Palm Aire Women's Club struts for scholarships

Beverly Allen and Be-Be Hansen have attended “quite a few” fashion shows together. 

The friends have been members of the Palm-Aire Women’s Club for 25 years. Hansen said she hasn’t had her wide brimmed black hat quite that long, but the former club president wore the statement piece to last year’s fashion show, too. 

On Feb. 23, the club held its annual fashion show and fundraiser. Proceeds benefit local nonprofit organizations, such as Mothers Helping Mothers and Second Chance Last Opportunity. 

The funds also provide scholarships for students attending the State College of Florida and Manatee Technical College. 

Event co-chair Ann King said there’s one more thing people should know about the club — it’s not just for Palm Aire residents. 

“You can live anywhere,” she said. “It’s open to women all over the community. About 35% of our members are from outside of Palm Aire.” 

The club has about 120 members, and 200 people people attended the show. The fashions were provided by Darci Jacob, who owns Darci, a boutique on Main Street in Sarasota. 

Club members and one scholarship recipient modeled the designer clothes and accessories. The models wore huge smiles, too. They waved to friends and stopped for hugs in between strutting and twirling around the room. 

A mini-boutique was set up in the back of the ballroom so guests could shop after lunch. The clothes in the show were also for sale, but the models got first dibs. 

Guests received a 10% discount, and Jacob donated 10% of the day’s sales back to the club. 

“Fashion should be fun, instill confidence and help empower women to feel great,” Jacob said.