Only beautiful people can throw beautiful people parties at clubs that are already the toast of the town before they've officially opened. This is a rule of the city. You can tattoo this on your arm. It's called the pecking order, people. Get beautiful or get used to it.
NA, Noel Ashman's semi-private club which opens October 6th, seemed much more than semi-open to Jay McInerney and Candace Bushnell's party for the publication of Abigail Vona's "Bad Girl: Confessions of a Teenage Delinquent" on October 1st. Gothamist was there, undercover, beautifully clad in expensive clothing that we got on loan from our old college roommates.
Six sex-drenched, style-clad, champagne-fueled seasons of HBO's "Sex and The City" had only partially prepared us for a party being co-hosted by the show's inventor, basis and real-life counterpart.
Upon entering, the first thing that struck us was NA's complete Sex and the City style: grand chandeliers hung from the arched ceiling, buckets of Red Bull sat on the bar, waiting to be mixed with various forms of clear liquor by young, attractive, needed-a-headshot-to-get-the-job barstaff. Anything a beautiful person could need, of course, was provided, from the music (mostly old Michael Jackson hits, seamlessly mixed together), to free champagne, to coveted couches with "Reserved" signs, even beautiful, silver, floor standing ashtrays. No food, of course, and all the ladies were either naturally or synthetically beautiful, with striking, platinum blonde hair and a huge, toothy grin. Every woman shimmered and every man shone, in well-fitted suits and tuxedos, many older gentlemen with slicked back hair and hankies in their breast pockets, just in case a heel should snap or a nail should break, causing a beautiful woman to shed a crystal tear.
Abigail Vona's story of an out of control teenage girl with tendencies towards excess in the areas of boys, booze and bumps was ironically celebrated by putting all three of these vices on display, but in the most fashionable of ways. Abigail herself seemed a bit overwhelmed, and when we spoke to her, offering congratulations and asking about her relationship with Candace Bushnell, she softly explained that she barely even knew her.
Mrs. Bushnell, however, obviously seemed much more at home amongst the glitter and cameramen. When we spoke to her about the book and requested a photo, she quickly and happily obliged. Immediately after the flash snapped, she sidled up asking to see the picture, complaining about digital cameras: "I can never see myself in the screens on these things" and quickly approved the photo, declaring that she "always looks like an Upper East Side WASP, which is what [she is], anyway."
The book, published by RuggedLand on August 17th, has been met with legendary page six drama, generally positive reviews and a party which, while ironic in hosts and style, was seemingly befitting of the author and her achievement. We found it hard to believe, however, that so many could have considered her such a bad girl. We found her quite charming and amicable, but we've never been very good at figuring out the ladies.
