Party Pictures 10/10/05 - MCNY in the pink

MCNY in the pink

Alexis Bryan

Susan Fales-Hill

Dana Stugben

Alex Lind Rose

Lucy and Euan Rellie

Fabiola Beracasa and Tinsley Mortimer

Adelina Wong Ettelson and Antony Todd

The annual parties at the Museum of the City of New York are the creation of Mark Gilbertson, the social impresario of the former “junior set” of the City and the Director’s Council of the museum. And because of their diligence, vigilance, enthusiasm, stick-to-it-iveness and one of Manhattan’s greatest Rolo-dexes, along with Mark’s battalions of volunteering friends, these MCNY parties have not only prevailed over the years but now, as the juniors have graduated, have become some of the most fashionable gatherings in town. The form: the evenings usually start out at dinner and/or cocktail parties around town, carefully planned to accommodate the gala’s guests, and then about 8:30 to 10, depending on the plan, everybody moves up to the museum which is a beautiful building at 104th Street and Fifth Avenue overlooking the Park.

The Nina Ricci Tree of Life

This autumn’s event, hosted by the Director’s Council and Nina Ricci, was themed “The Three Graces – Beauté, Intelligence, and Purité.” The dress code was “Pure Beauty” (let’s hope so) and No Ties Guys.

The Museum itself is a treasure-trove of New York collections including a legendary collection of clothing worn by fashionable New York women, made for them by turn-of-the-(19th/20th) century by Parisian couturier Charles Frederick Worth; a significant holding of 20th-century designs by New York designers including Claire McCardell, Mainbocher, Vera Maxwell, Norman Norell, and Valentino. They also have interesting items belonging to historical personalities of the city such as John Jay’s velvet frockcoat, Al Smith’s trademark derby, plus fashion accessories including gloves, fans, stockings, shoes and boots, parasols, collars, ties, hats, and headdresses, as well as purses and costume jewelry – more than 27,000 garments and accessories worn by New Yorkers from the 17th to the present. There are more than a half million print and photograph views of the city, tracing the changing urban environment, memorabilia from New York theaters from the 18th century up to the present, and more than 10,000 toys and amusements used by New Yorkers from the colonial period to today. For times, exhibits, schedules, visit their web site: http://www.mcny.org/