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Staring at her red stiletto soles,
marveling at her balance and stride, we
followed an extremely chic woman down
Seventh Avenue - and onto 18th Street.
Oh, this woman worked those Christian
Louboutins - and her Blackberry - and we
knew she was headed for the same
destination as were we. Looking like
that, where else could she be headed on
this splendid New York spring evening
but Design on a Dime?
New York's most popular interior design
benefit event opened on Thursday evening
with a sold-out VIP reception and
opening night soiree that had Housing
Works' patrons lined up outside
Metropolitan Pavilion. Had you passed by
in a car or a cab, you might have
imagined this fashionable crowd was
awaiting the opening of a new club or
the latest theatrical sensation - but
no, that sartorially astute and
fashion-forward crowd was awaiting the
opening bell of Housing Works' annual
three-day charitable design event.
Inside Metropolitan Pavilion, more than
50 of the world's top interior designers
had created stunning rooms with
brand-new designer merchandise, all of
which had been donated - and was now
about to be sold for 50 to 70 percent
off.
If you've ever wandered imaginatively
through a shelter magazine - and yearned
for your own abode to look like those
glossy photographs, well then, this was
your opportunity to score those looks -
on your budget.
Everyone was dressed to the nines - as
if they were going to the tents at
Lincoln Center for the spring
collections. But then, design and
fashion have always walked hand in hand
- as evidenced by the guest list for
Design on a Dime. Reed Krakoff was
there, for example, as well as Robert
Verdi and Iman - and there was also John
Bartlett and Andy Cohen and Nate Berkus.
A surfeit of sartorially astute and
fashion savvy gentlemen who know how to
work a suit - without looking stiff.
But on this evening, it was the youngest
generation who turned it out with a
sense of style that was as carefree as
it was nonconformist and yet still
elegantly urbane. Oh, those boys, those
girls - and their rooms! These days,
it's not enough to look good - but your
rooms have to look as good as your
reflection. And the rooms that these
designers created were just waiting for
their close-up in "Architectural
Digest."
The crowd surged through Metropolitan
Pavilion as if it were Black Thursday at
the A&D Building. One editor of a
national shelter magazine accumulated
enough sales tags that her final tally
was $15,000 - for nearly $50,000 worth
of merchandise. The rooms were as
intoxicating as the Chopin vodka drinks
(mixed with blood orange) - and it was
tempting to purchase nearly everything
upon which your eyes fell.
And why not? Because the best thing
about Design on a Dime is that it's all
for good. Everything - all proceeds from
Design on a Dime - goes to help Housing
Works' 'Get a Room' program, which is
for homeless and low-income New Yorkers
living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Now, come on, when has it ever been more
right to spend money on furnishings?
One of the joys - and ironies - of a
night like the opening night of Design
on a Dime, is knowing that your own
purchases that evening, and the two days
subsequent, are enabling other New
Yorkers to sleep under a roof. A roof
above their heads. It's something that
most of us take for granted - but
Housing Works' is there to remind us
that it's not always that easy for some
of us.
This year's Design on a Dime benefits
Housing Works' 874 Jefferson Avenue
Residence Project, a new housing
development consisting of 12 permanent
units of supportive housing for single,
formerly homeless adults living with
HIV/AIDS.
So, go - what are you waiting for? Get
thee to Metropolitan Pavilion before the
end of business on the 7th and spend
some money on shelter - to help shelter
your fellow New Yorkers.
Nothing makes you look so good as doing
good.
DETAILS
Design on a Dime is New York City's most
popular interior design benefit event.
The three-day charitable design event,
art and travel auction features over 50
of the world's top interior designers,
who create unforgettable room vignettes
with new merchandise, which is donated
and then sold for 50 to 70 percent off
retail pricing. Shopping continues with
the Free Public Sale, May 6-7.
Housing Works Thrift Shops' Seventh
Annual Design on a Dime sale is free and
open to the public on both Friday, May
6th (10AM to 6PM) and Saturday, May 7th
(10AM to 6PM).
Location: Metropolitan Pavilion 125 West
18th Street, New York City
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