Chief turns on the charms
Question: What made L.A. society leaders titter and turn as red as some of their designer suits?
Answer: A compliment from Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton.
“It’s wonderful being here with 800 of the most attractive women in L.A.,” Bratton said as he arrived onstage at the Regent Beverly Wilshire during the Colleagues’ annual Valentine’s Day luncheon benefit for Children’s Institute International. “Whoa. Wait till I tell my wife what I’ve been doing today.”
Among the blushees: Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Betsy Bloomingdale, Barbara Davis, Gayle Wilson, Mary Ann Mobley Collins, Constance Towers Gavin, Lois Aldrin, Connie Wald, Marion Jorgensen and Erlenne Sprague.
Minutes earlier, Reagan had presented Bratton with the 53-year-old group’s Champion of Children Award for his work on behalf of abused and neglected kids. With Bratton at the helm of the LAPD, “we hope that our streets will be safer, that our children will be able to grow up in a safe environment -- whatever the neighborhood,” Reagan said.
Firing off another valentine, Bratton told the women he was proud of the work they were doing on behalf of L.A.’s “most needy, most abused” children. “You should feel very good about yourselves. I know of no more worthwhile cause than the one you’re supporting -- trying to save a child’s life, provide a child with the opportunity to someday maybe even sit in this room,” he said.
Besides sponsoring the annual luncheon -- created in 1989 to honor Reagan upon her return from the White House -- the support group operates a resale clothing boutique, the Colleague Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, to raise money for the institute’s special projects. “We get people who shop for themselves and a lot of the little stores on Melrose Avenue who buy our stuff,” said Bloomingdale, widow of retail magnate Alfred Bloomingdale. “It’s filled with the clothes that we clean from our closets.”
Funds raised by the Colleagues go to support the institute’s Emergency Response Intervention Network, which, in partnership with the LAPD, provides crisis counseling and follow-up services to children victimized by domestic violence. “We have counselors who go out with the police when they receive a call about violence in the home,” said Mary Emmons, the institute’s executive director. “They go into the home and help the children and the victim -- usually the mother -- through the crisis. And then they follow up with those families, making sure they get the help they need.”
Also on the agenda at the Feb. 13 luncheon, underwritten by Saks Fifth Avenue, was a preview of fashion designer Oscar de la Renta’s spring 2003 collection. Parading on twin catwalks, models wore silhouettes that ranged from the sleek and body-conscious to the roomy and forgiving. Said De la Renta, long a favorite of the society set: “I’m not about minimalistic dressing. I like ornamentation and very feminine clothes. These days, a woman knows that, even in the workplace, dressing like a woman -- wearing lipstick, looking pretty -- is a tremendous asset. So, this is my time.”
