The Fabulous 400

They used to call the top society people in New York “the Four Hundred,” since that’s how many guests fit into Mrs. Astor’s ballroom back in the 1880s.

Mrs. Astor has been updated, in emerald green satin (and matching shoes) for 1960 – here she is, pretending to cook for her four hundred guests in her Tappan oven.

It is enormous. She looks like a Fifth Avenue Tinkerbell next to this behemoth. Look, she’s standing right on the elements, practically. A daring move in those high heels.

And I suspect she’s cooking a buffalo or two in there.

Or rather, pretending to cook. Surely there is an army of cooks and kitchenmaids just out of camera range.