Fashion Show

The causes were deserving. The mothers and their daughters were fashionable. And the tradition was embraced. The 25th annual mother-daughter spring fashion luncheon on behalf of National Charity League, Juniors, Newport Beach chapter, unfolded at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in major spring style. Some 450 pretty women, handsome dads and their children turned out like a tornado of fresh air attired in the latest pastel creations heralding the season. NCL, Jrs. president Michelle Yacoel welcomed the crowd.

Journalists must be cautious when using terms like "genius" and "inspired" to describe any person who is central to a story. Last week in Costa Mesa, this columnist encountered genius while covering a ladies' luncheon on behalf of The Women of Chapman. Arriving at The Wildflower Linen Salon in the relatively new design center known as South Coast Collection, this particular event was called for noon. A champagne reception would precede a luncheon fashion show created by the woman behind Wildflower Linen, Youngsong Martin . Donna Bunce , co-chair of the Chapman gathering, called me in advance to explain.

Dave Brooks Minerva Gonzalez Sanchez finds art in other people, a communal search comprising her otherwise individualized fashion label NuNu Galleries. With a self-imposed mandate, Sanchez hand-sews and hand-paints each piece, and she regards her clothes with the sanctity of fine art. The result: No two are ever the same. "People ask me if they can have five pairs of jeans or three of this or that, and I tell them no," she said. "Did people tell Picasso how to make his paintings?"

Cheerleaders from Estancia High School will flaunt some of the hottest styles today and Sunday during a fashion show at Gods & Heroes salon and boutique in Costa Mesa. The magazine Flaunt OC incorporates four Orange County high school cheerleading squads, including Estancia, as models. The show features a new line designed by Linkin Park?s front man, Chester Bennington. The event raises money for the schools, as well as for THINK Together, a charity program that helps needy children in Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Fashion store Solutions Denim will host a fashion show Thursday in conjunction with Privacy Wear, a retailer focused on raising breast cancer awareness. Privacy Wear donates up to 8% of its proceeds to breast cancer awareness and research and offers free mammograms for women without insurance or who meet low-income qualifications. Privacy Wear founder Carolyn Jones' mother succumbed to breast cancer five years ago, an experience she describes as "devastating." Guests can donate directly and enjoy a full runway show from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The fashion show begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information call (949)

Costa Mesa High School cheerleaders have been selected along with four other Orange County high schools to appear in a fashion show at Gods and Heroes Studios in Costa Mesa at 7 p.m. Feb. 17. The event will be hosted by two stars of MTV’s “Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County,” Clay and Allie. Corona Del Mar, Edison, University and Laguna Hills high schools are also represented. Tickets cost $20 at the door, but the Costa Mesa High School cheer program will pre-sell tickets to the event for $15 with $5 from each pre-sale going to the team.

"For the love of a child," the motto of ChildHelp USA, came to life recently as about 400 guests converged upon the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach for the group's 19th annual spring fashion show and luncheon. Chaired by Patty MacDonald and Debbie Trout, an impressive $70,000 was raised. The event attracted ChildHelp USA co-founders Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, who came in from their headquarters in Arizona to thank Orange County for unwavering dedication.

Ovations For the Cure, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for ovarian cancer, will host a fashion show and luncheon Nov. 8 at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel, 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa. “Real Housewives of Orange County” Jeana Keough and Tammy Knickerbocker will be there with their daughters to meet and greet guests. Ovations’ mission is to cure all women with ovarian cancer by taking a stand and encouraging others to stand up and fight for better treatment and more research.

Come, rest awhile. This is the calling of the sisters of the Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart, who operate the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center in Santa Ana. Since 1978, when the late Thomas and Emma Jane Riley committed their formidable community resources to the sisters and their retreat center, the project has grown into a local treasure. The core fundraiser for the retreat center is an all-male fashion show known as Gentlemen's Haberdashery. The 28th annual event was held last week at the Irvine Marriott Hotel.

Journalists must be cautious when using terms like "genius" and "inspired" to describe any person who is central to a story. Last week in Costa Mesa, this columnist encountered genius while covering a ladies' luncheon on behalf of The Women of Chapman. Arriving at The Wildflower Linen Salon in the relatively new design center known as South Coast Collection, this particular event was called for noon. A champagne reception would precede a luncheon fashion show created by the woman behind Wildflower Linen, Youngsong Martin . Donna Bunce , co-chair of the Chapman gathering, called me in advance to explain.

