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Menlo School showcases spring fashions

Menlo School's 60th annual benefit, "Dream," will be an all-day party Friday, March 19, celebrating the graduating senior class. The event will feature luncheon and dinner fashion shows, where seniors will model the latest fashions from Bloomingdale's and entertain with dancing vignettes.

The benefit is the Atherton school's main fundraiser for financial aid. More than 1,600 parents, alumni and community members are expected to attend the two shows, staged in a large tent on campus. All proceeds, including funds raised in online and live auctions, will go toward financial aid.

"Day Dream," the luncheon show, begins at 11:30 a.m. "A Dreamy Evening," the dinner show, starts at 6 p.m.

Continuing their 14-year-old partnership with Menlo School, the Stanford and San Francisco Bloomingdale's stores will fill the runway with the season's latest fashion trends. Models will wear spring fashions by top designers, including Rebecca Taylor, Nanette Lepore, Hugo Boss, Eli Tahari, Theory, and RLX by Ralph Lauren.

Dress designer Tadashi Shoji will make a personal appearance featuring his 2010 collection. Mr. Tadashi's clients include celebrities Helen Mirren, Queen Latifah, Beyonce, and Deborah Messing.

The evening gala begins with cocktails, including a vodka bar and hors d'oeuvres. Dinner will be catered by McCall Associates. There will be a live auction with such "dreamy" items as a 10-day rafting trip in Chile, a vacation at Le Sereno Hotel in St. Barts, and Christmas or New Year's week at a home in Aspen. After the fashion show and dance productions, there will be dancing to DJ Lou Loiben.

Co-chairs Debbie Rosenberg and Julie Douglass have spent the last year working on the benefit, supported by a committee of more than 130 adult volunteers. Students pitch in on the day of the event, doing everything from helping with parking to serving meals.

Four professionals give the benefit its polished flair. Alex Perez, Menlo School's director of creative arts and communications, is the producer for 'Dream." Jan Chandler, Menlo School's dance director, has served as the benefit's choreographer for 27 years. Fashion show director Jeffrey Adair has produced and/or directed the show off and on for 20 years. He is assisted by BB Bernheim of Bernheim Productions.

Go to is.gd/aggWH to participate in the online auction, which will be open for bidding until 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 24. The URL is case-sensitive.

Cost of the luncheon show is $100. Cost of the evening show is $200. For reservations, go to www.menloschool.org and click on benefit. Menlo School is located at 50 Valparaiso Ave. in Atherton.