After a Fashion

THE SOCIAL DIARY Last weekend, I attended the Octopus Club's ArtErotica fundraiser for AIDS Services of Austin, dragging my peeps, Gail Chovan, Evan Voyles, Neil Diaz, Miss Kitty, and her boyfriend Zach Garrison along with me. It was kind of strange to be at such a large event where I knew so few people, but it was truly fab. We hung out with Bob Sherman (famous erotic art photographer), Amber Price (Toni's daughter), Ted Allen (of One Eleven Design), and Patrick Guillen (of World Art Foods at www.worldartfoods.com), among so many others too fabulous to mention. The Blue Genie was transformed into a veritable garden of earthly delights -- or should I say garden of earthy delights -- decked from wall to wall and floor to ceiling with erotic art of every description. But a sizable amount of the erotic art was the living-and-breathing variety of attractive and stylish men I'd never seen before. There were so many, I found myself wondering where they all spent their lives (at the gym, evidently). There were some absolutely stunning pieces, and the event would have to be considered a success, with one early estimate of $15,000 being raised. That's serious business, guys. Congratulations to our good friend Joel Mozersky and the rest of the Octopus Club committee for their hard work... Eventually we wound up at the Four Seasons for the Art Ball's afterparty. It was a surprisingly hip affair, with Bob Schneider performing (I liked his version of the Rolling Stones' "She's So Cold") for a crowd that combined some of the most high-profile local style-makers with a lot of Republican types in cowboy hats and their own tuxes. The beaded gown brigade was out in force, with both St. Thomas and Giada making a good showing. Though much of the hair was very "September 10th," I'd have to say everyone was dressed reasonably well. I personally had new hair and was nervous about it -- afraid I looked like Dawn Davenport in Female Trouble. So I wore my big Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses all night, which added just the right amount of glamour and mystery: apparently enough so that while chatting in the hallway outside the ballroom, some obviously new-money couple grabbed my arm and said, "Who are you?" I told them I was Andre Leon Talley from Vogue and threatened to have them arrested if they accosted me again. I hid behind the sunglasses the rest of the night, except when I was introduced to Tribeza's society columnist, Phil Hudson. I definitely took my sunglasses off for him. What a nice guy he is, and a real gentleman too. Congrats to Phil and all the staff at Tribeza on their second anniversary. We also hung out with, among others, Lance Morgan of Austin Monthly, Christina Klisanin of Vylette, former Chronicle intern Leigh-Ann Jackson of the Statesman, Heather Gomez of Stiletto, the fabulous Matthew & Katy Culmo of By George, the handsome Johnny Neill and his beautiful wife Pam, my favorite interiorista Mark Ashby, and Selena Souders and Dylan Roberts of Big Red Sun. Selena, who is always refreshingly frank with me, brought me up to date on Big Red Sun's second annual Hello, Birdie event, and I'll be passing that info along to you soon.

CELE-BABBLE The lovely Elise from Flipnotics informs us that Billy Bob Thornton came in and bought a couple of their new Fender Western shirts. While he was at the counter looking at Flipnotics' vintage KISS toys, Billy Bob commented how "Gene" had given him some KISS memorabilia. We can presume he meant Gene Simmons and not Gene Kelly, Gene Tierney, Gene Krupa, or even Jean Seberg... Tabloid journalism has become so pervasive, and celebrity coverage so primary, it's almost as if celebrities were members of our own families. Who doesn't know whom we're speaking of when we say Julia, Nicole, Brad, or Renée ... but then when I switch over to more serious reading matters in places like The New York Times, I often get tripped up. This morning, I saw the headline "Sharon Close to Forming 3-Party Government in Israel" and I thought, "Good for Sharon. She was so good in Casino, she should be great at running a government." I laughed a lot until I realized that they must have been talking about Sharon Osbourne and not Sharon Stone ....

THE LAST WORD We were invited to Word of Mouth's Bridal Preview at the Littlefield Corp. last week, featuring a sneak peek at some of the wonderful delicacies they'll be offering this season. The service was impeccable, of course, especially from manager Loralee Martin, who made sure we understood what we were eating and that we had plenty of it; the Portobello Croustades, among so many offerings, were delectable, as was the Pecan-Crusted Salmon with Apple-French Grain Mustard, and the Pepper-Crusted Smoked Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream and Potato Rolls. And the cakes? Well, you know they were fabulous, especially the Sour Cream Cake with Mixed Berry Filling. Excellent work as usual from this award-winning operation, which was also just nominated by Special Events magazine for Best Off-Premise Catered Event (for their 800-person Blanton Museum Gala). To hire Word of Mouth for your event, call 472-2501.