A ‘Classic’ Sunday: Flowers on Tables, Hats on Heads

Kat’s Eye Society Report

By Katlean de Monchy–

Tables seem to be the new runways at the Hampton Classic Grand Prix this year. The horses weren’t the only ones prancing. In the VIP tent, the tables have became the true show ponies, each styled to perfection and brimming with power players, celebrities and members of the social ranks. The tabletop competition has become as fierce as what is going on in the show ring and, this year, companies like BrainJuice, Ferrari (via Hedley Studios) and Wölffer proved that design — to be seen by a select group, and for only one afternoon — is a valuable part of marketing.

Hedley Studios’ electric three-quarters version of the Ferrari (Photo courtesy of HCG, Credit Rossa Cole)

Christie Brinkley loaned her smile, presence & daughter Sailor Cook to the brand BrainJuice (Photo credit: Katlean de Monchy)

BrainJuice captured “Best Overall Theme,” transforming a brand of liquid supplements into a lifestyle statement. With Christie Brinkley gracing a circle of presenters including her daughter, Sailor Cook, the table gave a message of wellness-meets-glamour. Maybe it wasn’t about vitamins as much as “Look Here!”

BrainJuice: Here is a theme, and a winner. Can you find the BrainJuice? (Photo credit Katlean de Monchy)

Ferrari, sleekly executed through Hedley Studios, drove away with “Most Innovative.” The table was an extension of the brand’s DNA—precision, design and speed translated into chic minimalism. The yellow 75 percent electric version of the car was somehow placed (driven?) into the tent and parked under a sheet of Plexiglass, with flowers draped off two corners, shall we call it a tabletop? There were 12 place settings and those invisible chairs. As the event went on, guests happily gathered around for lunch. Meanwhile others and their cameras were drawn to it, proving that in the right hands, a table can function like a red Ferrari: impossible to ignore.

A table not like any other. And people used it. (Compliments of HCG, photo credit Rossa Cole)

Wölffer, a Hamptons darling, brought home a “Best in Show” third place nod with a vineyard-to-equestrian concept that was equal parts down-home and haute. Joey Wölffer herself ensured the brand’s table was a snapshot of Hamptons living—local, luxe, and utterly photogenic.

Wolffer’s calming tabletop, which came in third in the overall competition. (Wolffer Estates)

These aren’t the kind of flower arrangement you would see at a wedding. They are brand placements. A table at the Hampton Classic costs $25,000 and seats a handful of guests. What it really buys is access. For $25,000 a company or a person get a table and a handful of access tickets to hand out to guests. Does anyone sit at these tables? Sometimes, no.

One of the prettiest tables was for Blue Star Stables. The woman who designed it, Nicole Troncone of N.T. Designs in Oyster Bay, said she tried to use blue flowers whenever possible. And a small water feature was delightful. She told me that she tried to use as many local flowers as she could in the design.

Blue Star Equestrian of Oyster Bay, with a water feature (Photo compliments of Blue Sky Equestrian)

People walk around, greeting each other, kissing, shaking hands. Taking pictures for Instagram. Socialites carried drinks in glasses and tipped the brims of their hats as they drank. They walked over to the edge of the competition to watch the jumping for a few minutes, perhaps. Mostly they walked around to see who was here. Did Bruce Springsteen come again this year. (He did not.)

Was Michael Bloomberg here. (He was.) What about Christie Brinkley. (Over by the Brainjuice.) Lorraine Bracco is here. (Remind me who she is.) Donna Karan. (Yes, yes.)

And Bill Gates? Apparently not this year. His son-in-law, Nayel Nasser, was competing in the Grand Prix, which meant his daughter, Jessica, was certainly in the crowd, perhaps with their 2-year-old daughter. Jessica Gates is a resident at a New York hospital, so she is often in the Hamptons, while her husband competes around the world.

The celebrity publicist Anna Rothschild, the author Candace Bushnell, the Broadway star Kelsie Watts and the designer Nicole Miller. (Photo credit: Iris Zimmerman)

As for the tables, their impact, and their prizes aren’t the end of their usefulness. After the Grand Prix, pictures of them go onto Instagram, and into bragging rights. They turn up in people’s snapshots and in their blogs. Perhaps into annual reports. People talk about the tables. A $25,000 table doesn’t cost that much if it become viral marketing. Not compared to what a television spot used to cost.

Advertising on TV is dead. Newspapers are dead. Advertising on the internet is dead. How else do companies reach consumers other than parking a 75 percent electric Ferrari under Plexiglass and calling it a table?

Let’s Talk About Hats

Cecil Beaton made the hats that women wore to Royal Ascot (in the movie “My Fair Lady”) a thing of such unspeakable black-and-white elegance, it is hard to remember that hats are not required in all enclosures at Royal Ascot. In the Windsor enclosure hats or head coverings are merely suggested, along with smart daywear, a collared shirt and a jacket. Of course, we have also learned the word from our British betters that “fascinators,” little do-dads held obliquely on the head by invisible pins and consisting of a veil and an exclamation point, count as hats.

