Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

Mrs. Astor holding court in her mansion on Fifth Avenue. Twenty years ago — more than a century after Mrs. Astor and McAllister drew up their “400” list — Quest introduced a “400” list. "Twenty years ago — more than a century after Mrs. Astor and McAllister drew up their “400” list — Quest introduced a “400” list. In 2015, when reviewing the “400 list” we introduced in 1995, it was interesting to note the differences between then and now. There are no private ballrooms like Mrs. Astor’s to reference, and no hostesses sitting like a monarch on a throne to greet her guests. (As The Mrs. Astor did, dripping in diamonds -- they called her the human chandelier.)  The social scene had expanded commensurately with the population of New York. Society had become more democratic in the long run — and has become even more so in the past two decades. Our method of identifying those individuals and families for the earlier list was non-scientific." (NYSD)