The Well-Heeled Find a Surprisingly Good Fit at Goodwill

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Secondhand Chic

A Goodwill silent auction and fashion show draws a warm reception from a high society gathering at the French Embassy.

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Meloy twirled on stage, and the glitter threading on her fuchsia evening gown sparkled.

"You, too, can buy this for $28," she said.

Then the rest of the fashions arrived on leggy runway models, and dignity and decorum went right out the French doors.

"That's Goodwill?!" one woman gasped as a model wearing an impeccably tailored French wool suit peacocked down the runway.

The chocolate-colored, satin sheath gown!

That velvet, midnight-blue suit!

The mink, oh, that MINK!

Eschewing any facade of fashion ennui, members of the crowd cheered and whistled and clapped for the clothes they loved.

About 70 outfits, pulled from local Goodwill stores by Alexandria designer Tu-Anh Nguyen, were shown on the runway. Then they were returned to racks and wheeled out of the dressing rooms.

Giddy on bubbly, the women in crisp Tahari suits and Stuart Weitzman slingbacks turned the lobby of the French Embassy into something resembling a Middle Eastern souk.

"The blue plaid coat. Where's the BLUE PLAID COAT I saw on the runway?!" said Kim Jones, a sales executive at the Westin in Alexandria, as she pawed the racks frantically.

"Look at this purse! It's $9.99!" said Henrietta Smith, who owns a human resources consulting firm and couldn't quite believe she was shopping at Goodwill.