As springtime begins in New York City and the sun begins to warm the frozen ground of Central Park,

the thoughts of Social New York turn to one event and one event only. It's an event that perhaps is the

most exclusive on the Gotham Social Calendar, a mere 600 or so names land on the coveted invitation list.

The final list crafted carefully and strategically by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and her staff

is a who's who of the who's who.

Even the news this year that a friend of a friend that I barely know got to go

conjured excitement and days of Emerald Envy. The Gallin Night, always the first Monday in May,

is covered by the national and international media as stars, star watchers, stars to be, and stars that were, along with the

current gratin of American tastemakers ascend the grand steps of New York's Metropolitan Museum of

Art. The annual Met Gala always strikes me in so many ways as a direct descendant, you could say,

of a gilded age ball, glamour, exclusivity, anticipation, details flung out to a voracious press,

and then the next day, as staff sweep up fallen rose petals and retrieved drop napkins, well, it's all over

for another year. In this show, I will be taking a look at several of the Gilded Age's

grandest balls that, like today's MetGala, defined one's place in the social and entertainment

cosmos. A Gilded Age ball wasn't just a fun night out.

It carried great social significance and we'll be looking at how a ball actually worked,

what it meant if you got invited, what it meant if you didn't, and what you could expect once

you got there. And ladies, I must say, the mystery of how one coped for hours wearing what felt like an iron corset,

under layers of heavy satin, trying to dance in crowded overheated ballrooms, nibble at the buffet.

Remember every detail of proper etiquette knowing that every eye was on you,

never forgetting the stakes of finding a husband and securing your financial and social welfare,

all of this while pretending to have the time of your life. The answer to that and and how one just really did that, has been lost to the mists of time.

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