The Black & White Ball

I'm hanging out in the center of the universe today (New York City...obviously) to help a darling friend plan her upcoming wedding.  While packing for the trip, I got to thinking about what some call the greatest party ever thrown in NYC, Truman Capote's Black and White Ball.  Then I fell down the Google rabbit hole.  I read blogs, I read articles, I read book reviews...I seriously couldn't pull away from the topic.  I had to know it all...who was there (Frank Sinatra, Andy Warhol, Rockerfellers, Vanderbilts, princes, the Maharani of Jaipur, the daughters of three presidents to name a few), who danced with who (Lauren Bacall with choreographer Jerome Robbins, Kay Graham with the doorman, and the 6'8" economist John Kenneth Galbraith with himself), what they ate (spaghetti and meatballs and The Plaza's world famous chicken hash), what they wore (the invitations...which, by the way, were printed by Tiffany & Co...called for black masks and black tie for men and white masks and white gowns for women)...every detail was more intriguing than the last.  At the risk of turning this into a book report, I won't list out everything I discovered (although if the topic piques your interest, you might want to check out this book).  But I will show you some pictures...cause they're awesome and I'm obsessed.

Photos Via: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5