Ashanti

On Monday, July 21, at the top floor of the Hearst Tower, a crowd of wealthy-looking women gathered for a reception and panel discussion sponsored by Every Woman Counts, a nonpartisan endeavor of Redbook magazine and the Lifetime Network encouraging ladyfolk to participate in the coming election. And by “participate,” we assume they mean to wave placards around, perhaps; to knock on doors, sure—but also to just plain vote!

Redbook editor in chief Stacy Morrison said the event correlated nicely with her goals for the magazine: to bring women together. “I think women are resistant to the polarizing aspect of politics,” she said, conjuring a lovely, idealistic image of Our Bodies, Ourselves-era post-hippies braiding one another’s hair and clasping hands over “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.  read more »

"It was a great night and it was definitely a huge success by all accounts," gushed Coney Island T-shirt maven Dianna Carlin following last Saturday night's splashy grand opening party at her Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink in the abandoned landmark Childs Restaurant building on the boardwalk.

Sponsored by Glamour magazine and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger (promoting a new perfume called "Dreaming"), the event featured appearances by sparkly dressed pop singer Ashanti and pig-tailed actress Marisa Tomei (sporting her own kitschy T-shirt: "I'M PULLIN' FOR PEE-WEE").

"We had 1,000 people RSVP," Ms. Carlin said. "Luckily, not all of them showed up. ... For a while, we ran out of roller skates."

Yet no one has done any skating at the makeshift rink since Saturday's party.

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