonprofits and reached 80,000 children, youth and families in Washington, DC. This year the event took place at the Washington National Cathedral and they honored Carlos M. Gutierrez, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, for his philanthropic and advocacy work as co-founder of TheDream.US.
The event was gorgeous. They had purple, orange, and pink lights shining on the columns and white lights shaped like butterflies. Tables were covered in shantung cloths in shades of purple and green with red and pink lucite ghost chairs and upholstered sofas and chairs. Several bars were set up and hors d'ourves stations. The DC Children's Orchestra, an organization that benefits from Fair Chance performed and NBC news anchor Eun Yang was the emcee. While there, the organization fundraised over $100,000 to help DC children living in poverty. It was an honor to attend, and we had a great time.
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The event is called a gala, it took place at a majestic setting, the invite said cocktail attire. I know DC, and DC doesn't understand dress codes, especially if the event is after a day at the office. I expected to see ballgowns rubbing elbows with pleated khakis and boat shoes and I was not disappointed. I didn't want to stand out, just wanted to have a lovely evening with my husband so I chose to wear black. I've had this jumpsuit in my closet for over a year (see it on the blog in this post) and love how it's so simple it can dress up and down with ease. I wanted a lot of sparkle to truly make it cocktail attire, so I paired it with two sparkly cuffs I picked up in a clearance bin at Ann Taylor a decade ago (see them on the blog in this post) and a new pair of earrings that were a nice price and a lot of bling. This bag was a splurge, I had it in my closet for a month with the receipt inside. But when I finished my taxes (I got an extension) and found that I didn't owe additional (I sent in a payment when I asked for an extension) but actually got a refund, I decided to keep the bag as a congratulatory gift. A dramatic eye and glossy lips finished the look and I felt perfectly dressed at the event. The evening was a bit chilly so I grabbed this pink faux fur from cabi which was the perfect weight. We used this as a date night (my mom had Emerson for the evening) so we didn't bring a fancy camera, didn't get a lot of shots of the events, just focused on having fun together.
I know dressing for formal events is confusing, overwhelming, and expensive. I will have a follow-up post discussing this topic in more detail.
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