Fashionistas hit stores for Shopping Night Out

FAYETTEVILLE — Local and visiting fashionistas carried clothes to the dressing rooms by the armloads Monday night (March 5) as boutiques across town held after-hour specials to celebrate Shopping Night Out 2012, part of NWA Fashion Week.

The deals proved beneficial for at least one boutique.

“Right when it hit 5 p.m., 50 people hit the door — all our swag bags are gone,” said Sydney Trumbo, an employee at Masons at Bellafont.

Dozens of independent stores with a local flavor threw parties, discounted items, raised funds for charities and held raffles for giveaways between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday. The affair out was a one-night-only community event.

At Masons, shoppers snapped up TOMS shoes, brand-name dresses and jeans and got their first look at purses, clutches and scarves by JOYN India, a new line founded by a local gal-done-good, Melody Murray. (See The City Wire’s feature on Murray and JOYN India here.)

Most knew what they wanted before hitting the shopping trail. Mary Kirchner, 17, rushed to the store right after track practice to snatch a red reneec. dress and a free bag filled with goodies, including a clutch and perfume.

Friends gathered to brag about their buys under Masons’ sparkling chandeliers and around tables of brownies and cookies. Checkout lines were longer than usual.
Dana Proctor of Rogers was in Fayetteville on business when she stopped by Masons and ran into friend Candace Dixon.
 
“I was looking for jeans, [and] now I find myself in the middle of Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week,” Proctor said.

“Color is everywhere,” commented general manaher Cathy Campbell. “Compared to years past, it’s about bold, bold, bold color.”

NWA Fashion week is intended for local shops to show off their wares, but it’s also a fundraiser for seven area charities. Ticket sales to this weekend’s runway shows has raised about $29,000 as of March 2, said Tammy York, founder of Rock the Runway for Education, which is part of fashion week and supports the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas.

More than 1,000 general admission tickets and about 400 VIP tickets were sold for all the shows, which are sold out, York said.

Participants in Shopping Night Out and others taking part in NWA Fashion week were invited to an after-party Monday at Legacy Blues.