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The World of New York Social Diary
I went to a marvelous party
With Nounou and Nada and Nell,
It was in the fresh air
And we went as we were
And we stayed as we were
Which was Hell.
Poor Grace started singing at midnight
And didn't stop singing till four;
We knew the excitement was bound to begin
When Laura got blind on Dubonnet and gin
And scratched her veneer with a Cartier pin,
I couldn't have liked it more.
— NOEL COWARD, 1938
I heard a recording of Bea Lillie singing that Coward tune, made around the beginning of World War II. She was a very famous stage star (comedienne) and when she sang had a kind of falsetto contralto especially around the “maaaah-vullusss” party part, with the rest of the lyrics just rattled off in a verbal crescendo. The place she spoke about had all the elements of fantasy. It occurred to me that that is what any good party is. And good parties are not so easy to find for the frequent party-goers (of which there are a lot in New York).
We go to lots of maaaah-vulluss parties. Or have. When we do. And many others we know go to many more, much much many more. When they do.
This all came to mind when we were reviewing the NYSD archives for a variety of reasons. There are so many candidates for the guestlist. A party where you’d never be bored. This party is a come-as-you-are or come-as-you-would-appear-to-be.
Our guests have a certain demographic, that being NYSD 2003 – 2007 and maybe a smidge of 08. One aspect of this guestlist is its socio-historical position. This group, this gaggle of glamorpusses and sourpusses, and guileless and guilesome, the makings of the rich, the chic and the shameless and their important feature players, this group is a glimpse into the social world of these years, this time, today (subject to constant alterations/additions). |
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