Houston’s 2024 Best Dressed Photo Shoot Sees the City’s Leading Ladies Live Their Designer Ballgown Dreams

Champagne? Yes, please. With PaperCity‘s first step into the world of Houston’s Best Dressed in 2023, I brought several bottles of Veuve Cliquot to the magazine photo shoot. A little bubbly to ease the nerves. The honorees declined imbibing. This year, several of the ladies actually had chilled bottles of Ruinart delivered.

So it was that the 2024 PaperCity Philanthropy in Fashion Best Dressed photo shoot, held long before Hurricane Beryl was even a sparkle in Mother Nature’s eye, was in the best of spirits.

Noted Mexico-based fashion photographer Alejandro Salinos handled photography while Houston hair stylist Ceron worked magic with the honoree coiffs and makeup artist Juan Peralta exercised his wizardry with products from Dior. And wizardry it was, transforming one newly sleep-deprived grandmother into a dewy beauty.

The team took over La Colombe d’Or hotel. The various spaces of the historic Fondren Mansion, which was built in 1923 as a private residence for the founder of Humble Oil, provided rich backdrops for the traditional Houston Best Dressed ballgown photo shoot.

It was quite the scene with the ladies pulling up to valet on Montrose, some with ballgowns in hand, others awaiting delivery of their gowns from Neiman Marcus. Seeing the honorees swanning through the historic home cum hotel lobby in their designer gowns and posing in various locales for the photographer proved to be priceless.

Several of the Houston Best Dressed honorees had stories to accompany their ensembles, none more than that of Hall of Fame honoree Linda McReynolds. She, like several of the honorees, arrived with two dresses (one actually had three) to choose from. The one she wore for the photo was an haute couture gift from designer Marc Bohan in 1986, the year that she chaired the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Grand Gala Ball. She had not worn it since then.

Also Hall of Fame honorees, Brigitte Kalai wore a form-fitting Pamella Roland while Dr. Sippi Khurana wore a sparkling Bibhu Mohapatra in homage to her Indian heritage.

First-time honoree Stacey Lindseth scored a coup getting her hands on the striking Alexander McQueen shadow rose gown that was worn by Lala Anthony at the Met gala.

Neiman Marcus’ Janie Luna had several of the honorees’ ballgowns in tow as she arrived with two assistants to help the ladies dress. Among them was second-time honoree Melissa Juneau who opted for the green Pamella Roland gown over the Monique Lhuillier. Luna also had first-time honoree Lyndsey Zorich‘s gown by Alex Perry. Zorich was worried that the dress, a size too small even though she is tiny, wouldn’t fit. It zipped beautifully.

First-time honoree Stephanie Fleck donned the Esme dress by Adam Lippes, Neiman Marcus’ featured designer for the September 24th Best Dressed luncheon. Reservations and more info on the March of Dimes fundraiser at the Post Oak Hotel can be found here.

The incredible St. Laurent crocodile evening glove worn by second-time honoree Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl transformed her one-shoulder, high-slit gown by Maticevski into a killer dramatic look. Also second-time honorees Heidi McDonald Smith wore Jovani and Stephanie Tsuru was photographed in silk evening pants ensemble with flowing train from Dallas-based designer Nardos.

For the luncheon, to be held at the Post Oak Hotel, many of the honorees will be wearing daytime dresses, and perhaps a cocktail gown or two, by featured designer Adam Lippes.