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    Hostess With the Mostest

    Three stylish Houstonians honored on luxe list of best party hosts in the U.S.

    Shelby Hodge
    Nov 25, 2015 | 10:15 am

    So many parties, so little time. It's the Shelby Hodge mantra.

     

    So when Carla McDonald, founder of Austin-based The Solanniere blog, called asking for recommendations on H-town's hosts with the most, it was fairly simple to come up with my list of tops in entertaining. But I wasn't the only one she surveyed for the nationwide list of the top 100 hosts in the nation.

     

     The Salonniere 100 was drawn from nominations from society reporters, philanthropists, dignitaries and more, in all, 1,000 social cognescenti from coast to coast. As The Salonniere puts it, those who make the top 100 "are the fete-fabulous folks who bend over backwards to entertain with such flair that you'd be wise to move a mountain or two to attend one of their soirees ... that is, if you're fortunate enough to be invited."

     

    McDonald's bright and snappy on-line repartee is a one-stop shop for all things party-related. The site serves as a resource for hostess tips, fashion musts and festivity how-tos.

     

    Selected as Houston's grande dames of elegant entertaining — Becca Cason Thrash, Phoebe Tudor and Lynn Wyatt. Add to those party-istas Houston native Allison Sarofim, who calls New York home.

     

     Over the top

     

    Cason Thrash is known for throwing the most elaborate, imaginative parties in town for the charities she supports including American Friends of the Louvre, Best Buddies and Houston Ballet. While these bashes are orchestrated by Becca for several hundred, all seated in the Memorial area home she shares with John Thrash, her more intimate dinner parties are equally compelling. Think 30 seated for dinner at one long table decorated to the hilt for guests such as Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon and John Taylor or consider the Saturday afternoon that she hosted the wedding of Dominique Sachse and Nick Florescu.

     

     Genteel entertaining

     

    When Tudor and husband Bobby open their resplendent home in the Boulevard Oaks Historic District, guests know that they will be warmly welcomed and graciously entertained. (We recall one Christmas party where one or the other stood at the door all night as some 300 guests came and went.) Whether it's an intimate Houston Symphony dinner with cellist Yo-Yo Ma or a massive event for several hundred, Phoebe executes every element to perfection.

     

     Sophistication plus

     

    La Wyatt took her sophisticated entertaining style to a broader audience in October when she chaired the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Grand Gala Ball, transforming Cullinan Hall into a vast replica of her River Oaks dining room. When entertaining at home, she typically has two beautifully-decorated tables of 10 for dinner. The French-style service and divine menus from her French chef make every evening special. Lynn typically holds court at one table and husband Oscar at the other, swapping seats before dessert.

     

    Sarofim is best known for her A-list laden Halloween parties, the most recent of which captured ink in Vogue on-line.

     

    Other Texans on the list include Julie Blakeslee, John Hogg and David Garza in Austin; Gene Jones, Cindy Rachofsky, Nancy Rogers and Kimberly Schlegel Whitman in Dallas; and Alice Carrington Foultz in San Antonio.

     

    Becca Cason Thrash.

    News, Shelby, Becca Cason Thrash, Nov. 2015
      
    © Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group
    Becca Cason Thrash.
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    Silk and Sequins

    Cultural fashion takes center stage at Runway to Asia in Houston

    Joel Luks
    Jul 10, 2025 | 12:30 pm
    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
    Photo by Annie Mulligan
    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

    If fashion is a language, Runway to Asia spoke it fabulously fluently.

    The ballroom of The Post Oak Hotel shimmered with silk, sequins, and sartorial splendor as Asia Society Texas debuted its first-ever Runway to Asia style-studded affair — a glamorous gala-meets-catwalk moment where heritage was hand-stitched into haute couture.

    More than 300 guests filled the swanky venue for the event, greeted by models perched like living mannequins in Danny Nguyen’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection, each ensemble a fabric-forward love letter to cultural identity and avant-garde vision. This was a glamnifesto on what it means to wear your roots with pride and purpose.

    Leading the stylish charge were co-chairs Leigh Smith, Shazia Sultan, and Phoebe Tudor, who curated the afternoon like seasoned couturiers. Attendees noshed on a three-course lunch before the real feast began: a full-throttle catwalk presentation honoring two design dynamos — Danny Nguyen, Houston’s own silhouettist supreme, and international fashion luminary Zang Toi.

    Rekha Muddaraj, former KHOU 11 anchor turned emcee extraordinaire, welcomed the crowd with poise, passing the mic to Asia Society Texas president Bonna Kol, who framed the gathering as more than just fashion, but part of the nonprofit’s mission to celebrate cultural diversity through art.

    The applause crescendoed when Michael Buening, the organization’s director of performing arts and culture, announced the event had raised more than $300,000 to fund more than 20 annual programs.

    Pro tip: philanthropy always looks better in couture.

    Then came the honors. Nguyen was honored with the Texas Trendsetter Award, praised by Shazia Sultan for blending traditional elegance with avant-glam silhouettes. Meanwhile, Tudor crowned Toi with the Global Icon Award, charting his runway rise from Malaysia to Manhattan.

    Toi’s “Opulence of the Orient Express” collection brought the house down with 37 jaw-dropping looks: Ottoman-inspired caftans, midnight velvet suits, pearl-dusted evening gowns, and coat-dress hybrids that defied the laws of layering. Each ensemble whispered luxury and screamed craftsmanship.

    The raffle added a thrill of retail roulette with prizes including a luxe Hill Country escape, personal styling sessions with the honorees, and golden tickets to Zang Toi’s Fall 2026 New York show.

    Soaking in the scene were Sushila Agrawal, Nancy Allen, Fady Armanious, Kristy Bradshaw, Divya Brown, Tripp Carter, Theresa Chang, Anne Chao, Molly Crownover, Kari Dagley, Chloe Dao, Debbie Festari, Kathy and Marty Goossen, Brigitte Kalai, Mandy Kao, Sippi Khurana, Karen Kwok, Teri Lee, Kelley Lubanko, Christy Lynn, Petra Martinez, Sneha Merchant, Duyen Nguyen, Cabrina Owsley, Akemi Saitoh, Miya Shay, Sue and Randy Sim, Shawn Stephens, Y. Ping Sun, Ileana Trevino, Janae Tsai, Stephanie Tsuru, Heidi Turney, and Asha Virani.

    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
      

    Photo by Annie Mulligan

    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

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