Ivanka Trump's Cocktail Party Channels Old World Glamour

Recently, the Elegant Affairs team offered our creative ideas and tasty treats to none other than Ivanka Trump as she hosted a cocktail party for New York society partygoers in an exquisite and formal setting based on old world glamour.

The event was The Masquerade Ball Kickoff cocktail party for the Young Fellows of the Frick Collection.

The venue was Ivanka Trump’s new store on Madison Avenue, which houses her luxurious jewelry collection. The theme, which immediately came to mind, was "Boudoir Chic."

DÉCOR

Ivanka’s store features the basics of old world elegance—black and white accented with deep coral for color, tufted leather walls, lots of mirrors, hanging crystals in the entry foyer, crystal chandeliers and sconces, white leather upholstery, and bountiful jewelry cases filled with spectacular diamonds.

The stage was set for our "Boudoir Chic" cocktail party and it was confined to a small space with a maximum guest count of 100 people. As exquisite as it already was, it needed to be enhanced just a bit in order to transition gracefully from “elegant daytime shopping” to “evening soiree.”

We worked with the basic elements; theme, mood, colors, materials and simply added to the décor while maintaining what we would call “a subtle consistency”.

This would, in fact, make the room pop without overwhelming the guests while simultaneously keeping it simple for the hostess.

We started with a large and exquisite bouquet of deep coral roses bunched tightly together in a simple and modern glass vase. Then, we punctuated the large bouquet of coral roses with several small, tightly bunched roses of a complementary color and placed them strategically throughout the room

To balance out this feminine and delicate focal point, we added thick, white pillared candles of varying sizes placed in clusters throughout the room. This served to create a relationship with a strong, already existing focal point (the roses) in the room without competing with it.

Using the existing elements of the room and working with them, not against them; that was key. With this in mind, clear glass candle globes of a column shape were used for the candles. These were modern and angular, thus juxtaposing the already present feminine elements.

The impression the room creates upon entering should be soothing to the senses, not distracting.

Remember, you want your guests to unwind and slip into something much more comfortable—your party!

While this was an event of Trump-stature, it was illustrative of the basics. When planning any event, keep it simple:

• Consider the native décor of your party space. Whether you are planning a party at your own home or another venue, the same rules apply; work with what you already have.

• Think about the colors, the theme, the mood, and the materials already available, then provide enhancements to compliment your environment -- with an eye for scale and proportion.

• Use candles for the basic elements of creating ambiance -- they’re simpler and yet far more potent than many alternatives when it comes to transitioning a space from an “everyday living area” to a theme driven event.


• When creating clusters of candles or other décor items, do so in odd numbers for a more visually stimulating arrangement.