Monday, January 3, 2011
"Champagne, caviar and dancing dwarfs"
Posted by Kevin Allman on Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 2:55 PM
Occupying a goodly amount of the front page of yesterday's Times-Picayune Sunday Living section was a story titled "Champagne, Caviar and Dancing Dwarfs." The subhed was "Snow White-Themed Bash Was a Deb Party for the Ages," and of that there is little doubt today around the Gambit office.
"The party still has New Orleans and Metairie social circles buzzing more than a week later," declared society columnist Nell Nolan, and of that there is no doubt whatsoever.
The good folks at nola.com still haven't seen fit to put the details of this decade-defining party online, so we'll have to excerpt it for you. (UPDATE: Here it is, posted late — with the comments feature disabled, for some reason.) Follow us under the jump for a tale of champagne, caviar, parking valets in beanies, a "seductive den of sensual pleasures" (!), a gazeboful of gravlax, Popeyes chicken and hired, costumed little people named Happy and Grumpy ...
... Once in a while a party defines a year, or vice versa. Once in a while a party defines a decade, or two. ...
... As the guests arrived, and after they dispatched their cars to valet parkers who sported red bowties and beanies, they were greeted by little people dressed as the fairy tale's dwarfs ...
... One station was at a gazebo that was completely covered in white feathers with a plume-orb encrusted with twinkle lights hanging above piles of shrimp, stone crab claws and gravlax ...
... From the 'White Magic' and its ambiance, guests moved to a decorative chiaroscuro, passing through a "dark forest" to the deep-toned Queen's Boudoir tent, a "seductive den of sensual pleasures" ...
... Party on the Moon's nine-piece band, which hit the stage at 9:30 pm to vroom up the White Magic "room" with kaleidoscopic lights, dancing dwarfs Happy and Grumpy, and a pulsating party pack; and Bobby Rush, who stepped into the music-making limelight at 1 am. Popeyes chicken was served at that time, as were hamburger sliders and French fries ...
The conclusion:
Throughout the 12-hour duration of the unparalleled partying, superlatives were trotted out to describe the bash, along with such adjectives as "gorgeous," "unbelievable," and "a true winter wonderland." Commented one individual who has observed many a social scene, "It was truly the most tasteful high-end deb party I've been to, the party of all time."
Happy and Grumpy were not immediately available for comment.
Comments (12)
Showing 1-12 of 12
Talk about living vicariously through your children - gravlax? Foei gras? For a twenty-one year old, my ass. No wonder there was Popeye's at the end.
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There are never comments activated on the social scene columns. Craaaaazy racism is okay, I guess, but don't you dare mock Nell Nolan.
How long has Nell Nolan been producing such crap? She's been at the paper since, what, the Jurassic period? I guess there is a market for it, but to me its just wow. Her writing style is just crazy, unless over-the-top superlatives are your thing.
As for the party, I do hope someone got really drunk and tossed a midget...or two. I know that's not the kind of thing ol' Nell would report, but for me that's what makes a good deb party.
Nell Nolan writes a society column how its supposed to be written. She's one of the best in the country. It is terrible writing, but that's what the form has devolved into, and the targeted audience laps it up.
This was as good as the story some time back about the Copelands demolishing their garish, monstrous house, planning to put a theme park devoted to Al, complete with a giant talking statue of him.
PS I'm glad they disable comments .. I wish nola.com would disable their entire comment system. The whole board is infested with crazy people who make dozens of posts a day.
Back in the late 1970s and early '80s, a friend of mine used to Xerox Nolan's headshot that topped her columns - she had a Mary Tyler Moore 'do at the time, with a big flip on each shoulder.
My friend would lay these out in elaborate scenarios and staple them up around Uptown on telephone poles. One particularly fine episode had Nolan as a soccer ball being tossed around a field with feet.
She (my friend) had a fine sense of humor.
Nell Nolan's society column is Ashton Phelps Jr.'s sacred cow and the Picayune's raison d’être. Ashton's affinity with New Orleans' blue blood society is a very deep alliance. Ashton would keep publishing a bankrupt Picayune if only to run Nell Nolan's column and the debutante news, along with gala news of Rex, Comus, Plimsoll and Boston clubs.
The Living Section would be the front page and the only section of the paper. The annual Rex and Loving Cup announcement would be the premier editions. This would enthrall the debutante krewe. The only thing that would be missed by readers is the Sports Section.
Nell Nolan is one of the best society columnists in the country, probably in the world. And Nell is one of the nicest people one could ever meet. Yes, it is terrible writing, exactly what the form has devolved into (as billyt points out.) And yes, the targeted audience, and Ashton, wouldn't have it any other way.
Could New Orleans old-guard society really be this tacky? I guess it can be. Is it really so provincially trashy? The writeup is like something out of the Abilene Gazette, although by comparison those Texas girls coming out in New York look like Edith Wharton types. I'm embarrassed for the White "girl." Wow. But in the Whites' minds I suppose they will think making this blog (and Gawker.com) is a compliment. Btw, what's with Dad's hairdo?
well, from the sound of it I think this coming out party was really for the dad, not the daughter. Creepiest and most embarrassing Nell Nolan party write-up ever, and she always makes me cringe, even if its often unintentionally funny, which is why I like to read it sometimes. i missed this one in the TP but so glad i got to see it here.
