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BLACK & WHITE BALL

He invited 500 friends but made 15,000 enemies. When the author Truman Capote threw a lavish masked ball to celebrate the phenomenal success of 'In Cold Blood', everyone who was anyone vied for an invitation.

Held at The Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1966, it was considered to be the social event of the decade, perhaps even the century. Guests like Frank Sinatra, Andy Warhol, and Babe Paley joined others at this party that was seemingly so significant it has its own book and full issues of magazines devoted to it. Though not the first Black & White Ball to ever be held, Capote’s is perhaps the most infamous. And he selected a gimmick that was sure to galvanize and amuse his guests and magnetize the media. He would invite the most famous people in the world - his friends - and impertinently ask them to hide their fabulous and photographed faces behind masks.

The Black and White Ball became the PARTY OF THE CENTURY, and continues to be duplicated in ballrooms and living rooms all over the world. Check your local event pages for a Black & White Ball in your area.

Or, invoke the glamour of early Hollywood and host your own Black & White Ball! The premise of a Black & White Ball is that guests are requested to only wear black and white formal wear, though your version can be as casual as you like. A Black & White Ball is about glamour and glitz, but for a more casual party, let your guests know that formal dress isn’t expected, just black and white. You may also want to call your event a Black & White Party, as the term "ball" tends to suggest a formal event.

Nothing less than black and white will do. Elegant white tablecloths, crisp black napkins, white candles and black carpet. Go too far and you’ll make the room look like a black-and-white checkered diner for that more casual event.

If you are looking to recreate a splash of Hollywood glamour, consider having black and white photographs of Hollywood icons like Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Clark Gable and even Charlie Chaplin blown up and printed on poster paper. You can then hang them around the room. As fancy as it can all sound, a Black & White Ball can be as ritzy or as casual as you want it to be. For a great twist, have your guests come as a celebrity who actually attended a black & white ball! Or, for a more updated version, ask your quests to come as a modern celebrity. Whatever you decide, let your guests know the expectations, plan well ahead, and last but not least, remember to enjoy yourself on the big night!

Here's a partial guest list from Capote's big event! If you don't recognize some of the names, do a Google search to find out how you can recreate their looks.

Mr/Mrs Gianni Agnelli, Count Umberto Agnelli, Edward Albee, Mrs. W. Vincent Astor, Mr/Mrs Richard Avedon, James Baldwin, Miss Tallulah Bankhead, Cecil Beaton, Mr/Mrs Harry Belafonte, Marisa Berenson, Candice Bergen, Mr/Mrs Irving Berlin, Sir Isaiah and Lady Berlin, Mr/Mrs Leonard Bernstein, Mr/Mrs Benjamin Bradlee, Mr/Mrs William Buckley, Mr/Mrs Richard Burton, Prince Carlo Caracciolo, Lord Chalfont, Dr/Mrs John Converse, Noël Coward, Mr/Mrs Walter Cronkite, Mr/Mrs Sammy Davis Jr, Oscar de la Renta, Marlene Dietrich, Elliott Erwitt, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Mrs. Marshall Field, Mr/Mrs Henry Fonda, Joan Fontaine, Mr/Mrs Henry Ford II, Mr/Mrs John Kenneth Galbraith, Greta Garbo, Ambassador/Mrs Arthur J. Goldberg, Mr/Mrs Samuel Goldwyn, Henry Golightly, Hamish Hamilton, Ambassador/Mrs W. Averell Harriman, Mr/Mrs William Randolph Hearst Jr, Mr/Mrs Henry J. Heinz II, Miss Lillian Hellman, Elizabeth Hilton, Horst P. Horst, Christopher Isherwood, Maharajah/Maharani of Jaipur, Senator/Mrs Jacob K Javits, Lynda Bird Johnson, Philip Johnson, Senator/Mrs Edward M. Kennedy, Mrs. John F. Kennedy, Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Senator/Mrs Robert F. Kennedy, Alfred Knopf, Mr/Mrs Joseph Kraft, Mrs Patricia Lawford, Mr/Mrs Irving Lazar, Harper Lee, Vivien Leigh, Mr/Mrs Jack Lemmon, Mr/Mrs Alan Jay Lerner, Mr/Mrs Alexander Lieberman, Mr/Mrs Robert Lowell, Mr/Mrs Henry Luce, Shirley MacLaine, Mr/Mrs Norman Mailer, Mr/Mrs Joseph Mankiewicz, Mr/Mrs Walter Matthau, Mr/Mrs Robert McNamara, Mr/Mrs Paul Mellon, Mr/Mrs James Michener, Mr/Mrs Arthur Miller, Mr/Mrs Vincent Minnelli, Mr/Mrs Samuel I. Newhouse Sr, Mrs Stavros Niarchos, Mike Nichols, Lord/Lady David Ogilvy, Mr/Mrs Gregory Peck, George Plimpton, Prince/and Princess Stanislas Radziwill, Mr/Mrs Jason Robards Jr, Governor/Mrs Nelson A Rockefeller, Philip Roth, Baroness Cecile de Rothschild, Baron/Baroness Guy de Rothschild, Theodore Rousseau, Mr/Mrs Arthur Schlesinger Jr, Mrs David O Selznick, Mr/Mrs Irwin Shaw, Mr/Mrs Frank Sinatra, Steve Sondheim, Sam Spiegel, Mr/Mrs John Steinbeck, Gloria Steinem, Mr/Mrs William Styron, Mr/Mrs Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Ambassador/Mrs Llewellyn E. Thompson, Penelope Tree, Mr/Mrs Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, Mrs T Reed Vreeland, William Walton, Mr/Mrs Edward Warburg, Andy Warhol, Mr/Mrs Robert Penn Warren, Mr/Mrs John Hay Whitney, Mr/Mrs Billy Wilder, Tennessee Williams, Mr/Mrs Edmund Wilson, Duke/Duchess of Windsor, Darryl Zanuck

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