Fashion for a Cause: Featuring The Real Housewives of New York!

by: Anne M. Raso

This past Wednesday night, I attended the Fashion for a Cause fashion show and the launch of The Dawson Scleroderma Foundation. Held at the Carlton Hotel, over 300 of New York's most charitable tastemakers, fashion lovers, and celebs joined founder Courtney Dawson (who herself is terminally ill with Scleroderma) to watch designer David Meister's fashion show, featuring The Real Housewives of New York’s Ramona Singer's jewelry collection.

The Real Housewives, David Meister, and Swizz Beatz

In New York, there are countless of parties on any given night, but was I glad to have been invited to attend this one! For the gliteratti of NYC all must have had charity (and fashion) on their minds that night - because Fashion for a Cause's star power shone as brightly as the ones in the night sky! Spotted watching the models and Ramona herself modeling Meister's Audrey-Hepburn inspired evening wear were the Real Housewives "castmates" Alex McCord, Simon Van Kempen, Luanne de Lesseps, and Sonja Morgan. Producer and hip hop superstar Swizz Beatz also guest deejay-ed and made a brief speech at the beginning of the show (he is a big fan of both David Mesiter and The Dawson Scleroderma Foundation).

Are we on camera?

The only down point is that I didn't make any of the winning bids in the event's wonderful silent auction that included a stunning necklaces donated by Jewels Of The Ocean! This event was actually filmed for the Real Housewives of NYC, so tune in for footage of the cast both watching the fashion show and backstage with the models -- or maybe just tune in to catch a glimpse of Team Financefoodie!

For those who are not unfamiliar with this disease and don't have a medical dictionary on hand, Scleroderma is group of rare and (currently) incurable diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues — the fibers that provide the framework and support for your body. Localized scleroderma affects the skin. Systemic scleroderma affects the blood vessels and internal organs, as well as your skin (systemic is the obviously more deadly form). All proceeds from this event's ticket sales and silent auction went to support this new Foundation, whose goal is to improve the lives of Scleroderma patients by providing support and empowerment to patients, as well as raise funds to continue research in eventually finding a cure for this illness. For more information, please visit their website here

[Photos: Anne M. Raso]