Tea for Witches...

What a strange day here in Buenos Aires...

So many reasons for it to be so...

I ended my week of Benefits going to the Magical Tea organized by Make-a-Wish, the International Foundation that works to make true the dreams of sick children, as it is proven that the joy of receiving what they so much wished actually generates a healthy evolution in their conditions.

The President of Make-a-Wish Argentina, Mónica Parisier, brought the chapter to Argentina in the year 2002 and since then, with lots of effort, has made true 3300 dreams, a world record. It's not easy to raise the money and many dreams are indeed expensive (traveling, meeting artists from abroad, etc.), but these people somehow achieve it.

And today Make-a-Wish organized a Magical Tea in the salons of the Palacio Duhau, specially decorated in a Halloween spirit by Martin Roig, since we are two days away of the day to celebrate witches...

And what could be best than celebrate with us, almost 200 guest-witches?

Many women, an exquisite tea specially created for the occasion by Tealosophy and a huge amount of prizes to draw among guests, all of them donated by the many sponsors of Make-a-Wish: jewelry from Jean-Pierre, products from Dior, clothes by Awada, gel douche by Karina Rabolini, stays and dinners at the Hotel Panamericano and others I do not remember now...

I didn't win anything this time, but it's how it should be.

We also had a runway show featuring the Spring-Summer collection of Max Mara.

Everything was impeccable and there was even a group of real witches that read Tarot on demand, to all those willing to know their future!!

COAS (part 2)

P.S. 2: It seems I was really tired yesterday when I wrote my post after the Gala... I forgot to mention the hilarious performance by Juan Pablo Geretto as a school teacher... so funny!!

You can see a video of the Gala by clicking here.

I won a watch at COAS' Benefit Gala!!!

Tonight I had another Benefit Dinner, one of those you can miss... that of COAS.

I have a strong bond with all the women working for COAS (Cooperadora de Acción Social), memories and many dinners together... In fact, more or less 17 years ago, when we first moved to our house in Buenos Aires (were I still live), we offered our salons and living for a Benefit cocktail to raise funds for COAS. Its President then was Daisy Chopitea, a great lady who I saw again tonight with deep pleasure. After that cocktail of 1993, I think I missed very few of their Galas. Its always an honor to help such good, honest and determined people that do good to so many as the volunteers that work for COAS. With the money and donations they raise, they buy beds, ultrasound machines and medical equipment to the neediest hospitals in our city.

As usual, tonight's dinner was a huge success. Lots of people (I calculated around 600 to 700), a brilliant speech by Ani Mestre de Sambrizzi, COAS' new President, and another by Mauricio Macri, mayor to Buenos Aires. 

But the dinner was also a good excuse to pre-open the 33° Feria de las Naciones, to be held from November 5th to the 15th. For those of you who can not go the the Rural those days, you can buy the same products and collaborate with COAS by entering their site. 

And, for the first time in my life, I won a Jean-Pierre watch on the giveaway among guests! I can't believe it!!

Of course, there were many beautiful women, starting with the future Mrs. Macri, Juliana Awada, who wore a long white dress embroidered with stones and her hair, tied into a very 1920's bun. Catherine Roemmers had a long black sequined dress and Louboutin shoes. Karina Jelinek, very pretty, used a short blue sequined dress and Ani Mestre de Sambrizzi picked a short leopard dress, that looked great on her and was very into the trends seen in Europe. Evelyn Scheild wore a short black one and I found it fitted her perfectly.

There were so many women I can not remember more!

As for me, before I finish this post, I wore a gold dress with blue and red embroidery by Oscar de la Renta (of course). As a friend of mine said... very Egyptian. I leave you a picture taken at home, before heading to the party...

So, to bed now, it's 1 am... See you soon.

P.S.: I forgot to tell you about the beautiful decoration and mood designed masterfully by Martin Roig. So difficult to achieve something like it in such a big place, but he did it.

And also some words about the food, never so tasty! And for so much people!

Benefit Gala for the Hospital de Clínicas...

Freshly arrived into a Buenos Aires already enjoying its Spring time, with the jasmines under my house in bloom (they usually show their flowers by October 25th), I pushed myself into the social world and tonight I went to a classic event: the Benefit Gala held to raise funds to help the Hospital de Clínicas.

As usual these past years, it was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, with a previous cocktail on their Mansion. As Black Tie was the dress code suggested, men wore tuxedos and women were mostly in long dresses. As it happens, there was much more people than usual, and Gabriel Oliveri, manager to the Four Seasons, confirm to me that in fact they had to add tables... more tables, more money to the Foundation supporting the Hospital. Good news!! Its President, Mercedes von Dietrichstein de Zamborain, is an amazing and incredible woman and she's been working hard for so many years to raise funds for such an important health center to our city. She's supported by a Board and a group of wonderful volunteers... in fact, all the food catered tonight (exquisite) was donated by Lily de Sielecki, something that happens every year, in every of their Galas. There were amazing prizes drawn among the attendees too: stays at luxury hotels, jewels, clothes and even a box at the Teatro Colón, to see Buenos Aires' Philarmonic Orchestra... all of them donated for the Gala!!

Attendance was assorted and interesting, from politicians like Scioli and Macri, with their wife and wife-to-be, both very beautiful and elegant, to Graciela Borges, godmother to the Gala, and Viviana Canosa, who was seated at my table and who I found "très chic," more so than on TV.

