Styling up for Literacy!
Society with Ruchi
Over the past four years The Annual Holiday Charity Luncheon hosted by Pratham USA has not only managed to draw a large audience but has grown to be the most fashionable desi charity event of the year. More than 200 people, mostly ladies, gathered at this fashionable event on Friday December 2, 2011 at The Junior League of Houston. The event which is popularly known as ‘Fashioning the Future‘, spotlighted Christian Dior this year with a style and fashion show by Saks Fifth Avenue.
Pratham is a non-profit organization that helps underprivileged children in India with pre-school and primary education with the goal to eradicate illiteracy from India.
This year’s holiday fashion soiree was very successfully organized by event chairs Asha Dhume and Rema Dhamodharan and with the help of other Pratham Houston chapter board members. A sold out afternoon affair with Houston desi fashionistas was definitely a not to be missed event. The event also broke records by raising over $100,000 in one afternoon as First Lady of Pratham Houston Chapter Marie Goradia worked her charm in the fund raising capacity.
Guests gathered at the very sophisticated Junior League of Houston in their very best. Asha welcomed the guests looking hot in her red dress. It was surely a ladies afternoon as the ballroom was decorated for a seated luncheon with a Dior goodies for each guest. Fashion and make up enthusiasts also got an opportunity to get their make-up done by Christian Dior.
The keynote speaker for the afternoon Katherine Center, a mother of two, is a Houston based author with international repute. She started writing in the sixth grade and her novel ‘Everyone is Beautiful’ was quite popular. She captivated the audience with her witty conservation-like speech that left the gathering in high spirits.
The main highlight of the afternoon was the fashion show hosted by Saks Fifth Avenue offering ladies a free wardrobe makeover. The fashion was specially exciting as it was followed by a description of each outfit along with holiday dress up tips. The holiday luncheon was filled with surprises as Saks Fifth also gave away a few $100 gift certificates to a few lucky divas. Indo-American Society News Magazine Lights Camera Action was also present at the event to spot Lady Dior/Fashionista of The Month. Philantropist and socialite Latika Bathija very confidently walked away with the title.
Spotted fashioning at this classy event Manisha Mehta in Michael Khors, Leena and Ash Shah, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Kalyani Giri in her very best hot pink and orange sari, Payal Channa looked flattering in a lace blouse, Sandhya Ayyar looked sexy in a one shoulder red dress. Latika preferred to show off her well maintained figure in a tight fitted dress with boots. Also looking sharp and poised Marie Goradia, Sonu Anand, Sangeeta Pasrija, Raj Patel, Rachel Varghese, Priti Singh, and many other Pratham supporters along with Pratham President Swatantra Jain.
Photos by Debi Wallace, Barfield Photography.
[galleryview id=108 showPanels=true showCaptions=true showFilmstrip=true panelWidth=565 panelHeight=600 panelScale=nocrop transitionSpeed=800 transitionInterval=12000 fadePanels=true overlayPosition=top overlayOpacity=0.2 frameWidth=60 frameHeight=60 filmstripPosition=bottom pointerSize=6 frameScale=crop frameGap=5 frameOpacity=0.3 easingValue=swing navTheme=dark startFrame=1 pauseOnHover=true]
