Warning: Bad China Metaphor

It might be part of the Lenox Hotel, but The Dome Room is more like a giant Wedgewood teapot, especially when decked out in blue for Tailored on the Town. A fundraiser for Tailored for Education—
which provides school uniforms in developing countries where they’re mandatory—the event was hosted by founders Megan Kelly and Jessica Roy and had an A-list committee that included the holy quintet of gorgeous blondes: Linda Holliday, Beth Dickerson, Laura Baldini, Elisha Daniels and Sue Brady. Guests were treated to a blue candy buffet and a performance by superstar-in-progress Shea Rose, and the evening’s funniest remark came from co-host Kristen Daly, who said, “At this point in the evening, we’re hoping you’re high enough on sugar and booze to write us a check.”

(From Left to Right: Lisa Rebello and Alan Rouleau; Anja Kola, Amber D’Amelio and Kier McDonough)

“Hey!” is for Horses

Probably not since the abolition movement has there been so much shushing in an overheated Beacon Hill drawing room, but the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit held an otherwise lovely gathering at the Parkman House.

Stationed outside on Beacon Street was the unit’s newest steed, Otis, while inside was the benefactor who named him, Maggie Ahearn, along with the likes of Brahmin do-gooder Henry Lee, Chestnut Hillion Molly Dunne, animal activist Amber D’Amelio, the dashing Cort Davies, the always dapper Alan Rouleau, party in a little black dress Connie Brown, and two prominent women who got into a hissing match out in the hallway.

The evening’s best remark came from the man who forgot his wallet and needed to borrow money for parking from a friend. After being handed $12 in singles, he said, “Looks like I ruined your night at the strip club.”

(From Left to Right: Rick Musiol and April Soderstrom; Oompa-Loompas; Lenny Clarke and Ian and Katherine O’Keefe; Susan Gillis and Annette Goubeaux)

Once Upon a Time

The Storybook Ball looms so large in Boston’s psyche that it’s difficult to believe it was only founded 15 years ago. The fundraiser for Mass General Hospital for Children, which this year had a Willy Wonka theme, is so splashy it induces Veruca Salt-style bitchery among some people, namely the ones who are jealous they didn’t win a golden ticket. Regardless, it’s one helluva party.

This year, guests were greeted at the Park Plaza Castle with bubbles percolating from every corner, kaleidoscopic decor (and food) in insanely trippy colors and a high-stakes arcade that included games like a life-sized version of Operation!, manned by some pretty legit-looking Oompa-Loompas.

Present and accounted for: legendary singer/songwriter James Taylor and the swanlike Kim, brunette beauty Linda Pizzuti Henry and her handsome other half, John, naturally sweetened knockout Adriana Ardila Hassan and her dashing husband, Tarek, unfairly attractive couple Katherine and Ian O’Keefe, fashion plate Remy Schaefer Stressenger, flawless rosebud Alyson Lindsey and the debonair Jeff, the red-hot Rachel Hanselman, Caribbean queen Colette Phillips, the divine Mrs. Ribakoff (aka Patty) and the super-suave Charles, civic leader Joyce Zakim (who arranged to have the bridge named after her late husband specially lit in the evening’s honor), no fewer than seven Bruins’ wives sitting at the same table and pretty much everyone with juice in this town.

Overheard by the bar: “Were you just making out with my wife?”

“Yes…Somebody has to.”

(From Left to Right: Alex Westerhoff, Elena Super and Jaime Diaz; Steven Favreau and Gary Decad)

Knick Knacks ’R’ Us

There’s an old joke about a Boston grande dame who didn’t know that people bought antiques because she assumed everyone simply inherited them. And yet the Gala Preview for the Ellis Boston
Antiques Show, held at the Cyclorama, has always attracted blue bloods who have room (and the budget) for things like a $450,000 19th-century Parisian street scene.

That said, this year skewed a bit younger and sexier, with such bewitching creatures as Russian femme fatale Elena Super, Colombian superman Jaime Diaz, San Francisco-based designer to the stars Steven Favreau and his other half, Gary Decad, with their adorable Havanese, Hubble, the devastatingly handsome duo of Jason DeMello and Bill Coombs squiring the delightful Joanne Tamasi, Back Bay nabobs Mark and Joyce Goldweitz, Beacon Hill party pair Biddy and Bob Owens, the unsinkable Mary Kakas and one person who said, “I’ve been to every Ellis since the first one in 1962.”

One absent tradition lamented by some guests was the legendary raw bar, but there was plenty to nosh on (including oysters Rockefeller), and attentive bartenders kept booze flowing to aid the oohing and ahhing over priceless collectibles. One woman summed it up: “I need everything in here to decorate the French Norman chateau I’ll never own.”