As Manhattan turns into a glorified Gossip Girl episode during Holiday Season, I would like to highlight one true Upper East Sider that always brings her best A-game when it comes to dressing up. Whether she is staying at The Mark, The Carlyle or The Peninsula, Lauren Levison knows how to charm New York City with her vintage looks and unquestionably refined style. Apart from her delicate bows and the most rare hats of all, the one thing about Lauren that you won’t find very often is her charisma, that one of a kind virtue that has made famous the most sophisticated women in the world like Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy, the Swans of Fifth Avenue or even Wallis Simpson herself. A warm hug and a true smile that accompany an inside joke while having two glasses of champagne are without doubt the real must haves of someone with unparalleled class XOXO💋

Just like the Duchess of Windsor, Lauren, who I have the honor of calling my dear friend hast that natural gift of being the life of the party. We first met during New York Fashion Week in September of 2022, I must admit this was my very first Fashion Week out of my country so everything felt like a story book. Of course New York itself proved me that not everything is like the movies and that a friend can easily become a stranger overnight but in a city filled with so much passion for fashion a stranger can also become one true friend after delicately studied all their looks. Like all the best things in life, our friendship wasn’t planned or previously calculated it just happened. I perfectly remembered Lauren’s outfit for the Carolina Herrera show held at The Plaza and her Baguettes on a coat for the Fendi show will always be on my memory as part of that fabulous September. Both outfits ended up on Instagram, I tagged her on It Girl’s recently brand new reels and with a “Follow Back” our relationship began like all relationships start in today’s world. Little did I know, next year I will be honored by Lauren having friends like Jennifer Creel & Bronson van Wyck together celebrating my birthday …

Lauren Levison arriving to the Lincoln Center in YSL couture, Fall 2023.

Of course, Lauren and I didn’t have a fast forward with scenes filled with outfits styled by Patricia Field. The moment when our friendship felt real perhaps was the night a year later Save Venice celebrated their 50th Anniversary. She along with Rebecca Vanyo literally brought all the glamour the gala needed it. Lauren’s look in words of Rebecca was “a vision in white”. I was there as press and I never doubted into taking off my credential pass, not even for my picture next to Maggie Gyllenhaal. Both Rebecca & Lauren were not also the best dressed but the kindest to a foreigner reporter at the event. Even though it was my second Save Venice night in a row, the whole scene from Casa Cipriani to The Plaza felt so new to me that it felt like I’ve never assisted before. Thanks to Lauren Levison and her sassy words about finishing my homework with an A+, I recorded everything and post it live before midnight. It was the perfect ending.

Left: Lauren wearing  Guild of Hands during Save Venice’s Byzantine Ball. Up and left: On her way to the Met. Right: Lauren posing at The New York City Ballet Fall Gala 2023 with “Guild of Hands” gloves and a gown by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera.

I’m no kidding when I say I look up to Lauren in a Brooke Astor or Duchess of Windsor way, she’s that type of friend that will tell you that two Cosmopolitans are okay before work but a third one will be a complete chaos. She is the woman that’s no afraid of introducing a stranger like me to her world, a person that always will speak the truth for better or worse and someone who doesn’t see why two passports can’t be genuine friends. As the magic of September gets eclipsed by the lights in Park Avenue for Christmas, I want to cherish these Fashion Week memories avec Lauren forever … you know you love me XOXO💋

from left to right: both channelling Blair Waldorf at my birthday’s lunch. Arriving together at the Whitney for Wes Gordon’s show for Carolina Herrera and enjoying a night out at the Met.