Upon arriving at the Bryant Park Grill for the sold-out first annual Halloween Masquerade Ball hosted by Jill Zarin of the “Real Housewives of NYC (dressed as Poison Ivy from Batman) and Track Entertainment CEO Andrew Fox and promoted by Halloweenparties.com, the long line to get in reminded me of another time people were lined up around Bryant Park: for the IMG Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. This was no less fashionable of a crowd!
Upon entering, I nearly stumbled over a nurse resuscitating one of the three perfectly attired Oompa Loompas who were in attendance. While amused by the Oompa Loompas, I had not come to party with them tonight, and I sought higher ground: the rooftop bar of the Bryant Park Grill under the grand tents with Baccarat Chandeliers and a some of NYC’s finest skyline views.
I found Jill Zarin hanging out with a decidedly stylish crowd which included her husband Bobby Zarin (dressed as a white-gloved doorman from Plaza Hotel), makeup-artist Lisa Gastineau (from “The Gastineau Girls” dressed as an 80s groupie and rocking her favorite “Team Jill” shirt), celebrity Stylist Lauren Rae Levy (dressed as Pretty Woman), celebrity hairstylist Michael Silva (costumed as a vampire), Darren Bettencourt (dressed as a Glam-Goth rocker, complete with spider web eyes), Carissa Reiniger and Ntalie Zfat. As one would expect, the costumes of this stylish cadre did not disappoint.
Lauren Rae Levy’s costume, Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman, was thrown together from a theory tank, an American Apparel skirt, an old cop-costume hat, her rocked my thigh high Manolos, and a bracelet purchase off the street holding it all together and had people serenading her with Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” throughout the night.
I had the opportunity to meet celebrity hairstylist Michael Silva for the first time, and his vampire costumer was so transformative, down to the eery slit pupil contacts and perfectly placed strands of hair, that I would not recognize him if I saw him on the street today. I’ve learned from them that the eyes really make the costume!
I’ve learned from them that the eyes really make the costume! Especially when they are webbed, like Darren Bettencourt’s.
Even our Bartendress was in the Halloween spirt, with a fantastic cat costume.
As we started to leave to join Jill’s co-star Kelly Bensimone at Espace, the Oompa Loompas were making their way up the stairs. Perfect timing!
Written and photographed by and © Keith Lew
