From Russia with Love!






Landed on Thursday morning and been on the march ever since.
A morning jog through Red Square, touring Catherine the Greats coronation clothes, carriages and jewels in the Kremlin and observing some horrific fashions!

But I may keep posts to a minimum since I am covering my trip for two other blogs.
Don't worry, everyone will get the full dish by weeks end.

Off tomorrow to Stalin's bunker and a flea market the size of a football field!

More soon-

Blessing of the Beasts






This morning Linnea and I peeled ourselves out of bed and headed over to St. John the Divine to see the annual St. Francis day blessing of the animals.
It wasn't as exotique as we had hoped. Elephants! Snakes! Jackalopes! But we did see a whole mess of dogs, lizards, a gerbil and the peacocks which resided on the grounds of the cathedral. I didn't stay for the entire service but to see dogs running up and down the aisles was fairly amusing.
And no I didn't bring Mabel. That was a blessing in itself.

Me at a Military Ball?










I know I know. Me at a Military Ball? There is a first time for everything! And I have to admit; it was almost more entertaining than all those Met Balls with celebs and designer frocks! Why? Because it was a REAL ball! They had a FULL orchestra and when the band started playing the Charleston my bow tie nearly twirled off I was so excited!

I know it is cool now to have a DJ at such events but thank God for some old timers who still believe in a night of standards. Night and Day! J'ai Deux Amours! Straighten up and fly right! Nobody could believe I knew the lyrics to all the songs. I danced the night away as one can imagine.

Let me back up. Ian invited me to this ball ages ago. I wasn't too excited about the idea but then I met a pile of other people who were going and thought I might as well give it a shot. I whipped out the tux, polished the shoes and headed down to the Pierre where I found the bar and my friends. The ball was organized by The Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club and this year they were raising money for the Navy.

Another highlight for me was the Leatherneck Pipe and Drums who blew their bagpipes every chance they could. They piped us into dinner, they performed their military tattoo after Prince Ivan Obolensky gave the welcoming remarks and if I remember correctly they wrapped the evening up with even more piping and falderal.

Since Ian was running around like a turkey on thanksgiving Asha was a lovely date. After the ball wrapped up we headed to some sports bar on the Upper East where the organizers had rented a private room. Drinks were had, pictures were taken and I had to scoot home before I broke that 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' rule!

Angela and Colins wild week in NYC!






I know I know- They were here almost a month ago! But it has taken me this long to sort through Angela's pictures!
I have known Angela and Colin since I went to school in Versailles in 1996 and met Angela's best friend Victoria.
12 years!

When I was in school in London in 1998 we all bonded and every time I am in the UK we hang out. Colin takes me on an Ale tour and Angela and I get the party started no matter where we are.

After YEARS of begging they finally made the trip across the pond to visit me. On all accounts they had a ball.
Roof top drinks, fashion shows, birthdays at the Beatrice, Lesbian bars, sunset boat cruises, Harlem harassment, a day upstate and LOTS OF LIQUOR.

We were just preparing our livers for their wedding on October 18th in Bristol!
CAN’T WAIT!

I love these two so much: Laid back and always ready for an adventure or a nap!

Can't wait for the big day and the long night.

ABT on the Highlander









Running late to get my bus upstate for a weekend in the sticks.
But wanted to post some fun pictures of my night aboard the Highlander.
Ian was sweet enough to invite me on this dinner cruise to raise money for the American Ballet Theater but he didn't tell me it was going to be held on the Forbes family private yacht!

The artwork alone was ASTOUNDING. I included here two of my faves, a Lautrec and a Cocteau.
But more amazing were all the fun people I met. A bow tied bandit, gorgeous gals, Greek Goddesses and cigar wielding gents.

And as fortune would have it Megan and Lucy were onboard as well!

We watched the sunset, had a divine dinner and emptied the boat of every bottle of wine.
I think the bagpiper did his fair damage to the Scotch.

More soon!

PS- Yes I did indeed dive into the Forbes family photo albums and found this little gem of La Liz with Malcom onboard in 1986 wearing the Krup diamond...

Wedding afternoon/Reception






After the wedding I headed back to the hotel and found Minya who had just arrived. We rolled out to the 'Pignic' for some BBQ and pig races. We waited in line for the best BBQ in North Carolina and I must say it was moist and delicious, after being slathered in sauce that is. Then we toured the stalls with their southern-centric names such as Double O Swine, Smokin' in da Hood and The Hiccupin Hog and met Lilly the pot bellied pig.

After lunch I nearly gave Minya a heart attack when I heard The William Tell overture that starts any horse/pig/unicorn race and I grabbed her hand, screamed 'RUN!' and dragged here down the street. A yankee by birth and fearful of the deep south she though race riots had broken out! She finally asked me what the hell was happening and I told her the pig races were about to begin. We both had a roar at that one.

