DFW Style Daily Crowns Best Dressed for 2013

DFW Style Daily's Heather Lettieri
and Cynthia Smoot

Last Thursday, former Best Dressed honorees Yvonne Crum and Benny Black co-chaired the second annual DFW Style Daily Best Dressed 2013 Awards.  The Galleria Dallas pulled out all the stops for this fancy-pants evening by hosting this event inside the ice rink.  How would I manage to slide around in 5" stilettos, I wondered? Not to worry, they covered the rink with carpet. Whew!

This year’s trendsetters showcased fall looks using their own personal flair and fashion diva Jan Strimple dazzled guests with pop-up runway shows highlighted styles from some of the Galleria's vendors like BCBCG MaxAzria, Ann Taylor, Thomas Pink and Falconable.

This year's Best Dressed honorees were:

• Barbara Daseke, Interior Designer 
• Ariel Saldivar, Director of Development, Goss-Michael Foundation, Founder and Designer, Olivia K Jewelry 
• Jaffrene Islam, Student, University of Texas at Dallas 
• Khanh Nguyen, Founder and Designer, Nha Khanh 
• Amanda Reed, Store Manager, TenOverSix Dallas 
• Dawn Mellon, Wardrobe Stylist and Fashion Columnist
• George John, Professional Soccer Player, FC Dallas 
• Charlie Price, Owner and Stylist, Hair by Charlie 
• Niven Morgan, Founder and Fragrance Designer, Niven Morgan 
• Elliot Munoz, Photographer 
• David & Lavarro Jackson-Hurley, Songwriter & Makeup Artist (David) and CEO, Imagine Thee Bespoke Events (Lavarro) 
• Taylor J. Booth, Actor/Model - Booth was scouted on location at Galleria Dallas during their special "Street Style Scouting Mission"

Best Dressed Honorees for 2013: Khank Nguyen with her husband and Barbara Daseke

Emcee Steve Kemble kept the convo lively while party goers indulged in delectable food and cocktails, and mingled with fashion-forward Dallasites! This event benefitted Dallas Can Academies and the Suicide Crisis Center of North Texas. Spotted in the crush were Kellie Rasberry, Mary Mirsky, Jackson, designer Elizabeth Aynaa, Jai Okoli, blogger Alex Small, Hamilton Sneed, Regina Bruce, jewelry designer Shona Gilbert and Holly Quartaro.

For this special occasion, I wore a stunning emerald green frock from Dallas designer Lela Rose.  LeeAnne Locken teased me saying, "This is not the Golden Globes!" but when attending a fashion industry event, my motto is that it's always better to over-dressed than under-dressed.  Daniel Lewis from Green Peridot had just colored enhanced my natural hair color earlier that day and decided to give me wavy curls to go with my killer cocktail look. It takes a village, people...

Starting Tuesday, Oct. 1 you can see videos, exclusive photos and more at http://dfwstyledaily.com/dfw-style-dailys-best-dressed-2013/

Photos: QC Cong of XO Photography