John Loring, Tiffany’s joyously prolific arbiter of design, now celebrating 25 years of keeping Tiffany on top and in style, keeps on picking up one accolade after another wherever he may wander. John just received a Dallas Fashion Award at a Texas-size dinner for one thousand with Texas belle Lynn Wyatt by his side to hand it to him. She’s from Houston, but for John she’ll make the trek to Dallas.
Back in New York, hundreds of John’s friends and fans gathered at Tiffany for an anniversary party complete with disco balls — remember them? — and Seventies music. You should know that John has two new books hot off the presses, “Greetings from Andy (Warhol): Christmas at Tiffany’s” and “Tiffany Time Pieces.” Did you know Andy Warhol illustrated Tiffany holiday cards for seven years? Neither did I. John Loring did.
Tiffany chairman Michael Kowalski hosted the party and they all came, including that completely charming royal couple Princess Chantal of France and her husband, Baron Xavier François de Sambucy. You all remember Chantal and François. They once lived in New York where they were semi-lionized. Other guests included Kathleen Hearst, Patricia Patterson, Fernanda Kellogg, Bob and Barbara Taylor Bradford, Ashton Hawkins, Anne Slater and John Cahill, Paige Rense (the queen of Architectural Digest), Bea and Bob Guthrie, Warhol “superstar” Ultraviolet, Elsa Klensch and the list goes on. So did the celebrating at a little dinner for 80 afterward at John’s town house. In the forever quoted words of Warhol, everyone has 15 minutes of fame. John has stretched his to 25 years and counting.
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On Nov. 21, the Metropolitan Opera Guild will present “Hart to Hart,” a gala celebration of the lives and achievements of Kitty Carlisle and her late famous playwright husband, Moss Hart, at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. This extraordinary concert will feature tributes in song and film clips celebrating their careers to be followed by a gala dinner on the Fisher Hall promenade. The co-hosts of the evening will be Julie Andrews and Beverly Sills. Expected are such stars as Mario Cuomo, Denyce Graves, Rosemary Harris, Celeste Holm, Thomas Hampson, Audra McDonald, Anna Moffo, Rise Stevens and of course, the one and only Kitty Carlisle Hart. The chairmen of the evening are Gov. George Pataki, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer and the Honorable Michael Bloomberg.
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All the swells will sweep into what The Morgan Library is calling “A Gallant Romp Through History,” its fall gala kicking off at the Connoisseur’s Antiques Fair organized by the Art and Antiques Dealers League of America on Nov. 18 at the Lexington Armory. The honorary chairmen of the party are Mr. and Mrs. S. Parker Gilbert, Mrs. and Mrs. James Haughton, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Menschel, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar de la Rentaand Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Thaw.
And what exactly is this gallant romp about? The Morgan, now undergoing a major renovation and expansion designed by the great architect Renzo Piano, will present an evening of American song with renowned soprano Harolyn Blackwell accompanied by conductor and pianist William Hicks. She’ll sing such favorites as “You Made Me Love You,” “The Man I Love,” “California, Here I Come,” “Tea for Two” and “Anchors Aweigh.” That should keep the guests humming for days.
The four-day Connoisseur’s Antique Fair, chaired by Mario Buatta and Bunny Williams, opens on Nov. 19 and to keep the rah-rah American spirit going, all the dealers at the fair are from the United States. So there.
Mira Sorvino, 37, who gave birth to her first child last week, is already dressing her baby girl in the finest of French fashions from Baby Dior. The nursery has been done in shades of pale pink and Mira is giving her husband, Chris Backus, lessons in how to change their little bundle of joy’s diapers, a task he may need to master as Mira is set to star opposite Pierce Brosnan in the comedy “Instant Karma,” which is now in production and due at a theater near you in 2005.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who simply had to wear pants for eight years while she played Buffy the Vampire Slayer because her legs were always covered in black and blue marks — there were at least two fight scenes in every episode — never wore a skirt because of all those bruises. Now that Sarah has quit “Buffy,” she’s going to wear lots and lots of miniskirts so that everyone, including her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., will be sure that she has pretty legs. He doesn’t know already?
Gwen Stefani is having trouble making the transition from rock star to movie star. The singer, making her debut this fall as Jean Harlow in “The Aviator,” the movie about Howard Hughes starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale, says she was embarrassed because the studio made her audition for the part. “They sent me the script and I spent 15 minutes looking for Harlow in the script. I called and said, ‘I don’t see Jean Harlow in here.’ It was just on page one and it was humiliating because you get used to being a star and there are all those other girls trying out for other parts watching you and they know who you are.” Poor dear. Incidentally, as anyone who has ever seen Jean Harlow in the flesh knows, before hair and makeup and a trip to the complete makeover department, Stefani looks nothing whatsoever like Jean Harlow.
Katie Couric, 47, has caught the eye of handsome blond jazz trumpeter Chris Botti. The 42-year-old musician was on Katie’s “Today” show jamming with his pal Sting and the two met up again at a party. The trumpeter, in Germany this week promoting his new CD, says of Katie: “She is brilliant and beautiful and really, really fun. She’s up on everything. She’s so intelligent — you should see me blushing right now.” Blushing? How sweet.