After a Budweiser or two I took a nap before the reception.

The evening was perfect. The country club looked like Capital City Club in Atlanta but was on the 31st story of a building across from the hotel! The sun was setting, we sipped champagne and I ate my weight in chicken/corn fritters. Dinner was lovely and dancing was divine. Joy and her father danced to Stevie Wonder and Tony and Joy danced to Billy Joel. Then we all got down when Cassidy spun old school hits that had the girls kicking off their heels (and sporting Havianas provided by a thoughtful bride) and the men throwing their ties to the floor.

We wrapped it up by waving sparklers as the bride and groom headed back to the hotel.
Bravo!

Joy and Tony's ceremony





At the last minute Joy called me and said there was room for one more in the tiny church where she was getting hitched. So I scooted out of bed Saturday morning and headed outside to hop on the trolly they had rented to head over to the church.

A harpist was strumming away in the tiny church and family members came trickling in. The service was one of my favorites! The reverend was very amusing and had some great point about relationships (Y'all got to keep talkin'!). The tear jerker was when a group of Joy's family members got up belted out some gospel. Not a dry eye in the house!

Joy looked RADIANT! As you can see here.

Hog Races






Well what do I find whilst strolling the streets of Charlotte but a BBQ fair! And a hog race to top it all off.
I had a BBQ 'sammich' earlier and noted that the next hog race was to start at 5pm. So I napped, hit the gym and scooted back in time to meet Edina and Ian at the races.

The pork bellied pigs were names Dale Oinkhart, Britney Spare Ribs, Jerry Swinefeld and Monica Swinewinsky. I mean...
A second batch did a swimming race. Their motivation? Oreo cookies...

Afterwards we came back to the hotel for a martini in the cigar bar.

More soon!
x

Propr Party




My terribly handsome friend Paul Marlow invited me to this event at the last moment and I had no idea what to expect. I just knew that he had helped design the collection therefore I wanted to show support.

So can you imagine my surprise when Fay and I walk into the penthouse party and bump into Meg Ryan, find Courtney Cox at the bar and see Ben Harper back slapping David Arquette?

The sporty line for men and women is made in the USA of organic cotton and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the line. I got a quick snap before the models split.

Before Ben went on I had a quick chat with Meg Ryan that went something like this:

Sugar Dandy: Hi Meg. I just had to tell you I love the Women!
Meg: Oh you have seen my movie already?
SD: No silly I mean the original George Cuckor one. The gayest movie ever!
Meg: Oh right! Well our version is still camp but a bit more straight.
SD: Meg, it's a movie about bitch women having cat fights. That still sounds pretty gay to me.
Meg: Well, I guess you're right. But I am no Norma Sheer!
And on that note she throws her hands in the air in a dramatic old Hollywood pose and then we both burst out laughing.

Love her!
David was great too! But I'm not going to print his quotes yet since I may be using them in a print article.

Wishing them the best of luck! It was refreshing to know some of those Hollywood starlets are laid back and funny to boot!

Bring it on Blondes!!






The MAO PR boys turned it out with one hell of a show on Wednesday night. The Blondes presented, in my opinion, the show of the season. I know, I know, it's not Oscar or Marc but that is exactly why I love their shows so much. It is FUN! Not mayhem and everyone arrives in their most outrageous outfits. Lady Bunny in red and blue sequins! Michael Lucas in a kilt! Amanda Lepore in cotton candy pink confection! June in a mod 60's getup!

And then there was the show. An ode to all things Blonde, every model bounced out with long platinum tresses adorning their heads and painfully high Louboutin's on their feet. The clothes were a melange of disco dazzle and show girl showdowns. Philippe closed the show in a glittery, star studded corseted number and got a standing ovation. I sat with celebrity stylist Mia Morgan and she was excited about everything she saw. Lets hope we see some Blondes on the red carpet stat!

Telfar Show






My friend Telfar, who I most often see when he is Dj'ing at one of my favorite bars and doling out drink tickets, presented his ss 09 line this week in a church gym in Soho. I headed down to check it out since I have never had a chance to attend one of his shows. He has been designing for quite some time and has a huge following in the EH circles (Extreme Hipster).

This seasons theme was 'sportif'! and he took the theme right down to the heel of his shoes- note the tennis ball heel that gave the models quite a bounce in their step.

For the finale the models wobbled out on bright bikes- nice touch Telfar!

Rag and Bone Review

Hopefully I inserted the link to my review here so you can just click and go but if I am still not an uber blog geek here is the link for you to cut and paste:

http://www.wearethemarket.com/blog/2008/09/runway_rag_and_bone_ss09.php

Also reviewed Duckie Brown but that is not up yet. Covering a swank dinner tonight at Pastis for the NYT blog which you should all know and love http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/

More soon!

