Spring showers brought out hats full of flowers — and not a single petal was out of place.
A light rain couldn’t dampen spirits at the famed Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon, affectionately known as “The Hat Lunch,” on Wednesday, where the city’s top socialites tipped their brims, raising a record-breaking $5.3 million for Central Park.
Martha Stewart, who turned up at the garden party in a gold brocade coat topped with a vintage gold hat, reminisced about visiting the park with her father at just three-years-old.
“We rode ponies in the pony ring when there were ponies here,” she told us. “We would go into the lake in a rowboat. They used to rent a rowboat for a dollar a day. It was so fun.” She added, “Without this park, New York would be horrible.”
Former mayor Michael Bloomberg, spotted posing with a budding baby fashionista wearing giant wide-brimmed hat, is a regular at the annual fête hosted by the Central Park Conservancy’s Women’s Committee.
“I used to run all around the park. I’m getting a little bit old for that,” Bloomberg, 84, told us.
“It’s one of the great parks in the world,” he told us, noting he had been hanging out there since moving to the city in 1966. “It’s a jewel and very valuable to New York City. People from all over the city come here. They have parks in their home areas, but this is an unique place.”
Feathers and florals ruled the day, with guests showing off elaborate fascinators. Fe Fendi, Muffie Potter Aston, Elyse Newhouse, Fiona Rudin, Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet, Emily Chen, Susan Magrino, Barbara Scott, Suzy Welch, Anne Harrison and Sharon Coplan were among the blossoming scene. Judy Hart Angelo and Janet Ross were honored.
The well-heeled crowd could be heard debating the ultimate chicken-or-egg question: which came first, the dress or the hat?
Socialite and philanthropist Gillian Miniter starts with the dress, in this case Oscar de la Renta, sending a pic to milliner Eric Javits, who creates a custom, surprise look.
“The hat is always a surprise,” the bridge champ tells us. “I have no idea what it is. It shows up, and usually, he says, ‘This is very delicate,’ so he said not to open it until the morning of the luncheon. . . It’s Christmas morning.”
But is it difficult to pin it on? The intricate hat also “comes with a text with very strong directions,” Miniter told us.
“The most important thing to remember is we raise money for a very important cause,” Miniter said. “Even though we look whimsical and fun, it’s all serious women who are being very generous to Central Park. We raise a lot of money that goes directly to the operating budget.”
While many of the women buy their hats, with some importing them from London where the fascinator reigns supreme, some also make them.
Shannon McLean, a former designer who now runs a factory, created her towering floral look.
“It took me two days. I hot glue gunned it all yesterday,” she said.
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