The tents on Sunday at the Hampton Classic are not quite as strict about what is acceptable. They ARE strict about tickets. And the people at the entrance do enforce rules some rules about attire.

The judges of the tablescapes were Pamela Eldridge, the publisher of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens, left, and right, Princess Margarita de Bourbon de Parme , who knew the assignment. Here they are awarding a blue ribbon for floral display to Nicole Troncole, for Blue Star Equestrian’s table. (Courtesy HCG photo: Rossa Cole)

You cannot enter the tents wearing shorts or flip flops, although they may not have been able to refuse one woman in a taylored, pleated skort.The better tailored men opt for collared shirts rather than polo shirts. Certainly t-shirts would be frowned on. Dresses are a nice concession for women. Even though the tradition of wearing hats seems to fall mostly to the older women, it was still fun to see who wore hats, and what kind of hats were worn. I saw a couple of younger women even trying to liven things up with humorous hats. I saw two fascinators,

The best hat to wear at the Hampton Classic is, of course, a riding cap. It’s simple, close fitting, goes with riding attire and is always appropriate. Especially if you’ve just gotten off a horse.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg talking to his daughter, Georgina, who rode in the Grand Prix (Photo credit: Katlean de Monchy)

It was lovely to see Chuck Scarborough and his wife, Ellen, and for her to put on a really major hat. It is what they call a “picture hat,” in that it becomes a frame for the face. And it certainly shows off a pair of earrings.

Chuck and Ellen Scarborough (Photo credit: Katlean de Monchy)

I spoke to Christie Brinkley and Candace Bushnell, neither of whom did hats. It was nice to see Dianne Benson in a smart, tailored hat. She is a gardener, a garden stylist and the president of East Hampton’s Long House Reserve. I didn’t get a chance to ask her about the decorated tables. Sometimes it’s best not to ask.

Dianne Benson (Photo credit: Katlean de Monchy)

Dianne’s hat was in the same style as the one worn by the interesting real estate investor Janna Bullock. It’s a classic look. Tailored, and crisp, with a little attitude. Perfect for the Grand Prix.

Janna Bullock (Photo credit: Katlean de Monchy)

At the other extreme are the flowery hats, the ones that seem to exult in the abundance of nature, the excess of color, of sometimes bashing flowers together like a child’s bouquet. My friend Ruth Miller went for daisies. Later in the afternoon she met another woman with a daisy fixation.

Katlean de Monchy and Ruth Miller

Jean Shafiroff arrived in a bold red dress by Oscar de la Renta and a hat to match by Kokin.

Jean Shafiroff (photo credit: Kristin L Gray Photography)

Who else wore hats? I heard the architect Elizabeth Steimberg did. I did, of course, and so did Sue Ellen Marder O’Connor and Nancy Marder, who are related to Charlie Marder of Marders Nursery. They have been here at the Classic all week, dedicated horsewomen. I saw one elderly woman who had what looked like a parrot on top of her hat. She was on her way toward the tents, but I don’t know if she was inside.

Straw is always appropriate. It wasn’t a hot day, and the tents offered shade. So no one was trying to keep cool. Whitney Fairchild, who is a salesperson at Sotheby’s International in Bridgehamton (for those who don’t know, her family history is a long one in the Hamptons, and her father restored Topping Rose) wore a straw hat, and came with her architect partner, Nacho Ramos, who was born in Buenos Aires. I noticed that he was carrying a cap. Good job!

Ignacio “Nacho” Ramos and Whitney Fairchild (Photo credit: Katlean de Monchy)

Was it a good year for the Grand Prix tent? It was the usual year for the Grand Prix tent. No better, no worse. Matt Lauer wasn’t there, nor was Jerry Seinfeld. Jennifer Lopez. Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow. But none of them are associated with the equestrian world. We did have the “Real World” stars: Ramona Singer, Luann de Lesseps, who also are not associated with the equestrian world, but do show up. Christie Brinkley shows up.

But the Ckassic is supposed to be about the horses and the riders. It’s the 50th year, and tradition. Shouldn’t that be enough? Consider this. In the 1970s, this is what the grandstand looked like.

In rhe 1970s, before the new grandstand was built.

No one was making rules about what people wore. There were no tablescapes. Were there international riders coming to the Hampton Classic? Maybe from Canada. I haven’t done my homework on that. Things were a little less technological then. And people weren’t as rich. They didn’t fly horses around the world on a weekly basis.

But riding over fences was just as thrilling, and watching your husband, wife, daughter or son do it was just as nerve wracking, and just as exhilerating.

The sport has not changed. Just the trappings.