Tales of the Jazz Age
Vogue
Chloe MalleIn 1906 in The New York Times column, "What is Doing in Society" the housewarming party for the James Burden Mansion was deemed that day's "chief event of social interest." A hundred and eight years later, the Museum of Arts and Design's Young Patrons Gala, hosted at the beaux-arts gem on East Ninety-first Street, would have warranted the same descriptor.
But of course it wasn't 108 years later, because last night we were in 1928. Invitations read Save the Date: May 19, 1928, and the evening honoring artists McDermott & McGough made every effort to put guests at home in the Jazz Age. At the end of the night guests were gifted Lesley M.M. Blume's Let's Bring Back—she signed copies in eyeliner for lack of a pen—and that's just what the evening, dubbed "Bring Back the Ball," did. From the crimson leather trompe l'oeil book covers concealing iPads at check-in to a period dinner menu—Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Fancy Ice Cream, anyone?—culled from the archives of the New York Public Library served on the only rentable collection of Haviland Limoges porcelain in the United States. As Dandy Wellington and His Band played ragtime jazz in the music room guests may as well have been swanning across the herringbone parquet floors with the Murphys à la Tender Is the Night.
Both men and ladies dressed the part. Dancer and designer Marlon Taylor-Wiles paired his white tie and tails with a Victorian scarab brooch, while museum trustee Mike De Paola searched for a place to rest his top hat and gloves. Lauren Santo Domingo glittered in neck-to-toe sequins. "It's old Galliano," she said of her era-appropriate gown. "Actually I was amazed at how many 1920s options I had in my closet!" Christine Messineo was not inhibited by what was not in her closet. "There is a dry cleaner and a thrift store on my block and I took my coat to be steamed and on my way to pick it up I stopped at the thrift store and bought these pearls before hopping in a cab!" The pearls were lovely but it was her hand-painted Poiret-esque Dolce & Gabbana kimono that was the showstopper. "I love seeing everyone all dolled up," continued the Bortolami Gallery partner. "I mean when was the last time I had dinner in a pin curl?"
"I never do my hair this way, but I was trying to find a way to wear a headband and have it be twenties not sixties, and also not the way I always wear headbands!" said Arden Wohl, laughing. Indeed, headpieces were de rigeur from feather-embellished headbands to jeweled crowns. Sofia Sanchez Barrenechea was transformed into Greta Garbo with the aid of a platinum wig and a custom beaded Gustavo Cadile frock. Taylor Tomasi Hill accessorized her top hat and tuxedo with a garland of fresh peonies (courtesy of her new venture TTH Blooms). Before dinner cochair Vito Schnabel presented a "loving cup" to McDermott and McGough that read, "I've seen the future and I'm not going." Fortunately, as long as everyone stated at last night's event, no one had to.