The women of Ouachita will gather in the Walker Conference Center for the second annual Soiree Chic on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.
Soiree Chic, hosted by Becky Horne, wife of Rex Horne, president of Ouachita, will include dinner, a style show and guest speaker for $5.
Soiree Chic was hosted for the first time last year and organized through the student planning committee.
“This is Mrs. Horne’s brainchild, her gift to the girls,” said Brittany Gubser, a member of the planning committee. “We make no profit. This is exclusively something Mrs. Horne wants to do for the girls on campus.”
The event evolved from an attempted Bible study in 2006 that was interrupted by Tiger Tunes. The next fall Horne opted for one big event during that semester and a Bible study in the spring.
“This year I wanted [Soiree Chic] to kick off the semester before Tiger Tunes practice started,” Horne said. “And we’ll keep the event compact so it will end before Refuge.”
The guest speaker, Alth Lynn Gerlach, from Midland, Texas, is a personal friend of the Horne’s. Gerlach has been serving with her husband, John, in the ministry for 30 years. She says her favorite thing to do is “make people laugh and share my faith at the same time.”
“Alta Lynn is one of the most talented people I have ever known and the most giving of that talent,” Horne said. “She speaks at conferences because she is so good and just hilarious.”
Last year Horne collaborated with her daughter, Wendy Farrell, who owns Frock & Sole in Little Rock to include a style show which will return this year.
“The models will be women representing different groups on campus,” Gubser said, “from social clubs to Student Senate … and even faculty and staff.”
The dinner this year is centered on different types of salad, with chicken salad, pasta salad and fruit salad as the main dishes. Dessert is also included.
“We want to give girls an excuse to dress up,” Gubser said. “Just a night to dress up and have a good time without spending $30 on dinner.”
This year’s theme stems from Gerlach’s topic, “Will there be purses in heaven?” Women attending the event are asked to bring “gently used” purses, which will be donated to a women’s shelter. Dress is suggested as casual dressy in black and white.
“I’d say if we had 200 [women attend] that’d be an awesome number,” Horne said. “I anticipate we’ll have a few more. I think it will grow year to year as it becomes more of a tradition.”
Reservations are required and should be made by contacting Brittany Gubser by Sept. 16 at brittany.gubser@gmail.com. Tickets will be paid for at the door.
However, for the forgetful few or those with tighter budgets, Horne offers an encouraging word.
“If someone forgot to RSVP and wants to come for just the speaker and fashion show then they should,” Horne said.
Soiree Chic Event From 2007
[quicktime]https://www.obusignal.com/video/soireechic.mov[/quicktime]
