Unfortunately, the Balenciaga exhibition at the Meadow’s Museum is over, but First Lady Laura Bush had a chance to see it on her recent trip to Dallas before Myra Walker, curator and director of the Texas Fashion Collection, packed everything up. The show entitled Balenciaga and His Legacy included not only some of the most exceptional examples of the great master’s work, but also pieces by a number of notable designers who were influenced by or worked directly under Cristobal Balenciaga, including some stunners by Oscar de la Rental, one of which Mrs. Bush wore to her husband’s second inauguration. The First Lady was accompanied by the usual assortment of security guards and everyone who came in contact with her that day had to be cleared in advance. There was, however, a spontaneous appearance of a group of women called “The Red Hat Ladies”, they all wear red hats for reasons I don’t really understand, but Mrs. Bush was thrilled to see them and posed for group pictures. Myra gave Mrs. Bush a private tour while Meadow’s Museum director, Mark Roglan and Southern Methodist University president, Gerald Turner and his wife trailed along.
Peter Som and Model
Speaking of designers, Peter Som was recently in town to do a personal appearance and trunk show at the NorthPark Nordstrom’s store. Women’s Couture manager a beautiful blonde of Norwegian descent, Donnalisa Haaheim, called to invite me to a chic little lunch with Peter. Being truly fashion-obsessed, I naturally accepted her offer even though it was the day after I had a little lipo-suction done on some stubborn spots around my knees and waistline. Believe me, it was tough going out the next day after surgery and being black and blue and swollen, I didn’t feel particular fabulous, but it was worth it to have the opportunity to chat with the totally adorable Peter. His fall collection is perfect for a very stylish and sophisticated young woman about town. Nordstrom’s has the look book, so you can run over there and order one of his cute little dresses that will be just right for fall cocktail parties.
Cocktail party clothes are a necessity in a town like Dallas where there are multiple events every night. Wearing a different outfit to every event can be a prohibitively expensive proposition. Enter Neva Linder of Wardrobe NYC. A couple of years ago she came up with the brilliant idea to rent top designer clothing to stylists, stars and socialites. For 15% of the retail cost of a garment, you can rent a Lanvin or Lacroix and stay on good terms with your husband and your credit card company. I’m all for it, so I invited Neva to come to Dallas to meet some of our social types at a get together at my home. Tayler Carson Sandvick, Tina Craig and skin care tycoon Jamie O all had a great time trying on the Herrera’s, vintage Versace’s, Lacroix, and others – just a small sampling of Neva’s 2000+-piece wardrobe. You can check it out at www.wardrobenyc.com.
Tayler Carson Sandvick, Tina Craig, Jamie O, Neva Linder
When I co-chaired the Beaux Arts Ball nine years ago, it was a time when everyone was obsessed with doing big “theme” events. Fortunately, this hackneyed trend is losing momentum with the more forward thinking party planners. Last year ball chairman Sharon Young changed the name to a more modern sounding Art Ball, hired event guru Todd Fiscus and streamlined the whole event – decreasing expenses, increasing revenue, and providing the arts patron crowd with a much more up-to-date evening. This year Suzanne Droese followed in Sharon’s footsteps and brought in a whopping $1,600,000 for the Dallas Museum of Art. Todd utterly transformed the museum into a tres chic lounge and copious amounts of pink champagne flowed throughout the night. Suzanne looked beautiful in an anthracite silk Lanvin gown and Neva came as out guest looking like a goddess in a black Lacroix. The only negative thing anyone had to say was that the food wasn’t great, but with all that champagne, who cares!
Unfortunately, the Balenciaga exhibition at the Meadow’s Museum is over, but First Lady Laura Bush had a chance to see it on her recent trip to Dallas before Myra Walker, curator and director of the Texas Fashion Collection, packed everything up. The show entitled Balenciaga and His Legacy included not only some of the most exceptional examples of the great master’s work, but also pieces by a number of notable designers who were influenced by or worked directly under Cristobal Balenciaga, including some stunners by Oscar de la Rental, one of which Mrs. Bush wore to her husband’s second inauguration. The First Lady was accompanied by the usual assortment of security guards and everyone who came in contact with her that day had to be cleared in advance. There was, however, a spontaneous appearance of a group of women called “The Red Hat Ladies”, they all wear red hats for reasons I don’t really understand, but Mrs. Bush was thrilled to see them and posed for group pictures. Myra gave Mrs. Bush a private tour while Meadow’s Museum director, Mark Roglan and Southern Methodist University president, Gerald Turner and his wife trailed along.
