The reason for the formal family affair and now presenting my granddaughter Louisa Smitherman and escort for the ball her father, the Honorable Barry Smitherman.
All done and the glass slippers will be off soon!!! A beautiful evening and great fun with the entire Frede Family!!
The Lunar Rendezvous Festival in the Clear Lake/Nasa area of Houston ends with the glorious, glamorous ball. After months with many events that raise money distributed to various charities, it is time for the Grand Finale! Our whole family was in attendance to see the only grand daughter come out and be presented as one of about 70 princesses, Lieutenants, and Lady In Waiting. This beautiful princess was our belle of the ball.
We had family fly in from Portland, San Jose, CA, and Washington D.C. It was a great chance for us all to be together and have some great family photos made. (kind of like a wedding)
Norman and I decided to rent a beach house in Galveston, TX for the week, so that the family could be together and we would have a close proximity to the San Luis Convention Center in Galveston where the Fashion Show and Ball were to be held. Tip: Beachside Village is a great beachside community that is fairly new and very close to the Strand. Highly recommend!! The homes can be rented or purchased through Sandnsea.com I will do a little blog soon about this community!
MY STYLE: When thinking about a new dress for the ball, I knew that Tootsies Houston would be my first stop. They always have a large variety of brands, style, and prices. I also have a great sales girl there. If you have never shopped there, then stop in and see Rochelle!!. She has been there for many years and knows her merchandise and really does a great job knowing what her customers want. BTW….. I modeled for Tootsies in the 80’s.
Rochelle and I pulled a lot of dresses to try. This was actually the first dress I tried on and it was definitely the dress for me. I didn’t even try on many of the others. This dress does run very small so I had to go up 2 sizes. That is very common with evening gowns so don’t freak out.
For years I have been collecting some nice fine jewelry pieces, so I love it when I can break them out for an evening. I am sorry to say that they are mostly one of a kind and cannot be purchased but I linked some similar pieces below. My Jude Frances wide bangle bracelet, Orbis ring, and Greg Ruth 10k yellow diamond ring all came from my go to fine jewelry store Lewis Jewelers Lewisusa.com located in Clear Lake and Town Park in Houston. Don’t forget that if you don’t have the budget for fine jewelry then there are plenty of ways to copy the look.
Finally, my hair. I wanted to go somewhere in Galveston for convenience, so after asking around I found a great hairstylist at The Moody Gardens Resort & Spa. Her name is Sonya in case you need her. She did my clip in extensions for the fashion show and my up do for the ball.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post. Have a great day!! Xo, SheShe
Dress by Aida | Earring my own, similar here and more budget friendly here | Clutch Bottega Veneta, color not available, but other colors available here | Evening sandals Jimmy Choo (yes I splurged) | Earrings, similar here and more budget friendly here | Wide bracelet Jude Frances, similar here | Diamond bangles here and budget friendly here
