Mary Kate Olsen takes a peek at some nudes...at the New York Academy of Art bash...

The annual Take Home a Nude bash run by the New York Academy of Art was all a buzz last night at Sotheby's as the diminutive Mary Kate Olsen tip toed in  - past a weird picket line of Teamsters, (who i'm guessing were venting their rage at upper east siders being out on a Monday night in their natural habitat of, oh... the upper east side....)

The event, as usual, was a high octane spin through a few galleries of art pieces up for auction. Armed with a pencil, a cocktail and a credit card to burn, it's funny how the bidding seemed to escalate as the countdown to each gallery room closure was yelled across the mic by the weirdly gimp masked master of ceremonies.

Padma Lakshmi took a turn around the room, as did Harpers editor Glenda Bailey and the ever frothy Robert Verdi (sans signature shades on his head...pourquoi?).

Sadly the closest I got to phsyically taking home a nude was peering at a haunting photo of an Ipanema beach scene...once I'd figured out I could probably fly there and take the same photo myself for less money, the item had been snapped up by someone else.

In terms of fashion, we saw beautiful Erikson Beamon statement necklaces, new Prada pumps with this seasons heel...appropriately in nude, (as sported by my blog buddy Photos From a Stylist). As well as some bizarre fascinator flower head gear that seemed to be missing the point that the wearer was neither a) Kate Middleton nor b) at the Kentucky Derby.

As for me? My Adrienne Landau marabou feather gilet got it's fair share of papparazzo attention, so it had to be hastily retired and packed off back to it's Stepford gilded cage, for fear of it catching fright and taking flight into the nippy New York air.

 For more Notes from a Stylist click here....

Citi and American Airlines Launch new MasterCard in Style

If you're looking to launch a new MasterCard in the current economy, let's face it, you better either have some damn good incentives, or a super hot launch party complete with requisite celeb stylists and rock stars. Funnily enough, just last night, Citi and American Airlines managed to pull that off all under the stunning backdrop of Grand Central Station in New York, where they've brought The Admirals Club lounge to Vanderbilt Hall

Commuters were drawn to peek in at the buzzy atmosphere as Gavin DeGraw belted out his hit 'Not Over You', and whilst this Stylist was swooning over her new musical crush, she also managed to sneak in a quick free 'messy up-do' by celeb stylists Joel Warren and Edward Tricomi of Warren Tricomi fame.

After a little banter with the boys about their own rock band adventures, the latest on the New York club scene, and some advice on creating my 'up-do' at home in 5 minutes with a curling iron....yeah right...it was time to pay attention to Citi's Terry O'Neil.

So here's the gig The Citi Executive/AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard hands you a bunch of member privileges as well as let's you spend money - what's not to like?

There's Admirals Club membership privileges, no foreign transaction fees on purchases, enhanced airport experiences like priority check in and pre-boarding, as well as waived baggage charges for your first domestic checked bag. Quite frankly they had me at 'priority check in'...but Gavin DeGraw did probably swing it for them on the night.

Clearly Terry O'Neil must have seen a few airport lounges in his time, so when asked which is his favorite globally he plumped for JFK.

As for the style on the night? Apart from Messrs. Warren & Tricomi who belie their years and ooze effortless style, we saw this seasons polka dots in dresses and pumps and the most gorgeous vintage booties amongst the city suits.

The Admirals Club lounge is at Vanderbilt Hall until Wednesday, opening daily at 11.30am, so pop on in on your commute home.

For more info on the card take a peek here...

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What was under Kiefer's Kilt at the Dressed to Kilt Gala?

Just in case you weren't aware, we are in the midst of Tartan Week (March 29th-April 10th), and as part of the celebrations the Annual Dressed to Kilt Gala was held last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom right here in New York.

If you're wondering what's so interesting about a bit of plaid, maybe if I mentioned Kiefer Sutherland in a kilt along with Sex and The City star Chris Noth showing the crowd exactly what was under their sporran, well that might get your attention.

The event is the brainchild of Friends of Sotland with the awesome Sir Sean Connery as the Honorary Chair, resulting in big named celebrity attendance each year. This year however Sir Sean pulled out of hosting the event at the last minute leaving the organisers in a fix and worrying about his health. Apparently he is fine and on the golf course...

The idea of the big night is that you wear something tartan, or you in fact are slightly Scottish - as my buddy who attended can atest to by means of her accent and (if pushed) a Glaswegian kiss...

There's a fashion show where established designers, textile houses and aspiring designers get to show their tartan-tastic skills and of course there's a lot of scotch to be drunk.

This year Stacey Kibler took to the runway, Marcus Schenkenberg was shamefully over dressed, whilst the aforementioned Sutherland/Noth duo along with Jason Patric and a few other cast members from their current Broadway revival 'That Championship Season', certainly left their mark on the occasion.

For more info on Dressed to Kilt click here

As for me, I'm happy to say that my (this seasons) red Obi belt travelled to the occasion on the slim waist of my authentic Scottish buddy - which must make it the most well partied belt of the week considering it was only the night before that it attended the NYAA TriBeCa Ball.

Should there be any offers for personal appearances from said Obi belt for the remainder of the week please contact it's agent here...

For more Notes from a Stylist click here...

Notes from a Stylist at the TriBeCa Ball 2011

You've gotta love a TriBeCa Ball, run by the New York Academy of Art, it's a chance for the great and the good of New York - i.e. those with money, to take a peek at the emerging artists from NYAA - i.e. those who are skint.

The evening tends to pass buy in a jocular manner as socialites and celebs teeter around the tiny stalls that the artists inhabit by day - which have been lovingly spruced up for the big occasion. Whilst the poor artists are thrown in at the deep end with their first forray into serious sales i.e. they want to flog their work to you.

For celeb spotting there was Eileen Guggenheim, Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts, Baz Luhrmann and Alexandra Richards. I did see Robert DeNiro's name on the check in list but I guess he had other parts of TriBeCa to manage that night. There were a plethora of designers - Rachel Roy, Cynthia Rowley and Kate and Andy Spade. Even Serena Shvo in the tiniest gold Herve Leger dress I've ever witnessed.

So what about the actual art...

We saw oil on canvas, prints, installations - including a bizarre brillo pad sculpture that could surely have recycling value should you run short of cleaning materials once you are bored of the picture. There were magicians and a rather annoying dancing girl who was sweating proffusely and roaming the 5 storey building being trailed by an accompanist on an accordian - I'm not sure if that was art in motion or just the entertainment.

And then there was my favorite - the people watching ....

For my bit I kept the UK support group going by purchasing a cute print from the lovely Imogen Slater - a Brit striving to make her mark in New York, who had very cute shoes on...

Real Fakes at the Chelsea Galleries...

There's nothing like a bit of sculpture to get the artistic juices flowing, but sculptured shoes and handbags - now that makes me really pay attention.

At the Mike Weiss Gallery (520 W24th St) there's a surprising exhibition by Liao Yibai of what he likes to call 'Real Fakes'. A larger than life gathering of over the top pieces in stainless steel that point to the subversive world of fake luxury goods.

As with scoping out a fake, it's all about taking a closer look - there's the Chanel clutch that has an Apple logo, the Pengdi tote and my personal favorite the 'Real Sprada Bag'.

This exhibition is small but fun - it runs until October 30th so get your fake Gucci's on and trot down to the Chelsea Galleries.

For more fashion-tastic news take a peek at Notes from a Stylist