Bejeweled Bonanza

(NEW YORK) Karen Elson and Sarah Sophie Flicker hosted a dinner Wednesday night to honor House of Lavande, the vintage couture jewelry emporium founded by Alaska native Tracy Smith. "It's the kind of thing where if you scoured on eBay, you'd have to be a pro," described Olya Thompson of the exquisite one-stop shop, which recently launched a new online component and a stylist service. "There were so many pieces to choose from that I had to first pick a theme: coral and turquoise."

Having set up shop at Lafayette House earlier that day to showcase her enormous collection of amassed jewels, Elson fretted over accessorizing her Erin Fetherston dress. "At first I imagined Bianca Jagger, pre-Studio 54, on vacation, but then I sort of turned into a Renaissance woman," she said, adding that she's in the initial stages of recording a solo album (hubby Jack White is in town playing with The Raconteurs this weekend). "I've been watching The Tudors a lot lately, so I suppose I'm having an Anne Boleyn moment." Her partner in crime, meanwhile, channeled old-world Russia, inspired by the book, Beauty in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility Who Fled the Russian Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion. "I'm feeling like a Russian bella russe."

Among the 60 party people gathered on the second floor of the boîte--each seemingly dripping in more Lavande jewels than the next--were Erin Fetherston, Bettina Zilkha, Elise Øverland, Melissa Bent, Jennifer Missoni, Melissa Bent, Allison Sarofim, Lucy Sykes Rellie, Maggie Betts and Holly Dunlap, all of whom had the men on hand, including Rufus Albemarle, Todd Eberle (who shot the photos on the brand's Web site), Simon Hammerstein and Zac Posen just a little green with envy. "I've realized that I'm clearly in the minority tonight, and even more so with heterosexuals," piped Euan Rellie as he jumped into the action out on the quaint patio. Jewels, as tempting as they are, weren't the only things on guests' minds. Olivia Chantecaille, for one, was preoccupied with her move the next morning to SoHo, into her fiancé's apartment, from her current digs in NoLiTa. "Tomorrow it's hair up, moving chic," she smiled.

Tabitha Simmons, meanwhile, may not having worn borrowed baubles, but she was nevertheless the subject of her own toast during dinner (where boxes of Vosges chocolate graced each table setting), having passed her New York driver's license exam that afternoon. "The first time I went for the road test I wore my platform Balenciaga boots," she recalled with a laugh. "The instructor was like, 'What are those?'"

Her seatmate Celerie Kemble had her own revelation. She was tapped to design the brand's new flagship on Royal Poinciana Way, which just happens to be adjacent to The Palm Beach Grill, her favorite local restaurant. "She treads the fine line between fabulous and funky," said Kemble in between bites of chocolate soufflé. "I just don't know how I'm going to design enough shelves for their inventory!"
JIM SHI