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Entries in luis rodriguez (2)

Friday
May082009

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Decorators and other appreciators of beautiful interior furnishings flocked to last night's Design on a Dime benefit, the fifth annual showcase in support of Housing Works. The New York-based charity, which raises funds to support the fights against AIDS and homelessness, maintains shops in Manhattan that sell used clothing and items for the vintage-loving home.

The gala preview, co-chaired by actress Parker Posey, attracted some of the city's biggest-name designers, 40 of whom created vignettes containing an assortment of Housing Works merchandise. Among our favorites included homages to Spongebob and one to Barack Obama. (See photos in the jump.) One of the other great thrills of the night was the presence of the gracious and never-anything-but-stunning Jaclyn Smith. The actress and longtime K-Mart design partner, will appear in next week's "Farrah's Story," which documents the battle that Farrah Fawcett, Smith's former Charlie's Angels co-star, has waged with a pernicious cancer for nearly three years.

For anyone who didn't make it to the gala, Design on a Dime will be open to the public (admission is free), at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W. 18th Street) through Sunday. Check it out. But be sure to bring more than a dime. Though the prices are up to 80-percent off retail, loose change will not get you very far at this event.

For more photos, click here.

Thursday
Feb192009

Fit for a King

Fresh from their trip to Pensacola, where they helped commemorate the 450th anniversary of the first Spanish settlement in Florida, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia presided as special guests of honor at a dinner given at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Emceed by New York superchef Mario Batali, the evening provided a royal kick-off to this weekend's South Beach Wine & Food Festival, in Miami. After a lavish food and wine tasting in the Spanish mission-style courtyard of the Biltmore, guests proceeded to the hotel's regal banquet hall, where they dined on courses prepared by several of Spain's most noted chefs, each of whom presented a course. The wizards of cuisine included Pedro Subijana, Daniel Garcia and Francisco (Paco) Torreblanca. Culinary master of ceremonies was José Andrés, whose brand of molecular gastronomy continues to captivate diners in our nation's capital and most recently, at Bazaar in Beverly Hills. Among the celebrity guests who turned out to sample la comida españa were singers Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan. Neither one performed, which we thought was a shame. The king and queen would surely have enjoyed a mash-up of "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You."

For more photos, click here.