The pretty young things in their sexy, sparkly cocktail dresses poured into the ballroom at La Colombe d'Or as did a pride of fetching men — some young, some not so young — for the sixth annual Starlight Gala Summer Fashion Fete, sure to rank as one of the most successful mixers of the summer.
This uber opportunity for singles to see and be seen in the glam setting of the hotel's Grand Salon was fueled by the flow of Stoli cocktails and enriched by catwalk entertainment. A handful of cancer survivors and a squad of lithe Houston Ballet dancers modeled fashions from Carrie Ann, Robert Graham, Lucho and Arliss Studio.
The American Cancer Society's Starlight group, sponsor of the fundraiser, is one of the city's oldest and largest young professionals organizations. Launched 14 years ago, Starlight today boasts a membership of 3,000. More than 300 of those joined the party on Tuesday.
Emily Cotton and Christine Thorp, who chaired last year's Starlight fashion fete at Hudson Lounge, were at the helm again this year, overseeing the evening that included silent and live auctions, a dessert buffet and an after-party at Zimm's.
KRBE 104.1's Ryan Chase served as emcee and Momentum Audi GM Jared Lang helped the fundraising as auctioneer. Adding to the bottom line were party rings, provided Lucho's Hector Villarreal, and costing $50 a pop, the sale of which provides transportation for cancer patients to their treatment centers.
Not ones to miss a party in their own house, so to speak, were La Colombe d'Or proprietors Steve Zimmerman and son Dan Zimmerman. They mingled in the crowd that sipped Sexy and Fashionable (Stoli blue berrry and mixers) and Stoli Stickiberi cocktails in the CultureMap VIP Style Lounge.
The partying throng included Mary Ann Wosenitz, Philippe Schmit, Debbie Elias, Ruchi Mukherjee and Sandeep Khandelwal, Lauren Brown, Mallory Martino, Scott Newman, Vanessa Hughes and Katy Pease.
