Mad Hatters to Polo Fashion – Houston is Crazy for Hats!
This weekend I almost forgot that I was in Texas, it was fascinators and hats galore. Ladies (mostly of Sugarland and Stafford) flaunted their best summer frocks and designer hats for the 5th Annual Mad Hatter Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show, presented by Wells Fargo Bank. The luncheon was chaired by Terri Wang along with honorary chair Jacquie Chaumette, on Friday at the Stafford Center to benefit Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels.
A Fashion show and a three course tantalizing meal prepared by Chef Frederick Perrier and Aura Restaurant paired with wines provided by Becker Vineyards kept the room bustling. Fourteen ‘local celebrity‘ models walked the runway in spring fashions provided by Cache, Wardrobe The Boutique and Jos. A. Bank. 
This year’s celebrity models spotted were: Ray Aguilar, Cindy Cheng, Tanya Dannhaus, Ron and Juliana Ewer, Catherine Kubala, Rachel Novoa, Nancy and Kate Olson (wife and daughter of Congressman Pete Olson, US Dist. 22), Kevin Patton, Wanda Sdao, Jeff Tallas, Laura Thompson and David Wallace.
Of course everyone patiently waited to hear the inspirational keynote speakers Aly Calvo and Andrea Kulberg, who are simply known as Aly and Andrea, the identical twins and motivational speakers who faced their own extremely premature birth, blindness, poverty, rejection, divorce, failure, cancer, and more. However, that did not keep them far from titles of World Champion athletes, former University of Texas Cheerleaders, Olympic Torch bearer, cancer survivor, award-winning international CEO, TV spokesperson, authors, and speakers.
The ballroom was filled with many temptations, along with fashion, dessert and an interesting array of guests, I have to mention the center pieces that were quite spectacular. Fashioning at the luncheon included, Savita Rao, Cindy Rose, Tanya Bhadra Pal, Sonal Bhuchar, Sandhya Ayyar, Soni Vaswani Karamchandani, Asha Pai Dhume, Seema Sanghi, and many others including Roseann Rogers the emcee.
Meanwhile it was a high fashion scene on Sunday at The Houston Polo Club where men and women mostly in their twenties to forties gathered to show support for the Health Museum’s 4th Annual Triple Crown Polo Fundraiser. It was a sold out event with more than 300 attendees, a successful soiree presented by the Young Professionals Circle raising more than $25,000 for the museum’s educational programming and exhibit development. This chic event spotted not just women parading in fashionable and creative attires, men too made an effort to look fashionably impressive.
While this event is popular for watching the grand sport of polo, guests also sampled light bites and enjoyed derby-themed cocktails, but the main focus stayed on the hat competition and ‘Men In Style‘ contest. This year’s ‘Men In Style’ first place winner was Errol McLaughlin, Jr., Dane Hawkins in second place and Darrell Bass in third place. In the women’s wing the Hat Contest winner was Jakeen Williams Johnson, MD, Vanessa Wrightsil-Greer in second place and Myriam Legge in third place.
An enthralling series of events screaming to bring hats and fascinators back in style!
Mad Hatter Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show Photos by Sandeep Khandelwal
4th Annual Triple Crown Polo Fundraiser Photo by Oliver Puzon
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