Angels and Damans

(NEW YORK) "I actually have a degree in French literature from the Sorbonne, and so I'm kind of a book snob," declared Eric Daman last night during Swarovski's launch of his new livre, You Know You Want It: Style-Inspiration-Confidence. While Daman doesn't claim to be the next Sartre, he does promise to deliver a heavy helping of insider wisdom. Dripping in baubles, charms and chains, Daman noted the importance of dressing to please yourself and keeping it real. "Girls need to know that these women on the red carpet look amazing because they have a stylist, two hair and makeup assistants, a dietician, a facialist and a nanny. Simply put, most people don't have that."

Friends and fans stepped out to support, including his Gossip muse Leighton Meester, who squeezed the petite stylist mightily as he asked a group of onlookers, "See? Can't you tell we actually hate each other?" Meester wrote the book's forward--and apparently, it wasn't too difficult. "I wanted to speak as highly of Eric as I could, because he's so incredibly talented, and he really deserves it," she said. The Gramercy Park Hotel's Roof Club and Garden got gussied up for the evening thanks to Swarovski crystals and low, moody lighting. "Where'd that goat cheese platter go?" asked Meester.

While it was clear that Eric hearts Leighton, Blair is not Daman's preferred character to style. "It's Chuck Bass," he confessed. "It's nice to be able to pioneer menswear in a way that hasn't been done very much. Straight men should know that it's possible to wear a pink shirt with an ascot and still drink a Scotch and sleep with two women."

Daman firmly believes that clothes should have meaning, and Meester concurs. "I had a locket that my mother gave me with a picture of my mom and my brother, but the chain broke and I lost it for a while," she said. "One random day at school I said, 'You know what? I'm going to find that locket today!' I searched and found it buried deep in the mulch. It was dirty and dented, but I still wear it all the time."
EMILY POPP