Summer tea features affordable clothing, accessories

For most Southern Californians, shopping for designer clothing and accessories, vintage and celebrity-owned jewelry, or unique collectibles and furniture would entail a heavily cash-or-credit-card-fortified trip to the Golden Triangle of Beverly Hills or the eclectic mix of shops that pepper L.A.'s West Side shopping districts on Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue.For Burbankers along with in-the-know visitors, a West Side trek for the aforementioned treasures at jet-set prices can be avoided by simply visiting the La Providencia Guild of Children's Hospital Los Angeles Thrift Shop on the corner of W. Burbank Boulevard and N. California Street.

Showcasing the quality and diversity they offer, guild members presented their summer tea as a fashion show with models outfitted from head-to-toe with hats, designer sunglasses, jewelry, clothing and shoes available at the shop for a fraction of the original cost. Billed as "Take Tea and See — Our Thrift Shop Fashions," the gathering of the guild took place at Lakeside Golf Club on Saturday.Welcomed by the organization's president, Rosemarie Witten, and the event's chairwoman, Sue Ann Gordon, members and guests of the guild enjoyed the day while showing their continued support for the pediatric hospital they have been raising funds for since 1946.

Among the guild members who served as the day's fashion models were Deborah Spang, Donna Salant, DeeDee Rowlands, Doris Palmer, Lurdes Munoz, Linda Muldoon, Jeanne Margolin, Sandra Kelley, Tanya Karn, Glenda Jones, Joni Herron, Marsha Floyd, Beth Bowls, Max Andrews, and special guest model Joyce Rudolph.This year, the guild's fundraising focus is on the hospital's imaging research initiative that will advance the use of imaging technology in the study of pediatric diseases in the laboratory and in clinical practice.