Who Wore Gucci, And Who Wore Wisdom

People broke out their formal finery to celebrate New Haven and raise money for the city’s youth, seniors and cultural affairs.

The occasion was an inaugural ball Sunday night celebrating the elections of Mayor Toni Harp, City Clerk Michael B. Smart, members of the Board of Alders, and other appointed and elected officials, held at Yale Commons at the Schwarzman Center on Grove Street.

Though it’s a celebration, the ball also is a party with a purpose. It raises money for the Mayor’s Endowment Fund, which is administered by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

Creative black tie was the dress code for the evening, and attendees like Sharyn Grant were more than up for the task.

Grant, who works for Frontier, wore a deceptively simple floor length, black dress with capped sleeves and a modestly lowered neckline by Ralph Lauren. The neckline was all the better to see the jewels at her neck and the tear drop earring framing her face which were by Carol Taylor.

“I never wear make up, but my daughter said, ​‘You can’t go plain,” the 65-year-old said. ​“I was listening to Phyllis Hyman, and I thought, ​‘I gotta be fabulous.”

The woman of the hour, Mayor Toni Harp, once again tapped local fashion designer Neville Wisdom, for her floor-length, cobalt blue gown which featured lace, embellished with sequins and beading of the same hue. Ward 26 Co-Chair Sharon Jones also chose a local designer, Newhallville’s Monica D., for her two-piece ensemble, which featured a classic, white off the shoulder top and a floor length skirt made from a highly patterned fabric.

The men took literally their opportunity to be creative with black tie, with many eschewing the traditional black tuxedo and trying out everything from corduroy to seersucker, in a wide range of colors.

City Clerk Michael B. Smart went for a gray suit with black lapels on the jacket, and a thin, and subtle black piping down each leg, while Hill Alder David Reyes Jr. selected a navy blue tuxedo with black lapels and a navy bow-tie and handkerchief.

Roberta Hoskie, one of the chairwomen of the inaugural committee, got to see all of the preparation for the ball come together Saturday night while wearing Notte by Marchesa’s ​“Falling Roses” gown. She accented the dress’s black and silver colors with jewelry by Chanel. She said in the weeks leading up to the ball that creative black tie meant that people could be as conservative or avant garde as they wished. ​“Wear your personality,” she told WNHH host Babz Rawls-Ivy of Love Babz Love Talk.

Neville Wisdom was the wearer of the corduroy suit in a vibrant spring green that was appropriate for the unseasonably cool late April weather in terms of fabric choice and color. The suit is from Wisdom’s slowly but steadily growing menswear line.

Wisdom said he wanted to be dressed comfortably, and the clothes from the line are designed to be comfortable and stylish. He was escorting fellow designer Sharon Lee who said she grabbed an old prom gown that features a high-low hemline (high in the front, long in the back) and pockets. She paired the whole look with a bright pop of color from her turquoise high heeled sandals.

Upper Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen Jr. was the wearer of the three-piece seersucker suit. He complemented it with a white bow tie, while his wife, Chaz, went for a knee-length dress in a minted-hue that harkened to the promise of the warmer days that are yet to come.

East Rock Alder Jessica Holmes went for full-on glam in her black, full-length ball gown, with its bejeweled bodice. Holmes said she didn’t know who made her dress, but she found the stunner at a consignment store. Her wife, Katie Poynter, was the yin to Holmes’ yang, wearing an understated, black, floor-length dress with a deep cowl neckline.

Amity/Beverly Hills Alder Richard Furlow went for a navy blue Calvin Klein tuxedo with just a hint of black on the trim of the lapels. He set off the color with a navy blue and deep, wine-colored bow tie, and a handkerchief in similar colors serving as a pocket square.

Bowties were popular among the men in attendance at the ball Saturday night. Dwight Alder Frank Douglass paired a stylish plaid bow-tie with his light gray suit, while his wife wore an, airy knee-length coral number that was perfect for dancing the night away.

Board of Alders President Pro Tem Jeanette Morrison and President Tyisha Walker went with old Hollywood glamour in their floor-length gowns, of pink and dark teal, respectively, and layers of pearl necklaces.

City prison re-entry program head Clifton Graves paired his classic black kufi hat with a classic black tuxedo. He accented it with a black and white polka-a-dot bow tie.

City Plan Commissioner Audrey Tyson went for a fitted black, Gucci gown with a mermaid hemline that allowed her to cut a rug with ease.

The city’s Dynamic Duo of Traffic and Engineering, Giovanni Zinn and Doug Hausladen, put their own stamp on formal wear Saturday night. Zinn said his impeccably engineered suit was from ​“nowhere of note,” but ​“effective and efficient like the city’s engineering department.”

Hausladen’s formal finery came from two downtown establishments, Enson’s Menswear on Chapel Street and Greg’s Tailor Shop on College Street. Though Hausladen went for a striped bowtie and Zinn when for the classic skinny tie, both chose blue as their accent colors for their accessories.

Mike and Trudy Piscitelli went for classic black, with both adding their own splash of pizzaz — Trudy with a patterned coat, and Mike with pastel yellow tie from Hermès.

And last but not least, Michelle Foster, owner of Madame Cleaning Services LLC., swept into the ball Saturday night in a stunning red floor-length gown with a mermaid hemline and exquisite gold beading that started at her throat and carried down to the top part of the bodice of her dress.

The beading was also featured at the forearms of her dress and from the waist down. She said it was created by Versailles Boutique in Brooklyn.