Idiosyncratic Fashionistas At Forty+ Style's New York Blogger Meet-Up Dinner

Sylvia, editor of 40+ Style, is a champion organizer, and thanks to her, a group of New York bloggers got together at La Lanterna di Vittorio in the West Village on Friday night. Not so much to discuss business, but simply to break bread and rub elbows. (And mix metaphors.) That's Sylvia, above seated at left, and Lyn Slater of Accidental Icon seated at right.  Most of you will recognize Jean, standing.

We finally met Suzanne Carillo (find her multifaceted fashion blog here), friend of our friend Forest City Fashionista Shelley Long. Suzanne travelled from Toronto to meet the New York contingent (following her and Sylvia's previous meeting at the Vancouver 40+ Blogger Meet-Up).

You may have noticed by now that we ate in a darkened room. We originally had a table in the upstairs garden under a huge skylight, with a charming overhead city view, but most of us voted for a quieter ambience in La Lanterna's cellar. Below left, is the unstoppable Sue Kreitzman (wearing a necklace of her own design), and next to her is Debra Rapoport (wearing a hat of her own design). Both of these creative women can make something fabulous out of just about anything imaginable.

That's Elyse Fradkin (Elyse4Design)  below at left, with Lisa Hartman. Lisa is in town from Utah visiting her daughter McCall, a student at Pratt. Lisa's @HersHisandOurs ("Blending Her One with His Five") is on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and her card reads: "Master Blender".  Elyse primarily designs jewelry, but that night she grabbed our attention with a series of burlesque photos she had recently taken. Here in New York (and likely elsewhere), it is now possible to take burlesque classes, and Dita von Teese is just the best known of a number of burlesque dancers heading up the current revival.

In the center below is photographer Denton Taylor with his wife Theresa.  We heard that Theresa has an enviable shoe collection, but more importantly, she has an enviable shoe organization system: all the shoes are in shoe boxes, and displayed on each box is a life-size photo of the shoes within (courtesy of Denton) for easy retrieval. How clever is that? (Oh, and for some inexplicable reason, Jean is showing off her biceps.)

A splendid time was had by all. We ate great food, met great people, and added to our vast store of knowledge. Many of us agreed to reconvene later in the weekend for Sunday brunch. Yum!