La Tea Da Fashion Show Supports Local Charity

La Tea Da, a high tea and fashion show benefiting Emmaus House of Hospitality, a Lake Zurich based organization, which serves families in need, took place at Wynstone Country Club in North Barrington on Sunday.  , a full service, Lake Zurich spa, headed by owner/stylist, Rose De Paola hosted the event.

De Paola, whose organization chooses to annually  support a local charitable organization  through large events, believes in giving back to her community.  “I believe you have to give to get,” she said. 

This year’s organization is “a terrific cause,” according to De Paola who admires the dedication of the staff who volunteer every Sunday.   

A completely full house turned out to participate in the event which featured the designs of Timothy Westbrook who is the Artist-in-Residence at Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee and Barbara Bates, who appeared on the NBC show, Fashion Star.

Prior to the show, attendees mingled in an expansive reception hall where Ablan Gallery Portrait Design, Sephora, CDU.com, LRS Interiors, Inc, Wynstone Golf Club, Timothy Grant Jewelry, LTD. , and offered gifts and samples.

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Loren Reid Seaman of his self-named interior design business manned a table, but has contributed much more to the event; among his many projects was organizing the participating businesses for the gala.    “We’ve been meeting every single Wednesday for three months,” he said.  “I co-coordinated with all of the vendors, I also worked with Rose and Ablan Galleries to create the invitation,” he said.  

Paul Sprecher, the event co-coordinator for Lake Zurich’s Sephora, represented the beauty product store and offered gift bags full of samples. “We have three of our makeup artists doing the models right now,” he said.  

Among the attendees, Sheri Sorrells of Kildeer attended the festivities to support Emmaus House of Hospitality.  “It supplies food in times of need,” she said.  “My daughter has a little company that she supports domestic food pantries called Unbearable Hunger, so I wanted to come and support the organization.”  

Theresa Patton of Barrington said, “ I came as a business owner to support businesses who put on things like this for charity.”

Guests were seated at large circular tables for the tea, where trays of small treats were offered with a variety of beverages.

The fashion show was well received by the crowd, which remained seated as the models made their way into the large room with panoramic views of the Wynstone Golf Course.  After strutting on a small stage, flanked by dancers from the Trilogy School of Performing Arts, the models showed off their apparel while strutting between the tables providing a closer view for guests, who enthusiastically applauded their approval.

Westbrook’s designs were whimsical takes on Victorian era fashion with a recycling twist.  “My secret ingredient is the inside of audio tapes,” he said, pointing out the weave of threaded tape in the fabric of one of his ball gowns. 

“All of the sewing is done on an antique treadle sewing machine from the late 1880s,” Westbrook, who is originally from upstate New York, added.

The Bates collection was a sophisticated mix of casual and formal wears with vibrant fabrics and design.

After the show, the audience got to their feet and applauded, clearly having enjoyed the afternoon’s activities.

For more information about Emmaus House of Hospitality visit the website.