IT USED TO BE that every time you turned around there was a benefit function, corporate anniversary, or some other tenuously related event that featured a fashion show. Much like cupcakes, they had become the party favor du jour.

That bubble has since popped, and now that Planned Parenthood's Dress/Undress event is on the horizon, the whole concept of having a good old local fashion/shop/styling hootenanny seems fun all over again. That's probably due in no small part to the fact that Nicole Boyer is behind the event. The volunteer programs coordinator of the region's wing of the nonprofit, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette (PPCW), Boyer has a long history of involvement in the local fashion scene, having modeled in a variety of shows over the years. She'd always wanted to produce her own, and when she saw a fundraising need, seized on the opportunity.

Dress/Undress specifically benefits the Equal Access Fund, a program designed to fill the gap left in gynecological care for financially eligible women and transmen who aren't covered by the state's pregnancy prevention-specific funding. It's a progressive program that one hopes will be emulated by other chapters of Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits, and Planned Parenthood itself is an institution near and dear to many of Portland's creative hearts.

It's no wonder then that Boyer rounded up a killer lineup of Portland stylemakers: Studio SKB, IDOM, Heather Treadway, Midge, Benjamin Blak, Yo Vintage!, Golden Rule, Sword + Fern, RillRill, Kat Seale, and the Metal Institution. It may be more party than industry event, but it sounds like good clean stylish fun to me. w/emcee Sossity Chiricuzio, DJ Lincolnup; Fez Ballroom, 316 SW 11th, Wed Aug 31, 8 pm, $10-25, 21+