Positive energy, punch and cake were just a few of the successful elements present at the Style for Success Fashion Show produced by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS).

The event kicked off Easter weekend on April 3, 2015, in the Richard S. Liu Auditorium business building. The fashion show was a two-part structure that aimed to demonstrate the do’s and don’ts of business fashion.

As host Maureen Akpaka said during the fashion show event, “Conservative is always better.” Models graced the stage with outfits that showed the student audience what is both appropriate and inappropriate for casual, business casual, business professional, semi-formal and formal wear.

While the event was a team effort put together by the fashion show’s committee board, Chapter President Alexandra Flores and Vice President Destinee Williams supervised the management of the NSCS event. Flores attributes the inspiration of the project to her vice president.

“Destinee came up with this idea as we were brainstorming through the year,” Flores said. “We’ve never done anything of this magnitude before, but we wanted to go through with it and see what we could do together as an organization and get our name more known around campus.”

Upon being asked why she thinks it was necessary to put on a fashion show for UTSA students, Flores expressed that she’s been to events with a dress code, and admitted “I have to go on Google just to make sure that my business professional is not business casual.”

“I feel that a lot of students have this misconception of what these titles are,” Flores said, “and that’s why we wanted to put it on in a fun way and still teach people that information. It’s very valuable in the career world.”

While both President Flores and Vice President Williams served as co-directors of the fashion show, each held different responsibilities in the organization of the event. Flores describes her responsibilities as the “more legalistic” duties, such as securing the sound, the room and the background events. Meanwhile, Williams took on the responsibilities of finding the models, holding auditions and hosting their rehearsals.

When asked how she enjoyed the whole experience with this event, Williams replied, “I just really want to help people. I feel there are different avenues to helping people, and this is my avenue. I would love to continue doing this for the rest of my life.”

In addition to putting the show together, NSCS provided a $25 Macy’s gift certificate for the raffle winner, and volunteer models from the audience received free NSCS T-shirts. NSCS member Daniela Bosquez also prepared cake and punch for the audience members to enjoy after the show.

It is possible to have a wardrobe that’s fashionable, functional and professional. Break out the higher hemlines outside of work, and keep in mind there’s a time and place for everything – including fashion.