Designers, Divas and Dandies at the Couture Council's Style Soiree

Last night Yaz Hernandez (in J. Mendel), Alexandra Lebenthal, Charlotte Moss and Liz Peek hosted Quintessentially and the Couture Council's annual Summer Party in the grand rooms of the French Embassy on Fifth Avenue. In the past, FIT's Couture Council, which was founded in 2004, has honored Dries Van Noten, Alber Elbaz and Isabel Toledo and this fall Karl Lagerfeld will be given the Fashion Visionary Award at a chic-ed out lunch at Avery Fisher Hall on September 10th (buy your tickets now!). Mixing in with designers like Francisco Costa, Christian Cota, Douglas Hannant, Nicole Miller and Tiffany Koury were other fashion biggie's like FIT's Valerie Steele, Linda Fargo, Anne Grauso, stylist Alexa Winner, society blogger Tia Walker and more dandy action than Hamish Bowles' closet. Think: Edward Barsamian, handsome Johnny Misheff, stylist PJ Pasqual, Sam Bolton, James Andrew, Cator Sparks, Patrick McDonald (who gave me illustrator Jim Howard's book Four Famous Dandies Paper Dolls that he stars in, of course) and Carson Kressley in a paisley Etro jacket. "I got this at the Neiman Marcus outlet," Kressley told me. "It's summery, but with the colors I think I can also work into fall." Work Carson work!