Partyhopper

My opening question to the celebrities at Chanel's recent dinner in celebration of the Tribeca Film Festival's Artists' Program was a bit of a no-brainer. When I asked everyone from Christy Turlington to Natasha Richardson what they loved about the fashion house, they all gave the same answer; "What's not to love?" But it was Gossip Girl Blake Lively who gave the most gushing response. "I love everything about Chanel--the clothes, the accessories, even the people that work there!" Lively declared.

Photo by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene

The elegant affair was held at eatery Ago, inside Robert De Niro's just-opened Greenwich Hotel. The unofficial mayor of Tribeca was unable to attend, but there was still plenty of buzz in the air. My conversation with the lovely Miss Lively was interrupted several times by her dinner companion, Penn Badgley. Blake had to pause a few times to tell Penn to keep his mitts off of her dessert--if you look closely at the bottom left corner of the photo, you'll see his hands sneaking towards her plate. "My mom used to actually let us eat desert before dinner," said Blake, who requested her own array of sweets from a waiter rather than sharing with the rest of the table. "So now I'm always worried that I'll eat too much food and not have room for dessert!"

The biggest occupational hazard of being a Partyhopper is that someone will clear your meal from the table while you're off interviewing a celebrity guest. If I had my way, I'd bring Blake along to protect my plate.--Bronwyn Barnes