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For some, Washington Mardi Gras is about celebration. For others, it is about business development or even the survival of an organization.

The annual gathering draws hundreds to Washington, D.C., where conversations โ€” often happening in meetings, ballrooms, hallways and the Hilton lobby โ€” can determine the future of nonprofits and institutions back home.

Dressing for the moment is not optional.

โ€œIn D.C., with a captain of industry or a member of the legislative delegation, you don't want to be worried about what you're wearing,โ€ said Beverly Brooks Thompson, a longtime fundraiser who lives in Baton Rouge.

Endurance, not extravagance

Washington Mardi Gras is political, social and economic all at once.ย 

โ€œIt's an economic development week for me,โ€ she said. โ€œIt's a business development week for other people.โ€

Stylists who work Washington Mardi Gras say the challenge isnโ€™t extravagance โ€” itโ€™s endurance.

Wardrobe budgets run across the board.

โ€œYou can spend $200 for a gown or you can spend upwards of $2,500 for a single event,โ€ย said Aimee Gowland, founder of ALG Style in New Orleans.

What matters, she said, is planning for long days and constant movement. Comfortable shoes are essential, leading on occasion to tennis shoes under ballgowns.

โ€œMy clients typically are moving or on the go,โ€ she said.

Looking the part

Since Thompson's early days working at LSU in the late 1990s, she has spent decades representing institutions in rooms where perception matters.

โ€œYou know, we have to be in big fancy rooms all the time with big fancy clothes, but we don't make big fancy money,โ€ said Thompson, who now works as managing director with Carter Global.

That tension led her, 20 years ago, to work toward a solution for women who, like her, need to look the part but don't have the budget required to do so.

"I started a closet that women I work with could recycle their dresses," she said.

Over time, Thompson's closet has grown.

For the dresses and gowns more than three or four years old, Thompson allows alterations, which, combined with different body shapes, often change the look of the dressย โ€” creating in one instance what she calls "Sisterhood of the Traveling Mardi Gras Dress."

"I can show you the same ballgown worn by four different women in four different yearsย โ€” and it doesn't look like the same dress," she said. โ€œI have several racks of clothes, and people, by invitation, come 'shopping' every year."

The closet functions because of reciprocity.

Participants contribute back, sometimes in large numbersย โ€” including one person who moved out of state and donated her 30 ballgowns.

Still, Thompson is certain that she doesn't want to operate a consignment store.

โ€œI don't mind loaning stuff to people who will take care of it the way I would take care of it,โ€ she said.ย "I have spent my career breaking down barriers to access. If I can assist a woman in being outfitted and feeling confident to do her work to make ถถา๕h a better place to live, work and play, I'm going to do so."

Logistics are daunting

Washington Mardi Gras is not for the faint of heart. Itโ€™s also not a one-dress event. Even getting there can be tricky.

โ€œBallgowns are bulky,โ€ Thompson said. โ€œIf you're going to wear a ballgown, youโ€™ve got to wear twoย โ€” one on Friday night and one on Saturday night to the floor.โ€ย 

And then there are cocktail dresses for Thursday night.

Tweed suits for Capitol Hill.

And coats and boots because it's cold.ย 

A thousand miles from home plus wardrobe changes means a luggage extravaganza for ถถา๕h travelers headed to D.C.

Six suitcases between two people

Many couples traveling to Washington Mardi Gras take six suitcasesย โ€” even more for krewe royalty and princesses.

Through the years, some Washington Mardi Gras royalty have been known to truck their full wardrobes to the capital rather than attempt to fly with them.

Men attending the events have certain fashion standards to meet, but the packing list is easier to manage than the variety of dresses, suits and gowns required for women.

Buying less โ€” but buying well

Many women who attend Washington Mardi Gras annually have developed a system to build their wardrobe.

โ€œI can't speak for other people, but I buy one nice dress a year. And I try and recycle other things depending on what I'm doing,โ€ Thompsonย said.ย โ€œAnd I buy one really fantastic dress every year. Everything else is kind of hit or miss."

Warmth and versatility matter.

Reuse is intentional, but social media plays a role in wardrobe curation.ย 

โ€œI might wear them again for something else, but your photographs โ€” all of those things. Facebook is a beast with this stuff,โ€ Thompson said.

The cost of attending

Tickets alone are a significant expense, costing $400 per person for each event on Friday and Saturday evenings.ย 

The Mystick Krewe of Louisianiansย and the hotel work together to create a makeshift hair/makeup salon in the hotel's meeting space, bringing in around 30 stylists.

โ€œEstimated costs are around $300 a day for hair and makeup, eyelashes โ€” and that's without the tip,โ€ Thompson said.

Many longtime attendees plan their wardrobes to stand out, but in a way that makes them feel comfortable โ€” and when in doubt, they add more sparkle.

However, for Thompson and other attendees, the goal is not excess โ€” itโ€™s assurance.

โ€œI don't want people to think I'm wealthy," she said, "because I am not, but I have to look like I am."