Tootsies on Westheimer Road will throw open its doors on Wednesday, August 26, for the annual Summer Soiree, a fashion-and-shopping fundraiser benefiting Dress for Success Houston. VIP ticket holders get in starting at 5:30 p.m., with general admission following at 6:30 p.m., and tickets run between $50 and $100. Fashion Star winner Hunter Bell is set to headline the evening, sharing her take on the season's fall trends.
The event marks 23 years of Women of Wardrobe, the young professionals auxiliary group that has powered Dress for Success Houston's volunteering and fundraising efforts since it was established in 2003, according to Dress for Success Houston. As reported by CultureMap Houston, the soiree is billed as an exclusive night of fashion, food, and shopping, curated this year by event chairs Anna McGrath and Dani Kattan.
A Designer With Houston Roots and a Taylor Swift Moment
Hunter Bell is marking 20 years in the fashion industry in 2026, after winning NBC's Fashion Star in 2013 and relocating her label's headquarters to Houston in 2016, per the designer's own account of her brand's history. Her profile got an unexpected boost in 2024 when Taylor Swift wore one of her designs, a moment that Garden & Gun Magazine notes sent a wave of national attention toward the Houston-based label. Her appearance at this year's soiree gives the event a national fashion figure with genuine local ties.
Previous editions of the party have drawn between 250 and 300 young professionals each year, and the 2025 soiree alone raised more than $18,700 for the nonprofit, according to PaperCity Magazine. The gathering has become something of a seasonal marker in Houston, with local media often treating it as the informal kickoff to the city's autumn social calendar, the outlet notes.
Decades of Support Behind the Runway
Tootsies has hosted the fundraiser since Women of Wardrobe's early years, a partnership that has continued under current owners Norman and Donna Lewis, who took over the boutique following founder Mickey Rosmarin's death, PaperCity Magazine reported in 2018. The luxury retailer has regularly donated gift cards and retail space to support Dress for Success Houston events over that span.
Since launching in 1998, Dress for Success Houston has provided professional attire, career coaching, and development tools to more than 47,000 women, including over 1,700 women veterans, according to the organization. The nonprofit partners with more than 180 local member agencies that refer clients into its programs, extending its reach well beyond the boutique racks at Tootsies.
More Than a Night of Shopping
The charity's work does not stop at outfitting women for job interviews. Dress for Success Houston also runs a Professional Women's Group and financial literacy workshops designed to help women hold onto the jobs they land, according to Bank of Oklahoma. A 2026 report from KHOU documented former clients who have since returned to the organization as volunteer career coaches, a full-circle detail that underscores how the nonprofit's support can extend well past a single suiting appointment.
Attendees looking to stay involved beyond the soiree can join Women of Wardrobe directly. An annual $100 membership funds a full head-to-toe professional suiting for one client and grants members access to more than 10 monthly networking events, per Dress for Success Houston, with membership open to female professionals 21 and older. Kattan and McGrath, this year's co-chairs, also serve on the 2026 Women of Wardrobe leadership board as President-Elect and Public Content Chair, respectively, and the group organizes other fundraisers throughout the year, including an annual Spring Fling.
This year's soiree is backed by the McGrath Family at the Runway Diva sponsorship tier, along with Kashay Mendes and Amy Pierce as True Trendsetter sponsors, according to Dress for Success Houston. Organizers note that private and corporate underwriting like this ensures ticket proceeds go directly toward client career programs rather than covering event costs. As with any outdoor or retail-adjacent gathering, the event schedule is subject to change due to weather or other concerns, and attendees are encouraged to check with the venue or organization to confirm the event is taking place as scheduled.
