“I can tell you this little secret that will help your career: It’s the accessories that really make the whole outfit,” Mayor Bloomberg joked at the opening of Ralph Lauren’s new women’s flagship store last night, where he presented the designer with a Key to the City of New York. To prove his point, he pulled a giant metal key out of his suit jacket pocket and held it aloft, along with a huge blue “I Love NY” key chain. “I was talking to Ralph before this, and he asked me, ‘What does this key open?’ The answer is, absolutely nothing.” He also assured the crowd, all of whom were clutching sweaty Champagne flutes in the marble-paneled foyer of the store, that he was wearing a Ralph Lauren tie, flipping it around to display the label. “I do own some Ralph Lauren things!” he said. “Although the New York Post was correct when they reported that I only wear two different pairs of shoes.”
Lauren himself thanked the crowd and left everyone to mingle about the four floors of the store, which, as you might have seen in our slideshow, is pretty swank. Dylan Lauren had one qualm with it, though: “When my fiancé [Paul Arrouet] and I go shopping, I like to help him shop in the same building, and now he has to go across the street,” she said.
Also in attendance was Lauren Bush, who showed her first clothing collection in Houston earlier this week. “It’s just very basic scarves and wrap skirts,” she explained. “There’s a new dress that’ll be at Barneys soon, all made of hand-dyed silk by women in the Congo.” Was it stressful to put on a fashion show? “It was nerve-racking! But on the other hand, I don’t have a really robust collection, so it was a very simple show. And putting on a show in Houston is a lot more comfortable than New York, probably.” Also, her grandparents came. “It was so cute! They were very complimentary. I mean, they sort of have to be. But they’re very sweet.”
