Women's clubs have a storied history in America, marking the entry of women into public life as they banded together to improve their cities through philanthropic and cultural endeavors. The Women's Twentieth Century Club of Eagle Rock, founded in 1903, is one such group. Located just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, the clubhouse is listed as a Los Angeles Cultural Monument. The efforts of the club members included leading the petition for women's suffrage to the California legislature in 1910; securing a grant of $7,500 from the Carnegie Corporation for a public library, which opened in 1915 (now the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts); and petitioning Occidental College to accept women. In recent years, the Women's Twentieth Century Club of Eagle Rock worked to preserve the Charles Lummis House and to stop a freeway expansion from passing next to Eagle Rock High School.
Their work continues with a series of fundraisers, including this Saturday's traditional Camilla Fashion Show and Luncheon. As times have changed, so has this event. Instead of staid department store resort wear, Saturday's event features an Arabian Nights theme with belly dancers (belly dancing's popularity is on the rise with women of all ages who recognize not on the physical benefits of the ancient art, but also appreciate its celebration of a woman's natural curves) and a fashion show featuring the timeless neo-bohemian designs of Monah Li.
Viennese-born, Los Angeles-based Monah Li has been designing for both private clients and international fashion houses for over two decades. While her dresses, worn by stars and starlets have appeared on red carpets and been featured in numerous magazines, the fluid lines of her clothing -- floaty mixes of vintage and contemporary fabrics -- create romantic silhouettes for women of any age or shape.
For the Women's Twentieth Century Club of Eagle Rock's benefit fashion show, Monah Li is using club members, friends and their children as models, women of all ages, shapes and sizes, celebrating the empowerment of women and embracing our strength as creatrixes of ourselves and our community, foundational goals of women's clubs since their inception.
Women's Twentieth Century Club of Eagle Rock Camilla Fashion Show, Saturday March 26, 11:30 am, benefiting local Eagle Rock charities. Tickets, $35, should be purchased in advance, For ticket reservations call Anne at 323-259-2828 or email awolf@oxy.edu.
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