The Sexy Party!

Amy Johnston, Vivian Weiss

Patrick Vo, Anthony Shane

In what was surely the best party of the sultry summer social season, the city’s original Hotel ZaZa in the Museum District joined with Veuve Clicquot last week to celebrate Houston CityBook’s “Sexy Issue.” It was called The Sexy Party.


A crowd of about 300 gathered poolside to pick up their copies of the mag, sip only-the-best bubbly and take in the red-hot swim/lingerie fashion show everybody’s buzzing about. A buff and tatted DJ spun overhead, from a balcony overlooking the scene, which was fragrant with chic, low-slung, all-white florals by Lexis Florist.

Produced by fashion pro Todd Ramos and featuring a slew of models signed with event co-host Page Parkes, the runway show wrapped around the mood-lit pool and touted European styles. The show highlighted sophisticated, unabashedly racy women’s looks from “in” boutique Maison Jolie, a CityBook partner and also a co-host of the bash.

Jewelers Bella Madre and Christina Greene, and milliner Gabriela Dror, also provided pieces for gals. Men’s apparel — ranging from resort-ready and dapper to, at times, scandalously scant — sampled looks from M Penner, Manready Mercantile, Guyz N Style and Target. J&S Audio Visual and Impressive Events graciously lent production support, featuring the latest in French sound tech by Devialet from Iconic Systems.

Guests included Heart of Fashion founder Vivian Wise, philanthropist and fashion and lifestyle blogger Beth Muecke, CultureMap editor Steven Devadanam, and international soccer star Brian Ching, whose ballyhooed new Pitch 25 Beer Park opened for business the next day in EaDo.

Party People

Brooke Wyatt Trio

AS TOY-PIANO VIRTUOSO Schroeder hollers in Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, “Whaddya mean Beethoven wasn’t so great?!!” Real recognizes real, and Dec. 4-16, DACAMERA presents Beethoven For All, a free, six-concert series of 20 of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s piano sonatas performed by some of the city’s leading classical pianists.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

'The Montefiore Mainz Mahzor,' c. 1310– 20, German in origin; and late 18th- to early 19th-century Torah crown, Polish in origin

IN 2018, THE Museum of Fine Arts, Houston acquired a rare and unusual object — an illuminated medieval manuscript, or mahzor, consisting of 299 leaves of prayers to be recited in synagogue on Jewish holidays. At that time, the museum had more than 60,000 Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and Confucian objects in the collection, but only two objects that reflected Jewish culture. “And so, the big question was, ‘Why don’t we have more?’” says MFAH director Gary Tinterow.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment