OUR DINNER WITH SUE*

Last Saturday night, we invited the inimitable Sue Kreitzman to dinner at one of Jean's new finds, the Cafe Select.  It's a little Swiss bistro designed to look like a train station, complete with a large Rolex wall clock.  We took a seat on the banquette near the front window, which was wide open on the balmy night, and settled in for a lovely evening of tasty food and delicious conversation. After just a few visits, Jean has become addicted to the polenta in wild mushroom sauce and crispy zucchini chips, and we both like their Coral Reef cocktail, edged with finely ground pink peppercorn.  Sue ordered a Negroni made with Dorothy Parker gin (and asked that the bottle be brought to the table for an Instagram op).

Sue's signature look includes lots of color and amazing jewelry. That evening, she wore lots of pink and a striking Day of the Dead necklace of her own design.

It's impossible not to thoroughly enjoy oneself with Sue.  Engaged and engaging, her glass is always 3/4 full when others are wondering if their glass is half full or half empty.  (How does she do that?) We leaped from one topic to another seamlessly, never running out of things to laugh about.  If you need more information to understand for yourself what makes Sue inimitable, click on the link on our opening line. Or you can click here to view our post about dinner with Sue at Casa Lever; here for our post about our visit to Sue's amazing fun-house of an apartment; and here for our coverage of Sue Bourne's documentary Fabulous Fashionistas, featuring Sue and five other active, accomplished women living in the U.K.

Can you tell we're big fans? We can't wait for Sue's return in November. Till then, we'll make a few pilgrimages to Cafe Select.

* With gratitude to director Louis Malle, without whom this post's title would not have been possible.

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!