Angels and athletes find heavenly spot
Victoria's Secret not too sexy for soiree in new Boul Mich shop
In "very sexy" style, Victoria's Secret hosted an invitation-only VIP soiree Wednesday night for the launch of its flagship Chicago store at 734 N. Michigan. Celebs and partygoers walked a pink carpet before being let loose in the massive, two-story shop to browse the lingerie and sip some bubbly adorned with strawberries and a sweet apple vodka concoction, "Angel Elixirs."
However, the night's main draw was not the silky undergarments nor the libations but rather three fabulous "Angels" in the form of supermodels Miranda Kerr, Marisa Miller and Doutzen Kroes.
"I heard there were going to be Angels here," quipped Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose as he approached the entrance to the party. "That's why I'm here."
The models arrived fashionably late -- and all wore black, super-short dresses -- but they happily snapped pictures with guests and chatted with partygoers for about an hour.
Although the Angels drew the crowd, some male guests did confess to wanting to check out the wares of the new Chicago underwear outpost. Bears linebacker Lance Briggs admitted that he was "shopping for the future" because he wanted to stay hip to the trends for when he does have a lady in his life.
But Jillian Harris of "The Bachelorette" -- who walked the pink carpet in an incandescent sequined Alice+Olivia minidress with her beau Ed Swiderski on her arm -- brazenly declared she would most likely not buy anything that night, since she "is a 34-A and loves to go braless."
The Museum of Science and Industry welcomed 1,000 guests to its 29th annual Columbian Ball on Friday evening. Dressed in their black-tie finest, partygoers perused the museum's newest permanent exhibit, You! The Experience, during the cocktail hour before retiring to the tented dining room on the front lawn.
The guests, including presidential senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, toured the interesting exhibit on human health, which showcased more than 50 real human specimens and gave guests the chance to play doctor and diagnose medical conditions on a "Human Patient Simulator."
The Jesse White Tumblers entertained before a dinner of chilled corn soup, roasted beef tenderloin and Lake Michigan trout. Bill Kurtis lent his talents as auctioneer for the live auction as guests finished their dessert. (Top prize: a travel package for a Roman excursion that went to Richard Miles for $14,000.)
Mayor Daley and Maggie Daley acted as honorary co-chairs and attended the gala and chatted with Jarrett at their table.
Tickets to the event (chaired by Mr. and Mrs. William Osborn and Mr. and Mrs. David B. Speer) went for $500 per guest. The event in total raised $1.61 million to benefit the museum's future programming.
Security was tight at the Harold Washington Library Center as guests were ushered up to the Winter Garden Room by off-duty police officers for dinner and an award presentation for author Salman Rushdie. The Carl Sandburg Literary Award was given to the controversial writer -- once a target of Islamic extremists for his novel The Satanic Verses -- and guests were treated to a discussion with the charming novelist in which he talked abut his family life as well as the 1989 fatwa.
"My father always thought my sister would be the writer," he said. But, he continued jokingly, "Where are her books?"
When asked about how it felt to have a price on his head, he quickly replied, "Not good" to great laughter. "If you ever get a chance to not have extremists trying to kill you, I highly recommend it," he added.
After a dinner of grilled shrimp salad and beef tenderloin, guests were invited to take copies of Rushdie's newest book, The Enchantress of Florence, to be signed after the discussion during a dessert buffet. (The books were stacked on each dinner table, serving as centerpieces.)
Business sponsors, library champions and fans of Rushdie attended the yearly dinner, which also honored local writer Patrick Somerville with the 21st Century Award for his first novel, The Cradle.