During all the hoopla this summer over the most famous closet in America, Theresa Roemer insisted that it wasn't just a vanity project. Even after reporters around the world breathlessly described the three-story, 3,000-square-foot closet, with its rows of Louboutins and Hermés handbags, and the brazen burglary of her Woodlands home, Roemer asserted she had built the over-the-top space so she could host charity events there.
She figured guests would jump at the opportunity to see the closet up-close-and-personal. And she was right.
Roemer figured guests would jump at the opportunity to see the closet up-close-and-personal. And she was right.
In the first charity event held in the closet since "the enormous amazing treacherous summer we've had here," Roemer and her husband, Lamar Roemer, opened their palatial Carlton Woods mansion to benefit MoRE Camp Adventure, a New York-based camp for children with cancer, one of several charities for children she has devoted her time to since her son was killed in an automobile accident several years ago.
"It just goes to show we're back on track, we're fundraising like crazy. They can try to knock me down but I'm not going to stay down," Roemer told around 100 guests to big applause.
Guests had free reign to peruse the house, including the closet's champagne bar, vanity station and spiral staircase leading up to rows of luxury items, including neatly stacked Louboutins with their signature red heels in full view. Roemer's close friend, Dallas jeweler Mark Pharo, set up shop in the closet with a wide selection of dazzling jeweled necklaces, earrings and bracelets, which guests were encouraged to try on and purchase, with a portion of proceeds going to Camp Adventure.
Pharo also donated a pair of ruby earrings valued at $14,000 for a raffle benefiting the charity. In picking the winner, he selected six tickets, dramatically announcing that each ticketholder had not won the raffle, before drawing a seventh ticket with Alex Martinez's name on it. Martinez was so excited that he leapt from the sofa and danced around the living room.
Joining in the fun were Beth Wolff, Gigi Huang, Dr. Bruce and Soly Lachterman, Lori Freese and Dan Zindler, Laura Cook, Sandra Winters, Dan Carnahan, Billy Jackson, Roy and Beth Garcia, David Arpin, Michael Pearce and Matt Burrus, and J. Michael Soliz.
Also enjoying the unique fundraiser were Tuula Carnahan, Marisela Hudgeons, Natalie Gunderson, Bella Eni, Patrick Bell, Michael Pilie, Dominique Collins, Lauren Smith, Britta Oliverez, Veronica Oliverez, Natalie Gunderson and Brian Beard.
Tuula Carnahan, from left, Marisela Hudgeons, Natalie Gunderson, Laura Cook and Bella Eni.
