We recently attended yet another amazing event for Housing Works. This time, instead of fashion and design, it was all about gourmet chic! The Works Catering, which is part of Housing Works and whose profits go to support Housing Works, put the event together with some major culinary talent:

The event was hosted by the lovely Gail Simmons, and featured Brad Farmerie, executive chef of PUBLIC, The Monday Room, Double Crown and Madam Geneva, Michael Anthony, executive chef of Gramercy Tavern, Elizabeth Karmel, executive chef of Hill Country Barbecue, and Alexandra Guarnaschelli, executive chef of Butter Restaurant.

Michael Anthony created wonderful shrimp and ramp skewers that had a lot of great flavor and color, Brad Farmerie made outrageously delicious mini venison burgers on miso buns with tomato chili jam, Alexandra Guarnaschelli made tasty and flavorful pizzas with ricotta, charred ramps and aged balsamic, and Elizabeth Karmel created amazingly tender brisket with cucumber onion salad and delicious bourbon pecan tartlettes!

I have to say, I really hope that Housing Works has more events like this! Unfortunately, I’m going to have to buy more clothes at Fashion for Action after all the food I ate at this event!

Check out more pictures from the event here!

Housing Works’ premier interior design event, Design on a Dime, was an amazing event filled with fantastic interior design talent and fabulous people. Premiered there were Jacqueline Smith, Ty Pennigton, and our good friend Derek Warburton!

There was so much talent there, and so many fabulous rooms, that I can’t list each and every one of them here (although you can check them all out at the Flickr link below), but we do want to thank our friends (in no particular order) Nathan Thomas, Bob Richter, Luis Caicedo and Gabriel de la Portilla for participating and creating rooms that made us want to max out our credit cards!

And let us not forget our particularly talented artist friends who donated artwork that really raised the bar of quality for our event (again, in no particular order): Mike Ruiz, Brian Farrell, Arlene Carenio, Toni-Lee Sangastiano, Brian Cyr and Susan Olmetti.

How amazing were the rooms and how fabulous was the art? Well, by the end of the weekend, the event had raised about $700,000!

As Derek would say, “Take THAT! HiiiiiYAHHHH!”

Check out more pictures from the event here!

Next to Housing Works, one of our other favorite charities is “The Bottomless Closet”, which is dedicated to helping women get into the workforce.

We had an opportunity to attend another Bottomless Closet event with our friend Derek Warburton, and had a chance to help women build their self-image and their confidence so that they could get back out into the working world!

Click here for more photos from the event.

Recently, I read a newspaper article by Andrea Peyser (New York Post) regarding this year’s Fashion Week.

I didn’t really take issue with her caterwauling regarding the “good ol’ days”, as we expect to hear from the elderly. Nor did I take issue with the antiquated opinions regarding fashion, how the writer found it hard to adapt to the evolution of what is celebrity,  nor the fact that anything that wasn’t outrageously expensive was simply too jejune for her.

Rather, I took issue with the group of people that she calls “the Dregs”, those people who need to stand and wait for a seat at a fashion show. She regards them as losers, but in her dotage, she has overlooked exactly who these people are. “The Dregs”, as she calls them, consist of fashion students, budding stylists, and young, new designers that don’t happen to have the money nor the fame to be blessed with a designated seat. These are the people that have a true and real passion for fashion. These are the people who are driving the industry. These are the people that might one day become people whom she will need to kowtow to.

Let us not forget that Coco Chanel once tried to become a cabaret singer (it didn’t work out), worked in a tailoring shop, and the first store that she opened failed. Tom Ford dropped out of NYU and originally concentrated on acting in television commercials. And Thom Brown started off as a salesman in a Giorgio Armani showroom. These are the people that, in their early beginnings, she would have called “the Dregs”.

As she blithely dismisses “the Dregs”, she also dismisses the actual future of fashion. I wonder where, exactly, she thinks designers and stylists come from?

WOW! Finally, a collection that was truly luxurious. A true vision to behold! Styled by Rebecca Weinberg, best known for her work on “Sex And The City”, the models were posed throughout the venue in diva stances worthy of SJP herself! The collection was a mix of different colored fox, rabbit, and mink. Truly a glamorous nod to Siberian chic!

Karen Sabag, best known for her designer wedding gowns, presented her collection for Fall 2010 to a pack house. The whole collection was definitely Park Avenue chic! Beautifully tailored cocktail dresses, elegant fitted gowns and an amazing wedding gown had her guests constantly applauding in approval. The bead work that she used in her gowns was exquisite. Ms. Sabag truly took clothing to an artistic level. Definitely a masterpiece collection! Sooo Chic!

Click here for more pictures of the show

Joe: Definitely one of our favorite shows this season, Michael Bastian presented his Fall 2010 collection to a packed house. Seated front row was none other then John Malkovich! The collection immediately evoked the term “Lumber Jack Chic”. Mixing plaid shirts with grey and black pants and jackets where every so often, a bright splash of pink would appear. An awesome collection worthy of investigating further…and purchasing!  Can’t wait to shop!!

Ed: Michael Bastian’s line definitely emphasizes the masculine, a trend that I’ve been seeing a lot of lately and have been very happy with. Suits and vests in heavier fabrics of earthtone hues and plaid shirts with flourishes that emphasize the shoulders stood out in his collection. Everything radiated a kind of masculine strength and repose mixed with calm elegance.

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Joe: With an interesting mix of motorcycle glitz and chic vagabond, designer Bumsuk Choi presented his Fall 2010 collection this past Monday. Beautifully tailored menswear with a soft edge would be a fitting description. Motorcycle jackets is silver and gold were presented along side spider web thin sweaters. Truly New York chic!

Ed: In particular, I loved the metallic motorcycle jacket, which I would love to get my hands on! The clothes definitely had a very urban edge, with city pavement greys, asphalt blacks, stop sign reds and LED blues marked with strong and decisive lines and borders. Yet all of the clothing seemed to be very wearable and very comfortable. These were definitely fashions for New York.

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Deliciously extravagant! The show opened with a rendition of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” “Queen of The Night” aria.  Absolutely stunning costuming and vocals! Upon the end of the aria, the fashion show started in earnest with the models wearing bright crimson, black and cream colored clothing. They were beautifully constructed and very avant garde. Definitely the most intriguing collection I’ve seen this season. Since the entire collection was inspired by “The Magic Flute”, all the models’ hair was powdered and styled in the manner of Marie Antoinette! Truly an amazing, theatrical way to display the clothing. Tres chic!

Diego Binetti, known for his beautiful women’s clothing, presented his Fall 2010 collection this past Sunday. Ed and I attended with our friends from “The Real Housewives of New York”, Alex McCord and Simon Van Kempen, and noted Style Guru, Derek Warburton. Alex, who was the guest of honor at the runway show, wore one of Mr. Binetti’s fabulous creations and looked stunning as usual. The collection featured soft textures and bright colors. Definitely suitable for any Park Avenue socialite. Truly elegant!

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