24 hours in Atlantic City











I had been hearing for months about a bus leaving from the Beatrice Inn that was going to take friends and family of the Bea to their new boite in Atlantic City.

Matthew and I finally nailed down a weekend for me to come out, Horacio at the NYT asked me to cover it for them and I dragged Justin along for company. Well Justin and I arrived at the Beatrice on Saturday at six to find noting but West Village neighbors giving us strange looks wondering why we were sitting on the stoop of the infamous club at 6pm.

After a text and a call I find out wires had been crossed and the bus left on FRIDAY. So with eyes rolling, Justin and I head to Port Authority and take a God-awful Greyhound to the shiny city on the coast arriving at 8:30.

The hotel is quite swank although there are still plenty of Joisey people milling about. But hey, when in Rome! Justin in I checked in, showered, dressed and headed to the soon to be famous fifth floor where the club, pool and steak house are located for a quick drink before dinner.

Since the steak house was booked we headed to the just opened diner, which was fine and dandy, although the sweet staff was a bit confused. But if I was a coastal boy serving Chloe Sevigny and her entire posse on my first night I may have the jitters too.

Paul was kind enough to give us a tour of the soon to be opened spa and new rooms before we finished dinner and headed back to the rooms for costume changes!

Justin bought us matching tee shirts that said 'We pack all faces' resplendent with faces of all the Presidents on US dollars and much gold glitter. With our new outfits on we headed down to bar and found a whole load of friends from the city: Jamie Rosenthal, Katie Lanphear, Hanuk, Victor Glemaud and Matthew and his new wife.

I interviewed the developer Curtis Bashaw, who was quite fun and he also renovated one of my favorite hotels in Cape May, Congress Hall. I then interviewed Chloe who is always so charming and friendly. THEN I took my Blackberry to my room and got my party on!

Can't tell you much about the rest of the night except for that I made another costume change, danced till dawn and had a blast.

Justin woke me up at 1pm the next day and we hung out by the pool and chatted with all the other kids. By 3pm we were ready to go so we packed up and headed back on the Greyhound for a grueling 3.5-hour trip home. So we never got to try out the Beatrice party bus! And next time (hoping to go back for the grand opening in October!) I want to take that damn seaplane Chloe and Paul took. 40 min from Manhattan to AC? That’s the deal for me.

Little Ladies hit the Big City






Last weekend mama brought two of my nieces up to visit me and get the grand tour of Manhattan.
Grand it was!
Danielle had been up here before when I lived with Rick in NoLita. That was in 2002.
This time she was a little older and able to appreciate everything more and had the energy to keep up with her old uncle!
Last time she was up here she said she never knew her feet could hurt like they did. Ha.

The troop arrived late Thursday night. Wired with nowhere to go I suggested a tour of Harlem in the pajamas.
I have never seen them so excited. "Our mom's never let us leave the house in our PJ's!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Well you're in Harlem now kids. Thats the style du jour around here!" I replied.

We walked over to Harriet Tubman and toured my block at 1am to their delight. The cops pulled up asking what we were doing. I touted my Block President status and they bid us a great trip.

Friday we spent most of the morning at the Natural History Museum which was great fun. I haven't been there in ages. Then we headed to POP burger for some lunch fuel and as we headed to The Plaza for a peep two rickshaw drivers offered us a tour of Central Park. Why not? We had a blast. The boys knew all the ins and outs of the park including loads of history. Not to mention they were cute and never used the breaks flying down hills. The girls saw Bethesda Fountain, Strawberry Fields and Tavern on the Green. We even saw the hot air balloon installed just for the summer.

That night we got dolled up and took Fay, Olivia and Frankie with us to the Lotos Club. I thought the girls may find it a yawn but it was a real highlight. I guess it isn't everyday one gets to dine in an old Vanderbilt mansion.

Lucy had a party that night so we headed over there for a night cap. The girls loved her friends and amazing house. I was thoroughly in love with the bottle of wine Lucy anchored in front of me. Whoops.

Saturday we took the Big Red bus tour all over the City. OK people, it's not that bad! I had a great time! We stopped off in Soho and ate at Elizabeth , bought up H&M and hit the Puma store where Danielle found some new kicks.

We took the bus back around to Time Square and then hit the road back down to the South Street Seaport for the sunset cruise to see the waterfalls. Another highlight for the girls and Mama.

Wearily we headed to the Maritime for a quiet dinner and we were in bed by 11pm.

Sunday was the traditional brunch at Melbas. Divine as always.

They packed up, whined about going back to their 'boring old lives' and hoped in a taxi for LaGuardia.
If I don't get the title of Uncle Mame for that trip then I surrender.