S: Is for Socializing for a Cause!

Housing Works hotly anticipated fifth-annual Fashion for Action fall fundraiser is aptly titled “Fashion Saved My Life.”Chaired by Marc Jacobs and sponsored by HBO and Essence, Fashion for Action is a four-day charitable fashion event, silent auction and sample sale that raises funds for homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. Kicking off at 6pm on Nov. 13 with a VIP an opening-night, that starts with a light dinner from The Works Catering, private concierge cocktail service and an hour of preview sample-sale shopping. (One of this year’s coolest silent auction items? A weekend at the equestrian estate of Carson Kressley ). The Rubin Museum (150 17th Street) is hosting this extravaganza and it benefits Housing Works’ Women’s Health Center. The Fashion for Action sample sale continues on Nov. 14, 15 and 16 at Housing Works Thrift Shop on 17th Street. Hundreds of top designers and major labels have donated $2 million worth of merchandise to be sold at an incredible 50 to 70 percent off retail.


To promote the theme of this year, Housing Works asked award-winning fashion photographer Lane Coder to photograph Housing Works client Marvina Tatum at the Soho Grand Hotel wearing a dress donated by Marc Jacobs. Formerly homeless, Tatum now lives at a Housing Works residential facility and works as a clothing sorter at Housing Works’ donations warehouse. “I owe my life to Housing Works. Housing Works showed me how to live with HIV. And I mean live!” Tatum said.

Participating designers in this year’s Fashion for Action include 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Charlotte Ronson, DSquared2, Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Etro, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Gustto, Hermès, Helmut Lang, Hugo Boss, Issey Miyake, Jill Stuart, Libertine, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Nanette Lepore, Narciso Rodriguez, Prada, Rogan, Steven Alan, Theory, Tom Ford, Valentino, Vera Wang, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent and many more.
Fashion for Action Three-Day Sample Sale Details
Date: Nov. 14 to 16, 2008
Time: Friday, Nov. 14 from 10 am to 7 pm; Saturday Nov. 15 from 10 am to 7 pm; and Sunday, November 16 from noon to 6pm.
Place: Housing Works Thrift Shop, 143 West 17th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
Price: Sale is free and open to the public.
Website: www.fashionforaction.com
ABOUT HOUSING WORKS: Housing Works is the nation’s largest grassroots AIDS service organization. Since 1990, Housing Works has provided life-saving housing, food, medical, HIV prevention and job training services to more than 20,000 homeless New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. Our chain of seven Housing Works Thrift Shops and the Housing Works Bookstore Café provide funding to support this work. For more visit www.housingworks.org.