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Style Scout: John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit

By Adam Tschorn The annual John Varvatos Stuart House benefit, which raises funds to help the child victims of sexual abuse, can always be counted on to draw a constellation of celebrities into its worthy-cause orbit. The seventh installment last weekend pulled plenty of familiar faces into the tent at the corner of Robertson and Melrose, including Alice Cooper, Jim Belushi, Eric McCormack, Donovan Leitch, Perry Farrell, Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna, plus event hosts Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. Bacon told us he and his wife became aware of the organization after Sedgwick tackled the tough topic for an episode of “The Closer.” The highlight of the afternoon, which raised $350,000, was a rousing 45-minute set by ZZ Top, pictured, that included classics “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Sharp Dressed Man.” On this sunny Sunday in West Hollywood, we found plenty of the former and precious few of the latter. Still, a handful of folks managed to make their own style statement. Among them:

By Adam Tschorn

The annual John Varvatos Stuart House benefit, which raises funds to help the child victims of sexual abuse, can always be counted on to draw a constellation of celebrities into its worthy-cause orbit. The seventh installment last weekend pulled plenty of familiar faces into the tent at the corner of Robertson and Melrose, including Alice Cooper, Jim Belushi, Eric McCormack, Donovan Leitch, Perry Farrell, Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna, plus event hosts Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. Bacon told us he and his wife became aware of the organization after Sedgwick tackled the tough topic for an episode of “The Closer.”

The highlight of the afternoon, which raised $350,000, was a rousing 45-minute set by ZZ Top, pictured, that included classics “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Sharp Dressed Man.” On this sunny Sunday in West Hollywood, we found plenty of the former and precious few of the latter. Still, a handful of folks managed to make their own style statement. Among them:  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

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John Varvatos benefit.

Stylist Anthony Suncin, 23, and Debbie Gonzalez, 23, a fashion student at Pasadena City College, both from Los Angeles. He’s wearing April77 jeans, a T-shirt by Emma Rose and a vest by Fluxus, and is carrying a Burberry bag. She’s wearing a shirt from Corpus, a Missoni jacket and a Marc Jacobs ring, and carrying a Club Monaco bag.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos benefit.

Dayne DuVall, 48, an interior designer from Orlando, Fla., was kickin’ it against the wall in a pair of Earnest Sewn dark-wash jeans paired with a striped button-front shirt and stingy-brim fedora. “They’re both from Target,” he said of the shirt and hat. He’s apparently also a jewelry designer. Ira Hammons-Glass, the 44-year-old, L.A.-based costume designer standing with him, said DuVall had made the jewelry he was wearing with his cargo pants, Rick Owens jacket and James Perse T-shirt.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos benefit.

Wilkins Frias, 33, from Echo Park was in the spirit in head-to-toe John Varvatos from the spring 2009 collection (except for the Oakley sunglasses), including a silver cardigan, plaid shirt and tie; small wonder, as Wilkins works for the label.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos benefit.

Chris Ohanesian, 45, a currency trader from L.A., wore a Ted Baker shirt and scarf, a stingy brim from Ambiguous, a pair of Converse All-Star sneakers, John Varvatos jeans, and an Ernst Benz Mario Batali watch. “My wife is my favorite accessory,” he said.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos benefit.

Billy Tuchscher, 37, who works on brand extension and development with Rolling Stone magazine, was visiting from San Diego. He was establishing the look of his own brand with the holiest pair of jeans this side of a Goodwill trash bin, a custom-made Pazzo jacket, a woven Peter Grimm cowboy hat and a pair of chained-up Tony Lama boots. “I’ve got, like, 30 hats,” Tuchscher told us. “And almost as many pairs of boots.”  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos benefit.

L.A.-based actress Katharine Kramer — “I go by Kat, it’s what my godmother Katharine Hepburn used to call me,” she managed to name-drop when introducing herself — was in an Arden B. top and Marciano jeans, with a custom St. Chimonix clutch and Arden B. jewelry.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos benefit.

Model-actress-reality TV fixture Brittny Gastineau, 25, of West Hollywood was among the more formally dressed for the afternoon, in a Barneys New York private label floor-length red gown accessorized with a chunky gold cuff from her own jewelry line.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos event

Event coordinator A.J. Celi, 28, from West Hollywood, wore Betsey Johnson tights, with heels from Velvet Angels.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

John Varvatos event

Fun footwear ruled the day: Robert Matthew, 52, a photographer from Hollywood, in a pair of Tony Lama boots he found in Austin, Texas, with custom silver tips; Steve Geerts, 38, of New York in a pair of John Varvatos boots from the spring 2009 collection (he works at John Varvatos); and Joshua Klein, 39, also an L.A. photographer, in gold, quilted PF Flyers. “I’ve also got a pair of orange patent leather ones,” he said.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

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