Well-Known McLean Women Model for Benefit

By Donna Peterson

The music hopped, and paper Japanese lanterns swayed, feeling the beat.  Lord & Taylor, Chanel, photog lights, all the right ingredients.  Models hit the runway, rockin' the latest spring collection from Lafayette 148. 

But wait, could it be?  Indeed, your eyes weren't deceiving.  It was Dr. Deborah Jackson, principal of McLean High School,  on the catwalk. 

 Dr. Jackson was among some of the best known women in McLean who modelled the fashions shown at the Second Annual Fashion Show Tea Benefit.  The other models included Angie Carter, Pamela Danner, Jane Edmondson, Lynn Gulick, Jacqueline Scott, Margery Sher, Lara Stuckey, Amy Swaak and Margi Vanderhye.

The benefit was hosted by the Board of Directors of the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) Thursday, and raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Chamber. Emceed by William Dubose, IV, the models and 50 guests received fashion tips from Lauren Rothman, fashion consultant from Channel 8, Fox and CBS.

"She would put things on and take one thing off [the models] and change the whole look," said Virginia Foley, a member of the Chamber since 1978.

This is the first year Lord & Taylor hosted the show in the store, and a section of the women's department morphed into a spring garden for the celebration.

"Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves," said Michael Sheedy, the manager of the women's department at Lord & Taylor for the past two years, as guests shopped long after the event concluded.

McLean merchants Hier and Hanes Salon, Fluffy Thought Cakes, La Sandia, Giant Foods, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar joined Chanel and corporate partner Lord & Taylor in the effort "to celebrate and elevate the women of McLean, said GMCC President Marcia S. Twomey.  "We drive the event, but many players are involved."  

It was unclear how much money the fashion show raised for the Chamber and Make-A-Wish.   

Please see the accompanying photo gallery of the fashion show. All photos are courtesy of photographer William B. Folsom.