Daily Stuff : venue:Saks

Blog: GQ Fall Style Event at Saks Fifth Avenue

Erica Corsano — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:38:00 GMT

16 MORE PHOTOS: GQ Fall Style Event at Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks is one of my top three favorite places in Boston to buy shoes, period. But last night I skipped the shoe-drooling to hang out with boys, boys, boys — or should I say men, men, men — including a very charming and super-sweet Doc Rivers, at an in-store shopping soiree at Saks, hosted by GQ.

I arrived on the early side to scope out the scene — or soon-to be scene — and immediately noticed the fan-fucking-tastic music. Anything that gets my hips to shake like that in a retail environment is certainly worthy of mention. I swung around the corner to see the maestro behind the part-disco, part-’80s-pop beats ... and lo and behold, it was Soul Clap — but of course! I chitchatted with Eli Goldstein, one half of the Soul Clap team (the other half being Charlie Levine) about his chic new ’70s-inspired glasses and what the music themes might be for my big night. (Insert shameless plug for my birthday party on October 25 at Achilles Project. I don’t really care if you’re over these; I’m not.)

Next up was “fragrance layering” from Jo Malone. Here’s the thing: the spritzer woman was smart, sweet, and really cool, but can a fragrance really make me sultry? (Hell, I thought I was doing a decent job of that on my own.) The scents were delicious and I actually already wear Jo Malone — I have since college — but the layering of the spicy and clove-y with sultry and sexy made me wee bit lightheaded. It was time to walk away from the fragrance table and find myself a drink and some blog-worthy subjects, stat.

Cucumber martinis, which looked like slime but tasted like heaven, were on hand to get folks liquored up and in the mood to shop. The crowd, made up of retail workers, Saks VIP shoppers, and lucky GQ subscribers, was a good mix of young and old, gay and straight, black and white. Way to be diverse, Saks.

Of course style icon and Saks fanatic Marilyn Riseman made an appearance. In fact, Chanel store director Mary Nobile-King and I walked right over to Dame Riseman and convinced her to have us over for tea (or a shot of vodka) and a romp in her insane closet. Dying: I mean, this woman has only been collecting Chanel bags for a trillion years, so her collection of goodies must be out of this world. She’ll only do it if Mary comes with me, which is fair enough and way more fun — I heart Ms. Nobile-King, the stylish black-and-white-wearing pixie!

Social-couple-about-town Ben and Tonya Mezrich and their entourage (including a man who they call the Cougar Hunter — yes, really) were on hand to discuss the fashion ethics surrounding the concept of the man scarf, inspired by their recent sighting of Mike Diskin wearing one. I fully support you on that one, MD. (The work boots and man-boob-revealing T-shirts not so much.)

Also on hand for some entertaining commentary was Boston Harbor Hotel’s Tim Brett. Tim has offered to be a Stuff@night guest blogger with me and will shortly be getting an invitation to party hop with yours truly. (No, Tim, I wasn’t kidding.)

We were quieted down so that a GQ style correspondent could do an informal Q&A session with Doc Rivers and Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. Umm, can someone turn on the microphone, please? Yeah, didn’t hear a thing, but I can’t imagine what I missed: a style correspondent shooting the shit with the coach of the BEST BASKETBALL TEAM ON EARTH. Perhaps it went something like this:

GQ: Doc, the uniforms are just dandy this year. Did you have something to do with that?
Doc: Hey, man, you’re getting a little too close to my mic — back off.

In all seriousness, I got to chat with Doc and he is totally charming. Thankfully for moi, sports did not come up in this chat. We talked about his work with Action for Boston Community Development (10 percent of sales from the night will go here) and my work with Rogerson Communities and the Labouré Center (clearly I had to throw those out there!). We also dished about fashion — oh yes we did — and Doc was more than psyched to do it. Actually, he seemed kinda stoked that I asked him about his fabulous brown-and-teal pinstriped suit. Turns out heads of ECC Life & Style, Shawn Harris and Jeff Lahens, are the masters behind the suit. Big Doc was so impressed, he got Kevin Garnett and other teammates to start having their suits custom-made by ECC. Way to spread the good fashion word, Doc — this fashionista is fully impressed.

