Hitting the runway at “Fashionably Westport” are, from left: Lauren Bromberg, Matthew Callahan in J. Crew, and RTM member Candace Banks in an ensemble from Mitchell’s. / Photos by Gary Webster
Stepping out in style, from left, are: Jake Nolan in tennis wear from Rhone, Staples High School student Isabelle Rivel in a sheath from Cove Collective, and broadcaster Dave Briggs, the event emcee.
The Staples High School Jazz Band entertained the Fashionably Westport gathering before the runway show began. At right, Helen McAlinden, president and CEO of Homes With Home, the nonprofit beneficiary of the event, thanks the crowd.

By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Sold out two weeks ago, Westport’s most fashionable event drew a crowd of several hundred Thursday to the Westport Library’s Trefz Forum, where over 100 models strutted down the runway, showcasing finery from more than 30 local retailers. 

By all accounts, the fourth annual “Fashionably Westport” event was a stylish success.

The show, a fundraiser for Homes With Hope, the local nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness in Fairfield County, this year attracted a bigger audience and more participating merchants than ever before, said Maxxwell Crowley, president of the Westport Downton Association, the event sponsor.

The night’s chic models included, from left: Monique Hodges with hat and handbag from Brochu Walker, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, and Selectwoman Andrea Moore in a Brochu Walker outfit.
Fashion-forward looks were modeled by, from left: Alexander Radman in J. Crew, Gina Carloto, Miss Connecticut, in an outfit from Mitchell’s, and Scott Bennewitz in a suit from Express Edit.

Several merchants also set up displays around the forum, a silent auction was held online and waiters circulated with food and drinks as the Staples High School Jazz Band entertained the crowd.

Helen McAlinden, president of Homes With Hope, thanked the audience for their patronage, as well as the sponsors and participants in the show. 

Dave Briggs, a former TV anchor, emceed the fast-paced show as models hit the runway.

The models included CBS weatherman Lonnie Quinn, Miss Connecticut Gina Carloto, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, Selectwoman Andrea Moore, several Staples High School students, Representative Town Meeting members and Westport firefighters.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.

Francesca Page, left photo, modeled a pin-striped suit from Express Edit, while TV weatherman Lonnie Quinn took a swing at modeling golf clothes from Rhone.
Maxxwell Crowley, president of the Westport Downtown Association, thanked the merchants, models and attendees for their support of the fourth annual event.

Add as a preferred source on Google