frank sinatra remarked to the washington post gossip columnist suzy knickerbocker: "i don't know how anyone can recognise mia with her mask on." suzy responded: "i think it has something to do with her haircut, frank, honestly i do."

truman capotes schwarzweisser maskenball der 500 berühmtesten menschen der amerikanischen welt ist vor allem ein ball der geschichten. the room was always shimmering. und die gäste:

babe paley, crucial für truman capotes aufstieg und fall in der society. und in capotes eigenen worten: "babe paley had only one flaw: she was perfect. other than that, she was perfect."

the hit of the evening was the ingénue penelope tree. more naked than dressed in her flowing black tunic and form-fitting tights, tree caught the eye of every person in the room. jean harvey vanderbilt described tree's ensemble as "stark, like a halloween ballet costume". her entrance signalled the presence of a new generation at the ball. tree was discovered by the fashion world that night. cecil beaton and richard avedon were so enchanted by her unspoiled beauty that they conspired on the spot to turn her into a cover girl - which is what she soon became.

lassen wir zum schluss noch einen, äh, funk soul brother zu, äh, wort kommen.

when the soul brothers had their turn at the bandstand, the dancers proved they knew their stuff. the leader benny gordon said that the party was " out of sight" and was "surprised there were so many hip people (especially the oldsters) in society".