Women Gather for Successful Fall Fashion Fundraiser to Support MOMentum

Glitz, glamour and guilty pleasures ruled the evening at the “Night of Fall Fashion with Pia…Me” event at the Bravern Boutiques in Bellevue.

Guests entered to champagne and gourmet mini cupcakes, while DJ Million played funky dance tunes and fashionistas from all walks of life anticipated the style presentation by fashion expert and author Pia Jacobsen, and indulged in a tour of all the luxurious items up for bid in the silent auction. A light supper of finger food from nearby Asian-fusion restaurant Wild Ginger followed, featuring spring rolls, egg rolls and rosettes of sesame beef.

Nearby, Paige Green Dunn and Kelly Singer videotaped moms talking about the reason for the revelry, MOMentum, a non-profit company founded by Dunn and Singer to install fitness equipment on playgrounds in parks around Puget Sound so that mothers can exercise while watching their children play. “Now that my sister is pregnant, MOMentum is even more important to her,” said Jesse Fleming, Kelly Singer’s sister. “When the baby comes, she will be pressed for time, just like other moms. But she loves to give back to the community, so she’s helping other mothers get fit and healthy with this non-profit.”

( about MOMentum's efforts at Auburn's Les Grove Park.)

“We wanted to be here to support Paige,” adds Ginger Passarelli (of Mama Passarelli's) and her daughter Judi Storman. “Plus, Judi has three small children, and goes to parks all the time, so she’d love to be able to exercise with her kids. Momentum is just an awesome idea…and we non profit gals have to stick together,” said Passarelli, who is known for founding the Soup Ladies, a women’s group that cooks for relief workers and displaced people at natural disaster sites all over the US.

Theresa Morelli and Michelle Browne had less altruistic motives for coming to the event. “We’re here for fashion advice from Pia, we need it desperately,” said Morelli. “We work together in Seattle, and we decided that we need to make our look more current and trendy,” added Browne.

Kelly and Dunn took the stage to explain the urgent need for MOMentums fitness equipment. “Moms are the key to solving the obesity epidemic in Washington state, but so many moms can’t even afford a YWCA membership,” said Dunn. “Kelly and I decided that instead of waiting for the government to fix this, we’d fix it ourselves; we realized that we have an opportunity to gather the funds and help women in our community get fit and healthy.” Singer went on to note that the pieces of exercise equipment installed in Les Gove Park in Auburn cost from $1,000 to $5,000 each, with a total of 10 pieces running $25,000 installed. “We want to bring 10 more exercise stations to parks in the area, but we need your help (to fund them.)”

Glamorous fashion expert and author of the book, “Pia…me,” was introduced to thunderous applause, as she noted that the crowd of women looked “gorgeous and fashionable” and not at all as if they needed her style advice. “I believe fashion should be the icing on the cake,” said Jacobsen. “It’s important to have good grooming, a healthy diet and regular exercise to take care of yourself, and to understand your body type so you can dress well with your own signature style.”

Jacobsen talked about body types, from the hourglass figure of celebrities like Kim Kardashian to pear-shaped women who carry their weight below the waist and apple-shaped women who carry it around their trunk.  Some of the style definitions, such as classic, punk/gothic, minimalist, eclectic, bohemian/hippy chic, glamour girl and girly were illustrated by photos of the latest outfits for fall by top clothing designers.  “If you’re going to spend a lot of money on a piece of clothing, make it a classic, because you can always build on one classic outfit to make your wardrobe,” advised Jacobsen. “Capes and ponchos are a big look for this season, as are chunky knits, plaids, dots and python-prints. Jewel tones and ladylike lace are a must for the holidays, and soft big-bow blouses are back as well.”

Ten svelte, long-limbed models immediately followed Jacobsen’s talk by “walking the goddess walk” down the aisles in haute couture from Neiman Marcus, Karen Millen and Opal with shoes provided by Report and hair and makeup by Caruh Salon and Spa.  Over 120 women oogled dresses, jackets and separates.

“This was a unique opportunity for Kelly and I to share with other women what MOMentum is all about,” said Dunn. “We met our fundraising goal for October and now all we need are people to sponsor a piece of equipment, though we haven’t picked a playground yet for the next installment. It has been a joy for us to see our idea fall into place in the Auburn community, and watch women use the equipment to get healthy.” “I’ve used that equipment,” adds Michele Hinz of Auburn. “And I really appreciate what Paige and Kelly have done in our community. It makes a big difference.”