By Ted Gushue 12/07/12 3:46pm

Ted on the TownNight Life

Solange Knowles at the MOMA [Photo by PatrickMcmullan.com]

Licensed to Party: hitting the party circuit with Bond girls and billionaires

As September shuts and October opens, the health of New York’s social calendar is on a speedy path to recovery—a road that leads us directly into our favorite time of year: black tie season. All of a sudden, the invites popping into our inboxes seem to be on a tiny bit thicker card stock, with just enough engraving to denote the perfect dress code. As one party this month put it, this is a time to dress “extraordinarily.”

We start out the season at a fete to remember: the 2012 Annual Brazil Foundation Gala. Read More

By Carson Griffith 7/09/12 6:15pm

As Seen in SCENE

2 Photos

Not a bad view from La Piscine's bar

Hot Spot: Inside La Piscine

Can’t get a yacht this summer? Get a table.

La Piscine—the rooftop bar, restaurant and pool at the Hôtel Americano—is helping busy New Yorkers find a moment of European bliss when they just can’t get away from the city’s sweltering heat. “You almost feel like you are on holiday in New York, like on a trip to the South of France,” says Carlos Couturier, who owns the hotel, along with ten others in Mexico, with co-owner Rafael Micha. The pristine rooftop, which opened simultaneously with the Chelsea hotel last September, hadn’t been able to fully flaunt its potential until the weather reached warmer temperatures this past spring. But now that summer is in full swing, artists and A-listers have been flocking to the small but chic space for a drink and a dip. Read More

By Carson Griffith 3/01/12 1:00am

As Seen in SCENE

7 Photos

Annabelle Dexter Jones Faith Connexion premiere collection dinner

Haute Spot: Inside Le Baron

After nearly two years of build-up and delays, friends of 41-year-old Frenchman André Saraiva received an email alerting them that after a battle with the New York City government, Le Baron was in fact up and running. The huddled masses outside the club who hoped of getting past the costumed bouncer proved Saraiva and his partners, such as Timothee Verrecchia, were very selective with those invitations. “My door policy is no policy. I just want it to feel like friends and family,” Saraiva says.

Opening night included Scarlett Johansson and Victoria’s Secret model Lily Donaldson, while LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy helped increase the median age in the room along a gold staircase from the main floor to the third. Alexander Wang and the MisShapes appeared to be so at home within the walls, they looked as if club designer, Vincent Darré, physically carved them into the framework of the banquettes.

Those who have waited—and have been granted access into Le Baron’s newest lair—have been rewarded. “The waiting increased the pleasure,” Saraiva observes. Read More