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Junior Associates Left the Greatest Impression Saturday Night

Question of Saturday night: What award goes to Yana Landman Greenstein (pictured right with Chrissy Tebbe)?

Answer: After the jump.

But first let’s review the Junior Associates Circle’s “An Affair of the Art 2010″ last Saturday night in which the Dallas Museum of Art’s Atrium Cafe had its own Cinderella transformation. Usually a “casual fare menu, quick service, and a family-friend atmosphere,” it’s the little stepsister of the DMA’s Seventeen Seventeen, that “boasts a global menu experience that can only be defined as culinary artistry.”

While Cinderella had Walt Disney to thank for her night on the town, the Atrium had co-chairs Renne (pictured) and Bill Lokey and Lisa and Wayne Moore orchestrating its bibbiti-bobbiti-boo experience and turning the cavernous room into an elegant ballroom swathed in a palette of colors. Instead of a fairy godmother with a marvelous wand, the co-chairs had decorating maestro Rusty Glenn, who used his Monet side of the brain to create an impressionistic masterpiece. Using pale pink led up lights around the perimeter of the room, the room was cast in colors reminiscent of Haystacks.

Even the centerpieces (pictured) had their lighting fix. Targeted with pin spotting, each of the centerpieces was a little piece of artwork. Think back to Art History 101 and recall Regatta at Argenteuil. With 3′ tall glass cylinders, Rusty used pastel-colored roses, hydrangeas, and tulips to create a sea-like effect for the miniature sailboats to set sail.

Let’s face it. Lighting is everything. Everything and everyone was kicked up a notch thanks to the well-done glow.

To complete the dazzling colors of the room, Rusty created images of clouds on both sides of the incredible Dale Chihuly‘s Persian glass artistry to enhance its presence.

Even the Atrium’s menu had its Cinderella flourish. Usually playing second fiddle to its Seventeen Seventeen stepsister when it comes to gourmet dining, the Atrium’s soups, salads and sandwiches were replaced with roasted beet salad with herbed truffled farmers cheese, scallion crostini, spiced walnuts and coco nibs followed by braised beef short ribs with parmesan cheese polenta and baby glazed carrots and asparagus. Naturally, the courses were accompanied by Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay and Cabernet, respectively. As for the desserts, the sea salt caramels, assorted macaroons and palmiers were available in the Museum’s Concourse.

The final touch that pushed this event over the top was the assembly of 400 of Dallas’ most captivating  pieces of artwork. . . rather, guests. These were not normal human beings. Think Bonfire of the Vanities beautiful people, who have never known a split end or a Clearasil moment. . . especially the women.  In their world, being overweight is as sinful as stealing. Yes, they work hard in their day jobs, but at night, and especially on this night, they put Degas ballerinas to shame. They walk and talk with a splendid confidence that would put the most influential politician on shaky grounds. Somehow these Barbie’s make a bargain dress from Amazon looks like a couture gown straight from New York’s Fashion Week.

Darn it, they just have a way about them that separates them from the rest of the herd.

Shall we review some examples? Ashley Rutledge in a body-embracing Nicole Miller with her buddy Robyn Stevens (pictured right with Ashley) in a taupe flowing Bottega were the golden girl of the night. The girls’ gowns of gold and taupe managed to be just colorful enough without being gaudy against the pastel aura of the Atrium. Heaven, forbid!

Another breaking from the traditional black, white, or red color spectrum that most evening gowns seem to be trapped, Locke Lord’s former Rachel Trowbridge (pictured)  went with a metallic brown/black, bare-shouldered Nicole Miller. Why is she former? Seems she just turned in her two week’s notice and is “going to be a mommy.”

But don’t get us wrong. White is all right if the right people are wearing it. Take for example, fine arts dealer Ashley Tatum (pictured) in a oh-so pure Sue Wong. Perhaps it looked all the whiter next to commercial banker Aimee Nelson‘s burgundy Maria Bianca Nero.

Then there was speech pathologist Allison Edwards (pictured), whose blue evening gown (she just couldn’t remember which designer created it) was totally upstaged by its all-that-glitters-is-not-gold necklace.

Catching the eye of many for attention were adorable Whitney Sprague in a luscious, form fitting leprechaun green gown dancing with Woodward Oge (pictured with Whitney). Don’t you just love that name? It’s reeks of East Coast prep school. Thanks to dysfunkshun junkshun (i.e. the excellent band), Whitney and Woody on the dance floor made Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar seem like cloggers. (Sorry that you can’t see too much of the gown, but the twosome seemed pretty inseparable.)

Among the gentlemen, it was a different story. After all, there’s just so much you can do with black tie events, especially within this set. However, there were a couple of incidents that must be acknowledged.

One gent opted for the British form of neck wear instead of the usual black tie. His red ascot made some other fellows wonder if they shouldn’t consider giving it a try. Looked a lot more comfortable than the conventional neck-wrenching bow ties. The chap looked downright casual with his open shirt and soft red scarf.

And then there were the cummerbund controversy. Relax! There were no brightly colored cummerbunds with matching ties in this crowd. Did you think we were back in the 80′s? There were two camps of thoughts regarding waist covers at the event. The traditional types looked more pulled together and, let’s face it, slimmer in their cummerbunds and waistcoats.

The edgier, more contemporary gentlemen, who follow Daniel Craig‘s lead, opted for no waist cover at all. Sadly, many of those opting for the exposed waistband look did not have Daniel’s stomach. Yew, body fat hanging over waistbands was so Dan Conner.

Oh, and you’re still wondering what award went to Yana? Silly! Of all of the lovelies at the event, she had the very, ultimate shortest outfit of the night much to the pleasure of her date husband Arthur and others watching the dance floor. Chrissy came in a close second, though.