For the fashion community, social gatherings with friends have always been a favorite pastime —holiday or not. From Paul Poiret’s lavish “The Thousand and Second Night” party in 1911 to Valentino’s legendary birthday celebrations, dining in and out has long been cherished among the fashion set.
Over the decades, WWD has kept tabs on the dining scene, proving that food and fashion are a perfect pairing. From the global social set’s favorite hangout spots like La Caravelle in the 1970s, Jezebel’s in the 1980s, to the ever-glamorous Mr. Chow whose restaurants from London to Las Vegas remained a popular dinner destination into the early 2000s.
The daily also offered its unfiltered opinions on the “Ins and Outs” of holiday food trends, buffet tables, even once weighing in on which designer’s hors d’oeuvres reigned supreme. Even culinary legend James Beard shared one of his favorite recipes in its pages. We’ve included the recipe as it appeared with wine suggestions from 1977 here.
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Sauteed Trout ingredients from “James Beard’s Theory & Practice of Good Cooking”:
4 whole trout; 1/4 cup flour; 7 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1/4 cup vegetable oil, preferably peanut; salt; freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and plain boiled potatoes, a white wine such as a muscadet from the Loire or a pinot chardonnay. Serves four.
Surely, his simple sauteed trout recipe remains a crowd pleaser.
Many events whether dinner or drinks always included familiar faces and friends.
Yves Saint Laurent stepped out with Loulou de la Falaise, Betty Catroux and Pierre Berge. Halston dined in and out with Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli and the Halstonettes. Calvin Klein invited Carrie Donovan and the entire fashion industry to celebrate her promotion and Andy Warhol attended a $100 per-plate benefit dinner to benefit muscular dystrophy at a New York City McDonalds. There was also Pierre Cardin’s Maxim de Paris — where the “Battle of Versailles” dinner party was held — a dining in favorite of the fashion crowd in Paris and New York until it closed in 1992.
So, whether you’ve already chosen your outfit or still considering that invite for a Friendsgiving celebration or a traditional holiday affair, let this nostalgic look back at some of fashion’s iconic gatherings serve as a reminder to send the RSVP.
