Houston’s Most Fashionable Moms Embrace Hat Season With a Flourish in River Oaks

These Grand Chapeaus Are Show Stoppers

By Shelby Hodge // Mar 9, 2018

Photography Jenny Antill Clifton

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Easter Seals Hats Off to Mothers Luncheon

Back row: Judge Clarease Yates, Brenda Watts, Alicia Smith, Warner Roberts, DeeDee March; front row, Alissa Maples, Marie Louise Kinder, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Lisa Holsthouse, Laura Davenport

The season of hats is upon us — Hats in the Park, hats at the River Oaks Tennis Tournament, hats for Kentucky Derby parties and to launch the season of chapeau madness is Hats Off to Mothers.

There was nary a bare head in the River Oaks Country Club ballroom (shades of St. Anne’s in the ’60s) for the annual midday fête celebrating moms and benefiting Easter Seals Greater Houston.

Often reluctant to stand out in a crowd by wearing a look-at-me grand chapeau, the ladies who lunch for worthy causes fully embrace the philanthropic inspiration for fancy headwear. Just look at the chairs of this week’s luncheon. Millette Sherman and Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein stepped out in jaunty fascinators while the 10 moms in the spotlight as honorees donned all manner of hats from wide brimmed to pill box to fascinators. Only one in the mix (Alissa Maples) dared let her flowing mane of beautiful dark hair express her own fashion note.

The fashionable honorees, stepping out in haute hat attire, were Laura Davenport, Lisa Holthouse, Dr. Sippi Khurana, Marie Louise Kinder, DeeDee Marsh, Warner Roberts, Alicia Smith, Brenda Watts, and Judge Clarease R. Yates.

As an extra touch to mom love, the luncheon chairs had their daughters — Jordan Fein, and Carson and Julia Sherman — join them in duties at the helm. It was an effort well put forth as the event raised more than $180,000 for the agency that serves veterans, children and adults with all types of disabilities.

Who: Emcee Gina Gaston, Vicki Rizzo, Roseann Rogers, Tricia Oliver, Lara Bell, Tracey Hull, Amy Stanton, Melissa Juneau, Virginia and Dan Steppe, Deborah Duncan, Rachel Regan, Mignon Gill, Wendy McCoy, Laurie Krohn, Holly Ross, Laura Jones, Haag Sherman, Carey Yates, Kevin Maples, Kim Padgett, Alicia Hartsfield, Elizabeth Edwards and Sonia Soto.