Though the guest list changes at boutique lunches from time to time, one thing remains almost constant: models for hire to sell clothes. At a lunch to benefit New Yorkers for Children at the Armani boutique on Madison Avenue, hosted by Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, models stood on pedestals and mingled with the lunching ladies, including Kalliope Karella, Muffie Potter Aston, Rena Sindi, Jennifer Creel and Elizabeth Kieselstein-Cord, with such ease that Jackie Astier got confused.
“Is that a model or a guest?” she asked, before pointing to various visitors around the room and asking, “Are you a model or a guest?” Sometimes, it’s just hard to tell.