A kiss was appropriate for gala founders and co-chairs Ashley Taylor and Winston Bao Lord. She’s in trendy tangerine, and he’s in a Zenga suit plus a Thomas Pink shirt. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Stephanie Green and John Tinpe. Her dress is Ann Taylor “off the sales rack,” with Sarah Coventry vintage jewelry. John’s fanny pack is from Prada; the boots are Versace. Photograph by Kevin Allen
A solo shot of his fanny pack and boots. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Ebonee Bachman honors the “Mad Hatter” theme of the evening with her own hat. The dress? “Forever 21 Times Square!” she said proudly. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Boys being boys. No point in asking who designed their clothing. From left, George Hughes-Strange, Len McWilliams, Sean Keegan, and Rob Dulabon. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Peter Branch of the Washington Ballet said proudly that he was wearing Brooks Brothers from head to toe, including underneath. We believed him. Khrystyna Kushnir got her ballerina-esque dress at Signature boutique. Photograph by Kevin Allen
The Mad Hatter himself, Larry O’Halloran, in fashion of his own making. We asked him to pose with Scott Jeffrey, to great effect. She said her “top hat fascinator” was ordered online from England. “I wish more people wore hats!” Photograph by Kevin Allen
Alyssa Retzena looked like springtime. The dress? From Forever 21. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Some people just know how to pose. Take Pamela Sorensen, who has her moves down. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Jesse Lyon and Kip Payne were not together. When we photographed Kip we ran to ask Jesse, a Washington Ballet dancer, to join, as is, in the photo. Some pairings are just meant to be. Payne said, “I’ll never get a security clearance again.” Photograph by Kevin Allen
A shy moment from Mariam Karim, who was uncertain about posing. Her outfit was too smart not to shoot. Trousers and vest from Rag & Bone, shoes from Sergio Rossi, necklace from J.Crew. Photograph by Kevin Allen
We saw Ava Deylami sparkling in the ballroom and asked her to pose. Then we noticed Kian Hassani in his bright red jacket. Turned out they are friends. Her gold sheath is by Nicole Miller. Kian’s jacket is custom Brooks Brothers. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Sara Trab Nielsen embodied swagger. She’s Danish and said everything she was wearing was Danish, except the shoes, which she bought that day at DSW. “I’m the Fashion for Paws co-chair,” she said. Noted. Photograph by Kevin Allen
Noelle Sherber and Ariel Rad are newlyweds. No kidding! They glow, after a wedding last month in St. Barths. Both are doctors. She’s wearing Missoni with that “Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady” smile. Photograph by Kevin Allen
In 2012 in Washington, jeans at a gala are as appropriate as cocktail dresses, at least if you can pull off the look as well as these two. Rennet McPherson is on the left, Helen Lamphere on the right. Her outfit? “A little Top Shop. Gap jeans.” Photograph by Kevin Allen
A quick smooch and classic preppy for Reed and Julie Landry. It seems appropriate, since he owns the ultimate preppy hot spot, the George Club. Photograph by Kevin Allen
We loved Brenda Jacobsen’s look, and especially her giggles. The hat is from Lola. “I collect hats,” she said. Photograph by Kevin Allen
We had Catherine Pitcher and Sean Wehrly pose with straight faces, but she had to laugh. Her gold lace dress is vintage. “It was actually my older sister’s.” He’s wearing Marc Jacobs. Photograph by Kevin Allen
There’s something so Chuck Bass about these two, but DC’s even swankier version. No one needed to tell Yannick Mwana and Jesus Tshimanga they oozed style. They knew it. Yannick is in Dolce & Gabbana, and Jesus is in Versace. Photograph by Kevin Allen
James Gibbs is a Ritz-Carlton server. He loved watching the Washingtonian shoot. So we pulled him into a shot with professional model Jacqueline Akoko. Her dress is by Michael Kors. His tux? “Belongs to the hotel.” Photograph by Kevin Allen
Austin Bryan and Marley Clements, whose white lace dress is vintage. Photograph by Kevin Allen
It takes a bold man to wear a white dinner jacket in the middle of winter, but why not? Sammy Ahmed is sockless, too. The jacket? “I had it made in Thailand.” That’s it, he must have dressed for Phuket weather. Smiling beside him is Asim Khan. Photograph by Kevin Allen
We didn’t get their names, but their sense of fun certainly seemed to fit the end of our shoot. Photograph by Kevin Allen