The numbers are still coming in a week after the event. Organizers hope to reach a grand tally of $250,000 raised at the annual "For The Love of A Child" fashion show and luncheon, held at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa on March 5, and chaired by the dynamic and dedicated team of Diana Miner and Kristen James . Some 400 women and a sprinkling of gentlemen converged upon the hotel near Fashion Island for the first major...

The Pacific Coast Wine Festival will unfold at Newport Beach's Island Hotel on March 3. It is the fifth event in the world of wine benefiting the Costa Mesa-based Pacific Symphony. Advanced sommelier Jim Houston , from Charlie Palmer, will oversee the wine selection paired with a five-course dinner prepared for patrons by Island Hotel chef David Man. The festival will also share the wine wisdom of "roaming" sommeliers and winemakers interacting with guests anxious to learn about the many varieties on display and available for tasting.

Actress Lynn Milgrim will step onto the main stage at South Coast Repertory on Friday night as Mrs. Carrie Watts. To inhabit the role of the protagonist in Horton Foote's "A Trip to Bountiful," Milgrim will don an old-fashioned lavender cotton dress. The play is about a middle-aged Texas woman traveling on a bus in the 1950s in search of her hometown in the American heartland. "A Trip to Bountiful" is a work of fiction, but the dress has a true story to tell that the SCR production won't reveal to audiences as it previews throughout the week and officially opens on Oct. 28. To help the actress bring Foote's story to life, at least five pairs of female hands formed an assembly line that designed and made the dress under a tight deadline.

Newport-Mesa shoppers can enjoy one-night deals and entertainment benefiting a New York charity when Fashion's Night Out at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island on Thursday. American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Co. and the city of New York created the international shopping event in 2009. FNO returns to Fashion Island for the second consecutive year from 5 to 9 p.m., while South Coast Plaza retailers will participate from 6 to 9 p.m., according to the shopping centers.

COSTA MESA — The girls sat in silence on the floor and in chairs, scrutinizing nine different dresses made in 30 minutes using only tissue paper and pushpins. Lined along one of the room's glass walls, the group of nine, ranging in age from 8 to 12, cast their anonymous ballots for the best dress. Though they weren't exactly secret ballots. "How do you spell your name?" whispered Chloe Parsel, 8, to the girl sitting next to her, Kiley Grier, 12. Tuesday morning's competition, which was more fun than contest, was just one activity at a weeklong session of Fashion Camp OC in the OC Mart Mix. The summer camp hosts different sessions for kids, teens and college-age students interested in learning about the fashion industry — from draping and design, to fashion shows and photo shoots.

CORONA DEL MAR — Not many teenagers have a platform that gives them access to hundreds of thousands of people across the nation. Come Aug. 4, however, students at Corona del Mar High School will have that opportunity for exactly five minutes. They plan to have their voices heard. CdM is one of five high schools that made it to the final round of Hurley's fifth annual Walk the Walk, a national competition that pits schools against one another in a five-minute "Project Runway"-esque fashion show on the beach during the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.

Corona del Mar High School will have the chance to defend its title and show it can "walk the walk" at this year's U.S. Open of Surfing in August. CdM has made it to the final round of Hurley's fifth annual Walk the Walk, a national competition that pits five high schools against one another in a five-minute "Project Runway"-esque fashion show on the beach during the U.S. Open. The school will be competing against four high schools for the $25,000 grand prize and to keep its title as reigning champions after taking last year's competition.

The causes were deserving. The mothers and their daughters were fashionable. And the tradition was embraced. The 25th annual mother-daughter spring fashion luncheon on behalf of National Charity League, Juniors, Newport Beach chapter, unfolded at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in major spring style. Some 450 pretty women, handsome dads and their children turned out like a tornado of fresh air attired in the latest pastel creations heralding the season. NCL, Jrs. president Michelle Yacoel welcomed the crowd.

Ethel Travis knows fashion. The 96-year-old was a dress designer in Chicago for 15 years before retiring in Newport Beach. She and hundreds of others went to Fashion Island on Saturday to get up-close and personal with fashionisto Tim Gunn as he presented spring looks from Lucky Brand, Kate Spade and Juicy Couture. While some in the question-and-answer session asked Gunn how to dress up jeans (with a blazer) and who can pull off a calf-length skirt (no one), Travis just told the "Project Runway" host how much she adores him. She applauded him for celebrating femininity in women's fashion and encouraging young people not to show too much skin.