Diana Cavagnaro | Downtown News
June Victorian Ladies’ Tea
The annual June Tea and Fashion Show was presented by the Victorian Ladies Society at the San Diego Women’s Club on June 7. The guests arrived in their Victorian regalia for a social hour combined with boutique shopping. The Victorian era was the period from 1837 to 1901 when Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire. Women wore beautiful gowns with petticoats, corsets, and straw hats or bonnets. Men wore frock coats and waistcoats with top hats. David Schluter wore a 104-year-old top hat that belonged to his grandfather.
The afternoon tea began with a fare provided by Armstrong Catering and included finger sandwiches, scones, fruit, yummy French pastries, and tea served in lovely teapots.
The fashion show highlighted Victorian fashions and this period was huge on accessories. The models showed off lace fans, parasols, gloves, purses, monocles, cameos, and shawls.
The Victorian Ladies Society of San Diego was established in 1991 with a dedication and appreciation for the Victorian era. They hold three major events during the year, including this annual June Tea, a Fall Garden Tea, and the Holiday Christmas Gathering. For more information call Lady Rebecca Morales at 619-248-2134.
Six2Midnite
Six2Midnite hosted Saving Earth’s Elephants at Alexander Salazar’s Fine Art on June 13. The evening abounded with fashion, music, dance, film, and interactive art and was filled with Cirque performers. Acrobats and stilt walkers greeted the guests as they arrived on the Red Carpet in Cirque Fashions. My favorite was the adorable elephant stilt walker who captivated everyone’s heart. Jay Seven performed as a fire-eater and she roamed the event showing off her skill. A screening of the movie “How I Became an Elephant” was shown and co-director Synthian Sharp and producer Alex Pedersen were on hand to talk with the audience about the film and answer questions. This film tells the story of 14 year-old Juliette West, who educates herself about elephants and then goes on to help save the world’s largest mammal. The aim of this documentary is to promote global awareness about the exploitation of elephants which are currently facing extinction.
The event rotated musical entertainment that culminated with Breaking Vega and a lightshow. Terrific elephant items were raffled off to the audience. Saving Earth’s Elephants benefits Jane Goodall’s Educational Outreach Project, Roots, & Shoots, and Rattle the Cage Productions. If you would like to join the stampede, visit howibecameanelephant.com.
Upcoming Events
July 24-26 | La Jolla International Fashion Film Festival will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla. This is a worldwide gathering of the fashion film community and includes filmmakers from around the world. For tickets visit ljfff.com.
July 24 | Her Universe Geek Couture Fashion Show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. Her Universe™, the groundbreaking sci-fi fashion apparel line, recently announced that they have joined forces to bring the first-ever full-scale “Geek Couture” fashion show and design competition to Comic-Con 2014. For info visit heruniverse.com
—Diana Cavagnaro is a nationally recognized hat designer and milliner, and has been in the fashion business for 30 years. The last 20 of those years she’s operated her business from Downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter, while moonlighting in the Fashion department at San Diego Mesa College. She can be reached at [email protected].