And of course, all the socialites from Argentina were there, from traditional families to new riches (this meant not with disregard, of course!).

The DJ of the night was, as usual, Héctor Suásnabar, and the food was excellent... as dessert, we had a chocolate moulleux that was to die for... I did not eat it, but did smell it.

My dress, before you ask, was a fuchsia Oscar de la Renta, strapless.

The best of it all for me?

When someone eating at my table said that he read my blog and that he really liked it and make him laugh... What joy!!

You can check the party by clicking here.

The last McQueen...

Fashion shows are over... now it's easy to move around town. Many of the black Mercedes, which filled all the hot spots to be, such as the Ritz, the Place Vendôme, les Tuilleries or the Trocadero, have disappeared. There's much less beautiful girls around and it's easier to get a table at the Costes. During ten days 91 collections were presented and many did not sleep... There were two or three big parties, as that of Roberto Cavalli or French Vogue's 90th Anniversary, or Grazia Francia's first year at the Opera Garnier. Paris proved once again that it is the Capital of the FASHION World, and no-one deserves the title more.

I've been to Alexander McQueen's runway show, whose collection was designed by Sarah Burton, his assistant for more than 10 years. And she didn't let us down: you could breath McQueen's spirit in the air, so pre-raffaelite, hard to wear but totally beautiful and imaginative. In the front row were Salma Hayek and his husband Francois-Henry Pinault, owner of McQueen. 

I also loved Marc Jacobs' collection for Louis Vuitton, a very Shangai 1930 style, colorful and original. I was disappointed by YSL's, borring and a lousy copy of the true Saint Laurent.

Of Chanel's 88 looks, presented on an incredible show orchestrated by Karl Lagerfeld, I only liked 10. 

Finally I'll tell you that Summer 2011 will be one full of color, with some Oriental reminiscences, long skirts, flat heels and the hippie Seventies as inspiration...

The rest is for us to decide... right?

McQueen, by Sarah Burton.

Louis Vuitton, by Marc Jacobs.

Giambattista Valli's show...

It's still raining in Paris, but we, "fashionistas," are unstoppable!! We still go out on our high heels, improbable looks and never get tired of it... it's what Fashion Week's about!!!

Today I went to the runway show of Giambattista Valli. who is a very talented young designer I've been following for quite some time now. As he is Italian, there were lots of Italian fashion socialites, as most of the "IT" young girls of the moment: Margherita Missoni, Bianca Brandolini d'Adda, Tatiana Santo Domingo... all of them wear lots of Valli. Charlotte Dellal was also there. She is a young shoe designer from England and I can tell she'll have a huge success. Her brand, Charlotte Olympia, is already famous and has very original designs.

Back to the show, this time I arrived rather late, just one minute before starting. The room was already dark. I was seated on the front row (it's very important to be on the front row... no one confesses it, but I tell you it is so) and when the show began and the lights were on, I realized I had two very different neighbors: on one side, Regine, the famous owner of the Regine's clubs (she's almost 80 now, but always full of life) and a weird guy with a tattoo all over his head, imitating his hair... I then found out that he was Francois Sagat, the king of gay porno films!!! As you can see, during Fashion Week, you can run into Di Caprio or a porno actor and is this variety what makes Paris unique.

The collection was nice... lots of beige, flat sandals and ponytails. Much of what I've seen everywhere else... It must be the trends I guess, what can I say?

I feel disappointed because of the heels, but I'll find some kind of solution...

For now, we'll keep trotting around in mine from one show to the other...

PS: For those who want to know, I wore a blue marine and black Alaïa dress, a Prada coat and Gucci sandals.

Lanvin's runway show...

Challenging the rain, Paris' chaotic traffic on a Friday afternoon (terrible!) and all possible inconveniences, I went to the XIII arrondissement, more precisely to Halle Freyssenet, to see Alber Elbaz's Spring-Summer 2011 collection for Lanvin.

As I have told you before, Paris' Fashion Week is an event in itself. To begin with, stars blend in all through the city, so you can end up having lunch at the Ritz in a table next to that of Leo di Caprio, as it happened to me this Wednesday, or go to Roberto Cavalli's 40th Anniversary party (in fashion, not in life...), or French Vogue's 90-Years Celebration, surrounded in both by a "parterre" of actresses and incredible models.

So, on the runway show, I was seated among the greatest fashion editors in the world (Carla Sozzani, Anna Wintour, Anna Dello Russo, Carine Roitfeld... always the same!!) and next to a very-handsome Lenny Kravitz. Just in front of me I had Janet Jackson, with a young boyfriend (a cougar?) and three huge bodyguards protecting her from the view of others... of course, they left when the show started, for if not, she would have seen nothing, right?

This time we had a delay of an hour and 15 minutes, but it was worth it. The show started a little "sottotono" to me... lots of nude and beige, hair pulled backwards, almost no make-up and, to make it worst, flat gladiator sandals!!

Then things shifted a bit and so did the heels, together with powerful colors in draped dresses. The finale was amazing, with fantastic modern embroidered pieces and long dresses, very Seventies, with huge interesting front cuts.

A special remark for the jewelry: big ribbons mounted on beige leather necklaces or belts... bellissimos!

At the end, all 50 models appeared together to Burt Bacharach's song "Always Something There to Remind Me," remixed by Ariel Wiessmann, followed by the adorable Alber Elbaz, always timidly saluting the audience that, as usual, gave him an ovation.

Always a true pleasure...