Today, sequin gowns are not only acceptable as casual and formal wear they are highly desirable as such. In recent years, designers have changed this perception. As jeweler Kenneth Jay Lane noted in Town & Country magazine on the occasion of the ball’s 50th anniversary: “In those days, the people were the decoration.When we were little girls, we were told sequin dresses were only for holidays and birthdays. The Plaza’s elegant Grand Ballroom didn’t receive much in the way of party décor for the event. (Imagine the red-sauce stains on all those white dresses!)ĭressmakers and hatmakers in Manhattan, across the country and in Europe had shifted into high gear to create the outfits that the glittering guests wore that night. They all danced to tunes played by celebrated bandleader Peter Duchin and at midnight enjoyed a buffet of spaghetti and chicken hash. Socialite Isabel Eberstadt wore a headdress resembling two swans, one black, one white, their necks interlocking and tail feathers trailing down the back of her sleeveless sheath. Candice Bergen in a rabbit mask of white mink, created by none other than future fashion star Halston, then a hatmaker at the Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan. Oscar de La Renta in a full-face furry cat’s mask. Frank Sinatra in a tux and a black, whiskered mask, with Mia Farrow on his arm in a mask resembling a white butterfly. Imagine it: Lee Radziwell-former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s sister and a princess by marriage-in silvery sequins and white gloves. Ladies: Black or White dress White mask fan." The costume for the evening, which took inspiration from the scene set at the Ascot horse races in My Fair Lady, which had won eight Academy Awards, including best picture, the year prior: "Gentlemen: Black tie Black mask. In the end, some 540 people received an invitation and started making plans (while those who didn’t get one started making excuses). He wrote and revised his list again and again as his friendships and feuds waxed and waned. When it came to devising the guest list, Capote was ruthless. But regular folks made the cut, too: people from the small Kansas town where the murders of In Cold Blood had happened, and Capote’s own doorman. The invitation list was a who’s who of mid-century movers and shakers from the worlds of Hollywood, politics, literature, art, music, business and industry. (Even if it only cost him the relatively low price, for a party of 500-plus, of $13,000.) The party was his chance to surround himself with the beautiful women who formed his coterie-his so-called swans-and to play puppet master for what would be remembered as one of the most extravagant evenings of all time. Capote was an American author, tastemaker and social butterfly, whose true-crime nonfiction novel In Cold Blood had become a runaway success the year before. Often called the Party of the Century, the Black and White Ball was technically held in honor of Washington Post newspaper publisher Katharine Graham, but it was, in truth, all about Truman. More than 50 years later, people are still talking about it. It’s a good time to seek inspiration from one of the greatest social events of all time: Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, held at New York’s Plaza Hotel on November 28, 1966. As we enter the festive season our thoughts turn to planning parties for the holidays ahead, when we’ll gather with friends and family.
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