last night's party: pretty ladies, a celeb chef and a big spender

last night i had the opportunity to take some photos at the volunteers of america "winter's eve gala" at the plaza hotel. i didn't have a shot list--the single directive was to catch the party vibe without being too artsy ("no backs of heads" --ha) though at the last minute i was asked to take a few VIP photos.

bill cunningham was there and while i wanted to snap his photo, he was deep, deep in conversation with another VIP there and it would have been poor form for me to set my flash against them. he might have some photos in this sunday's times, so look out for those.

anyway, here are my favorites from a fun night, celebrating a really good cause. chef todd english donated his services part of the live auction (and if memory serves, from that alone helped to raise over $10K).

I saved the best for last: bidder "#454" was my favorite of the night. they made a $20K pledge to the VOA.

the lovely ms. rana

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chef todd english

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"big spender"

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all photos © anita aguilar