Symphony League Enjoys a True Designer Afternoon: These Lunching Ladies Get Special Treats

The Mariposa Café‘s monkey bread and Oscar de la Renta — what more could a swell group of lunching ladies ask for? That was just part of the menu when Neiman Marcus entertained members of the Houston Symphony League with a very chic midday fête benefiting symphony league projects.

Saula Centa Valente, a strikingly attractive native of Venice, Italy, chaired the gathering of more than 65 well-heeled femmes for the fashion presentation featuring not only Oscar but also Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, Chanel, Emilio Pucci, Alexander McQueen and more.

One couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty indulging in the mouth-watering monkey bread and the to-die-for flourless chocolate as the slim-as-reed models swept by. Ah, but the traditional cup of steaming chicken broth and the fall salad with roasted chicken served every calorie-counter’s needs.

A reminder of exactly what this ‘Celebrate in Style’ event was all about, symphony musicians entertained with a woodwind quartet by  Jean Françaix. Thank you, Judy Dines on flute, Anne Leek on oboe, Sasha Potiomkin on clarinet, and Rian Craypo on bassoon.

Lunching ladies: Houston Symphony Society president Janet Clark, symphony league president Maureen Higdon, Ann Ayre, Cheryl Byington, Darlene Clark,  Donna Josey Chapman, Rania Edlebi, Jan Rhodes, Betty Tutor, Lilly Andress, Vicki West, Rita Aron, Marla Hurley, Connie Kwan-Wong, Susan Hansen, and Kathy Goossen.