A Pajama Party for the Wide-Awake

If party-goers attending brunch at the Newport Dunes Back Bay Cafe on Saturday looked as if they had just rolled out of bed, they for good reason: This was a pajama party with a purpose.

About 200 guests showed up in pajamas, robes and fuzzy slippers for a champagne brunch staged by the Newport Dunes Resort in Newport Beach to benefit Le Premiere, a support group for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Orange County. The $20-per-person event was expected to raise about $5,000 for the foundation.

Black Lace and Flannel

Guests wore everything from granny-style flannel nightgowns to satin pajamas.

“I think everybody feels a little self-conscious in their pajamas,” said Marianne Newman, president of Le Premiere and event chairwoman who wore a sexy black lace baby doll and black velvet slippers.

Foundation volunteer Niki Squillace showed up looking as if she’d had a rotten night’s sleep, with curlers in her hair, cold cream and a mud mask smeared on her face, boxer shorts over long john underwear and a pair of mismatched slippers. “I had a hard time getting up this morning,” she said.

Michael Macko wore red long johns and a pair of boots.

“It’s the only thing I had,” he said. “My wardrobe’s not terribly diverse.”

Angeline Gleason, age 8, made her own kind of fashion statement in a flannel nightie and troll doll slippers.

Early Risers

While the band--members of Adrian Tapia Music-- played in their robes, guests sampled from a buffet table piled high with muffins, fruit, waffles, eggs, sausage and bacon. Models wandered among the tables displaying the latest pajama styles from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Waiters and waitresses of the Back Bay Cafe, who wore flannel pajamas festooned with a sundae print, have grown accustomed to working in their nightwear. Pajama parties are a tradition at the cafe, and the benefit was a kickoff for a series of weekly pajama parties to be held each Saturday. Past guests who have turned up in their sleep wear have ranged from children to members of bridge clubs from Corona del Mar.

“Our clientele isn’t just 11 year olds from sleepover parties--although we get a lot of those, too,” said Annie Quinn, general manager of Newport Dunes.

Le Premiere, which was chosen as the brunch’s beneficiary, is only six months old and already has grown from three to 87 members.

“Our events are so high energy--that’s why people are joining,” Newman said.

Other party-goers were Steven Berrett, assistant general manager of Newport Dunes; Jamie Bender, Darren Burris, Jean Carthart, Frank Ceringa, Greg Cristafaro, Anne and Amy Giangardlla, Charlene Getz, Anthony Natalia and Ina Niday.