Ladies in Hats, Still Making Their Mark on the Park
Look at what a bunch of ladies (and a few men) in hats can do. On Wednesday, the crowd raised more than $4.3 million during the sold-out 41st annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards luncheon, hosted by the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy. Colloquially, it’s better known as the “hat luncheon.”
The entrance to the Conservatory Garden at East 105th Street was a sea of brightly colored floral frocks and fantastical hats and fascinators of all sizes and intricacy. Many attendees go all-out with their looks for the popular event, carefully sourcing and commissioning their hats just for the occasion.
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Designer Lela Rose is known to bring a cohesive sartorial approach to the event, and she described her concept this year as “cowgirl comes to the city.”
“We just opened a store in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where I live 65 percent of the time now, so this is part of our Lela Rose Ranch collection,” said Rose, showing off her quilted toile de jouy skirt and sheer gingham top; she finished the look with a tall Western hat with a dramatically swooped brim by Esenshel designer Rodney Patterson. “He does all of these fabulous proportions and I just love what he does, so I was like, I’m just going with the whole cowgirl theme.”
Designer Andrew Yu created a full look — hat, top and bag — using fashion waste sourced from the Community Center Westchester, where he volunteers.
“What I’m wearing is all upcycling,” Yu said of his colorful pom-pom ensemble. “I wanted to make something to show my creativity, and also to support a good charity and raise awareness of so much wastage in fashion and fast fashion.”
Ali Wentworth and Mariska Hargitay also took a sustainable approach, borrowing their hats from women’s committee board member Sharon Jacob. “I have a big [collection] after 20 years of coming,” Jacob said.
“She has like 60 hats, so every year I go over to her house, and I try them all on and I try to figure out what I can build an outfit around,” Wentworth said. “I wore a big hat last year, so I wanted to wear a fascinator. And then Mariska borrowed a hat from [Jacob] as well. She dressed us.”
Like virtually everyone else congregated under the tent, Wentworth is a big fan of the city’s greenspace.
“I walk six miles a day with my dog every morning in Central Park. I walk with my bestie Mariska everyday in the park, and I think the city would not be the same if it did not have Central Park,” Wentworth added. “So I’m a big believer in supporting it, and they figured out a very fun way to do it — you know, I don’t need to pick up trash or plant anything.”
Central Park Conservancy president Betsy Smith also decided to shake things up with her look this go-around: no florals. “I’ve worn floral dresses in the spirit of spring, but this year I thought I’d go slightly alternate,” said Smith, who instead wore a leopard print skirt suit and hat accented by a few fabric red roses.
Smith was stationed near the stage before the start of lunch, where she greeted guests including Michael Bloomberg, a longtime supporter of the conservancy. The awards ceremony, sponsored by Harry Winston, St. John and J.P. Morgan, honored Yesim Philip, Sara Cedar Miller, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
“Everyone is here to have a wonderful time, it’s a big celebration of Central Park,” Smith added. “Everyone loves to be together, everyone loves to get dressed up — but everyone loves to support the park, because everyone here knows how important the park is.”
Launch Gallery: Inside the Central Park Hat Luncheon
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