Sign up now for TIME's WorldWatch email newsletter. There's something strange happening among the daughters of the infamous New York ladies who lunch. But of course their most important role in fashion is that of consumer. They are the ones who buy, at full retail price, the designer clothes seen on the runways of New York, Milan and Paris. Some of the rest of us may own an Armani blouse or a pair of Gucci shoes or a Louis Vuitton bag, but these women are all designer all the time, right down to their Prada underwear.
Socialites love fashion.
They wear it. Celebrities, once the ones to watch for fashion direction or for fashion faux pas, have become so afraid of the harsh glare of negative publicity that they play it safe. Sure they wear designer clothes, but not the edgy stuff you see on the runway. Oscar night now looks like a small town high school prom, with every star in a monotone gown and a glittery necklace. But a gathering of uptown girls is, well, glamurama.