Ladies practically will drool over the gleaming Gucci, Ferragamo and Prada purses at a Bonita Springs fundraiser at October's end.
Women will be snatching top-notch clutches and pocketbooks at the seventh annual Handbag Happy Hour to benefit the Island Coast AIDS Network.
The fall fete should delight fashionistas.
A DJ will spin '80s and dance music.
Spotlights will flash across strutting runway models made up and costumed to match their purses.
Wine and liquor will flow freely. And trays of hors d'oeuvres and Norman Love chocolates will appease tasteful tongues.
"Last year was fabulous," development director Jessica Collins says. "It's just a very chic, fashionable event."
The party will feature a mixed bag of offerings.
The event will start with a silent auction of gently used handbags, ranging from $20 to several hundred dollars.
"Some of these bags are donated by wealthy ladies," Collins says. "I have one Prada with the tag still on it, but it's still technically 'gently used.'"
For those who don't have much in their wallets, they can wade through grab-bag tables bearing purses priced at $10 and $20.
Then the live-auction fashion show will feature 10 handbags donated by celebrities and premier purses, some of which will be worth $1,500 and more.
In 2008, Carrie Underwood, Liz Taylor, Kellie Pickler and Meryl Streep donated handbags.
Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard's have donated purses.
"No matter what's in their pocketbooks - duh! - or in their billfolds, they can find a bag they can afford," says Carolyn Moore, AIDS Network executive director, as she laughs at her pun.
About 50 percent of Moore's purses have come from previous Handbag Happy Hour events, she says.
She also donates purses she no longer wants.
"All in the spirit of recycling," Moore says. "Everywhere I travel, I get a handbag. There's nothing better than a really stylish handbag. It's one of my fetishes."
The event's slogan hints at the festive nature of the fundraiser: "The seventh annual Handbag Happy Hour is one happy hour where you'll raise more than your glass."
The AIDS service organization helps more than 500 clients in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and DeSoto counties.
The fundraiser money will go to client programs, including:
- food and vitamin pantry
- client emergency assistance fund
- transportation
- HIV/AIDS classes and training
- HIV prevention services
- case management
- nursing
- chore service
- physical therapy
The AIDS Network has been operating for 23 years.
In 2008, the fundraiser drew about 300 guests who placed bids on more than 250 handbags, raising $62,000 for HIV/AIDS support services provided by the AIDS Network.
The highest-selling handbag at $3,100 was the exclusive "Beach Glass" created by Chico's designer Michael Chase.
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