• by Kelly Samardak , November 5, 2010

Harper's Bazaar Fashion: Your Guide to Personal Style Party, Saks Fifth Avenue, New York
November 4, 2010

Man, last night I had to chant some major affirmations to get my buns out the door for more parties.  The night before I had covered four, and I was feeling people'd out.  I hate when I feel that crusty attitude take hold, because it affects my ability to maintain conversations.  My words get jumbly and I try to hide behind potted plants.  This would not work for a night of three very diverse and promising-to-be-fun events, so I sucked it up, punched myself in the face, and headed out the door to Saks Fifth Avenue, the location of the first party, a celebration for the launch of "Bazaar Fashion: Your Guide To Personal Style."

How about that stinkin' rain last night?  I always feel high fashion when I arrive at an event with moist cuffs.  The way they drag across my exposed footskin makes my epidermis want to creep away.  When I arrived, the 3^rd floor of Saks, with its very lovely Christmas lighting already dangling, was already bustling with the fashion set.  Past the male models stoically holding trays of champagne and mushroom risotto poofs I spotted a leopard-print blazer/trench I wanted to snatch.  Of course this leopard-clad petite woman was the winner of Harper's personal style contest, Catherine Glazer.  And she deserved it, I could never put together an ensemble like hers.  Catherine was there with her son, Jordan Glazer, a multi-faceted musician, and Robin Katz, a graphic designer with Blackbird Design.

Thank goodness for my +1, the notorious, infamous, hardest-working woman in sales and marketing at Thought Equity Motion, the one and only Gail Hilton.  Not only was she a trooper, but she was able to point out some fashion types for me.  "That guy with the backwards hat!" She gestured to a couple of dudes making their way through the crowd.  He did look familiar, but I couldn't place him.  Later today, after much research and crowd-sourcing, we discovered that he was "Kell On Earth"'s Andrew Mukamal.  On the show he's usually so spiffed up or at least pulls a comb through his long shiny hair.  Last night, not so much!

Michael Kors was easily identifiable.  He was talking with two others animatedly, definitely lathered up about something.  Something about Michael Kors reminds me of Buddy Media's Jeff Ragovin.  Maybe they should be joint hosts at the next Scotch O'Clock.

DJ Mia Moretti dressed up partygoers' ears while champagne filled everyones' bellies.  Speaking of bellies, I spotted the most adorable men ever, my attention grabbed by the bright red suspenders over one of their bellies.  These-bristly faced, huggable mountain men were Robert Tagliapietra and Jeffrey Costello of Costello Tagliapietra.  They were soon joined by Philip Crangi, facial hair and jewelry artist at Giles and Brothers. I popped over to the site because I love me some jewelry and I discovered what I like to call "Mounty Mutiny On The Starboard Aviary."  It's like... woodsmen mixed with pirates mixed with polo matches peppered with a dash of bird-spotting.  I like it.

I've seen Tory Burch's name flick by on my Facebook news feed, which means I'm friends with a lot of people who "like" Tory Burch.  Which also means they might be a wee bit jealous that I was able to briefly meet her last night.  I always assume fashion designers will be more Grace Jones than they really are.  If we were at a baseball game in Bethel, I wouldn't be able to pick Tory Burch out from all the other women.  Which balances the universe - I doubt there is room for more than one Grace Jones. It's a cozy reminder that we're all just regular people working our butts off.

While sparkly dresses, puffs of fur, and my favorite suspendered duo schmoozed around the room, I made my silent escape, dragging Gail off to event #2 at one of my favorite event spaces, Carnival! At Bowlmor Lanes, where once again I realized that I'm not the only adult who still loves stuffed animals.

You can find the big size photos on Flickr!