L@st Night: Saks Fifth Avenue 30th Anniversary Party to Benefit the MSPCC

Erica Corsano — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:15:00 GMT

7 MORE PHOTOS: Saks Fifth Avenue 30th Anniversary Party to Benefit the MSPCC

Finally, the Saks makeover is done, and now you can stock up on your fave NARS lip gloss and drool-worthy Louboutins (I’ve been proudly obsessed since 1998) without dealing with a construction zone. Saks’s fabulous new storefront was revealed on Thursday night to celebrate their 30th anniversary. (We have something in common: this year is the 30th anniversary of my birth. Insert shameless plug for my birthday party on October 25.)

The veteran retailer had everyone’s attention: socialites (old-school and new), media professionals, VIP shoppers, and supporters of the MSPCC were all in attendance to sip, mingle, and maybe even shop a bit. Former Herald columnist Dana Bisbee is quickly learning how the other half lives; he looked a bit nervous sans camera and notepad as he buzzed around representing his new employer, the MSPCC. Congrats on the new gig, Dana.

One of my first social encounters on this night was by far one of the best: chatting it up with the Improper Bostonian’s Jonathan Soroff as we both took notes. Priceless. (P.S.: JS, you rocked the “stepdad” attire — not getting decked out when everyone expects you to is total style power.) We chitchatted about all of the good versus bad facelifts within a 10-foot radius, plus his thoughts on Mike Diskin’s secret gay attraction to him (to which Diskin replied “Dream on” — poor metrosexual Mikey just can’t get a break), and then we stared down and commented on PR maven Anne Lower’s style. She totally caught us in the act and came over to see what all the fuss was about.

I’ll tell you what the fuss is about: this woman has one of the best wardrobes in the city. It’s not boring, it’s not too over-the-top, and she always combines edgy with age-appropriate sophistication. On this night, she had on a little black cut-out dress from Marc Jacobs (to die) and Alaia booties (that she proudly announced were from the Closet on Newbury), which were also adorable if just slightly too chunky for her thin little legs. Hey Anne, if you’re reading this, I’ll take a field trip to your closet any day.

I also saw the stunning Ashley Bernon, surrounded by an entourage of fabulous gay socialites. I’m not going to lie: I was slightly jealous. Where was my gay entourage? I AM BOSTON’S ULTIMATE FAG HAG!

Seriously, though, I want a night out on the town with these boys and then I want to write about it. I mean, who are they? They’re handsome, well-dressed (Cartier, Valentino, and Gucci were all represented), and at every party in town. I asked one of the gay mafia members what he does for a living and he said (straight-faced), “I’m a philanthropist.” He didn’t look a day over 22. Next time, love, just say you’re a super-cute trust-fund baby with a penchant for helpin’ puppies and the environment. I then asked self-dubbed “PR Prince” Max Buccini to help me set up the outing. This should be good, so stay tuned.

Oh, random and really sad side note: rumor has it some guests were confused when they got there and expected to see furry little friends at the event. Holy shit, people: MSPCC, not the MSPCA. Get it straight — children, not puppies! They both need our love, support, and attention, but just know who you’re supporting, when!

Fashion highlights included Frances Rivera’s one-shoulder Missoni dress; Tommie Watson’s Elie Tahari oversized necklace; Barbara Quiroga’s vintage re-creation necklace, Saks PR coordinator Nicole Bertucci’s ’50s-inspired tweed DVF skirt; and an adorable couple (sorry, your names escaped me) who were there with Chronicle’s Mary Richardson. Bravo on the ultra-chic and totally age-appropriate looks, he in his bright-purple tie and her with a fantastic crystal beaded clutch. They looked maaahvelous. Other local TV starlets at the soiree included Emily Rooney and a very tan and very blonde Susan Wornick.

More notables: Anne Fitzgerald, the adorably chic artist and part-time lady who lunches — this is one classy woman who’s always perfectly accessorized (God, I want to be her someday), event planner Amy Kimball, and PR gals Michelle Rathbone (Saks) and Mariel MacNaughton (Boston Ballet).

Oh wait, I forgot the “celebrities” in attendance: Austin Powers, Tina Turner, Elton John, Madonna, and Cher. Saks enlisted impersonators for the event — times are tough, folks, and the real deal is expensive to come by. Austin Powers was actually quite good, and Tina Turner had a voice on her. Overall the lineup was fun, but it did remind me a little of the time I was front row at a Julio Iglesias concert — the older ladies were shakin’ their money makers and thanking their lucky stars that their grandkids taught them how to take snapshots with their Jitterbug cell phones.

— Erica Corsano