My Kind of Socialite March 15
I admit it. I have a social addiction of sorts. My social calendar often takes me on a tour of Manhattan where I have the opportunity to meet, speak and socialize on a somewhat intimate basis with some of New York’s real "movers and shakers", or what I like to refer to as my kind of socialites. A friend recently asked me why I even cared or bothered to to promote the interests of and photograph the beautiful, well healed, well coiffed socialites at various upscale private and public venues around town. Aren’t many of these people a bunch of posers who just want to have their picture in Avenue or Gotham Magazine? Similarly an ex girlfriend once asked after I returned back to her apartment after a long day at work and a night on the town, and I was more interested in laying my head on some clean sheets and a soft mattress than I was in a romantic interlude, "how do I know that you can be or are in fact faithful to me if a major interest of yours is social life which often leads you out and about with a camera in one hand, cocktail in the other while you are meeting, networking and flirting with beautiful women?" Good question but one that I did not have the answer to at the time.
The answer is rather simple but until recently it eluded me. As a New Yorker, born and raised (with educational and career stints in Boston and Philadelphia) I have often found a sense of camaraderie with virtual strangers who share my love affair with New York City, even though admittedly I myself had grown weary of my hometown during the Pre-Giuliani era and briefly left for Boston. It began to crystallize for me while I was out covering two events in particular, one for the Municipal Art Society, Urbanists and the other for the New York Junior League and then further driven home for me in a conversation I had with friend Catherine Gordon, a member of New York City Center’s Access Group, about how to best utilize the resources, talents and energies of those in her network to enable arts programs for inner city youth. While listening to her passionate dissertation on the history of New York City Center and how much untapped potential exists to do some great things, I gained an even deeper appreciation and respect for the "social classes" of people who come to this town, adopt it as their own and seek to leave their mark on through volunteerism of this kind. There is great sacrifice of time and energy without a personal stake other than a stronger community around them.
So there I was recently at the MAS Urbanists Winter Party in the Magic Room at the LVMH Tower high atop 57th Street overlooking Manhattan’s skyline from a most precious vantage point, camera in one hand and Moet Chandon in the other. Despite the view of the city, my attention was captured at the marvels of grace, femininity and intelligence which graced the room. These were real people, not movie stars. This was not the Oscars and I am not Patrick McMullan……but my camera just steered me towards lively banter with some of the most beautiful and intelligent women you will see on the New York social scene these days, including Urbanist Steering Committee Members Christine Cachot Williams, Regan Lynn, Jennifer Roesner and Host Committee Members Coralie Charriol, Mona Wyatt, Karla Farach and Susan Shin. While working the room, I ran into Roger Webster, gentlemen publicist of Manhattan’s High Society and contributing columnist to 15 Minutes Magazine, wherein we briefly discussed the character and importance of this organization and the devotion of MAS Chairman Philip Howard and the MAS Urbanists Steering Committee to the quality of this city’s built environment, preserving the best of its architectural and cultural past while seeking to educate themselves and others about the issues that will shape the city’s future. Notably, I also ran into friend Jade Cantor, Publisher Ian Shapolsky, the Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave and film critic Neal Rosen. To see a few of the best photos from the MAS Urbanists Winter Party event click here, or to view the ofoto album with all the photos from the event Click here.
Just a few days later I attended and event I was truly looking forward to for some time, the New York Junior League’s Winter Ball 2005, "Orient Express" at Cipriani 42nd Street. Upon my arrival I was greeted by Kirsten Meadow, briefly said hello to the gracious and always impeccably & stylishly dressed, NYJL President Cynthia Cathcart. I mean, you really have to love the glasses and the whole ensemble. I grabbed a cocktail,surveyed the room and was introduced to Committee Co-Chairs Elizabeth Fallon and Michela F. King. While making my way around the venue I greeted some familiar faces and was graciously introduced by NYJL Winter Ball Committee Members, including the especially helpful Alexandra Wilkis, a Harvard MBA Career woman who just also happened to design her own dress that she was wearing that evening, and the always gracious Noel Bettencourt Momsen. The best photos of the evening were taken by my brother and Manhattan Society.com photographer Gregory Partanio. You can see all the photos from the NYJL Winter Ball 2005 by clicking here
Presiding over the Winter Ball was NYJL President Cynthia Cathcart, while the Master of Ceremonies was one of the cities most revered and respected public figures, in my lifetime at least, the honorable Rudolph W. Giuliani while his wife Judith S. Giuliani, Managing Director of Changing our World Inc., a national fundraising and philanthropic services company headquartered in New York was given a Community Honoree Award for a lifetime of public service. Awards were given to Outstanding Sustainers, Barbara Willmarth Callahan and Margaret S. Scott and to Outstanding Volunteers, Sarah Hewitt, Susan G. Munn, Elizabeth Knight Sweeney, Jeptha Tausig Edwards and Derval M. Whelan.
Beyond the elegance, this annual event pays homage to what Judith S. Giuliani referred to in her remarks as the "they" of New York City. As Mrs. Giuliani stated, often she would see an urban problem and would say to herself that "they should really do something about that." It turns out that the "they" is often consists of a silent, capable and well trained team of Junior Leaguer’s who have devoted themselves to some of the most pressing urban problems in our city.
In post 9/11 New York City these are the real New York stories; young, beautiful, intelligent, well educated, well dressed people who one would presumably think would have far better things to do. But, instead, while they occasionally celebrate, network and partake of a nice party, they devote themselves to the cultural and spiritual enrichment of New York City. These folks are my kind of socialites, truly rock stars in my estimation. So if part of "the show" so to speak is to document the historical significance of their gracious speeches, their artistic presentations and their elegant dresses and great smiles or to otherwise engage in spirited banter while I capture their photos to preserve a great moment in a glorious evening then…guess what? Consider me a foil, a complicitor or conspirator to celebrate the age of charity in New York City. Thank god I am a New Yorker, yes lord, thank god this is my city, my home and that people like these socialites live in my town. I consider it an honor, especially if it results in perhaps a few more of you buying a ticket to one of their next events, joining a committee or making a donation. Then and only then is the exposure and my verbose pontification all the more worthwhile.
Apres dinner and the presentation, dancing commenced with the Alex Donner Orchestra and the elegance of the space came even more to life, spirits ran high, the bar was full, smiles and good cheer abounded. My brother and I were able to get a few more pictures of some of the NY Junior League Winter Ball League Committee Members who really knocked themselves out with the level of detail that went into making this a banner event for 2005 and one that will be hard for any event planner to top. I am glad I was there…in my town no less. 