“Spoiled, Childish, and Happy”: Taylore’s Holiday Party Diary

Last week, our senior editor Taylore Scarabelli took two new shearling Celine bags for a spin while prepped for the week’s endless events.

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TUESDAY 9:01AM DEC 10, 2024, NYC

It’s the day of the Interview staff party and it starts early so I head to the office dressed for the occasion. I plan my outfit around the off-white shearling Teen Triomphe bag I borrowed from Celine, blue jeans, and a vintage red velvet blazer with big shoulder pads.

11:00 AM

I grab a coffee before heading up to the office and become aware of my precarious situation. I’m not the kind of person to be trusted with an off-white handbag. I adjust the strap so that the shearling is draped across my backside, safe from spills.

5:45 PM

It’s time for the holiday party. I take my purse to the restroom and fix my makeup. There’s something comforting about wearing a soft handbag. I decide it’s like the adult version of dragging around a teddy bear, only much more luxurious. 

6:15 PM

We arrive at Temple Bar and once again I’m afraid of spilling. Martinis don’t pair with people who love to gesticulate, and I’m one of them. 

7:03 PM

I’m on the second sip of my second drink and suddenly my jeans are drenched in Cosmopolitan. The bag is safe but I figure it’s best to snap a photo and set it down before people start going in on espresso martinis. 

8:13 PM

Addison Rae shows up and won’t stop smoking and smiling. I wonder if she’s faking it, if it’s possible to be that happy. Then I remember she’s a 24-year-old girl with a hit song about being gorgeous and I start smiling too. 

9:00 PM

I tell Chris I had a dream about him and tell Richard about flailing on the floor in my new movement-based acting class. Maybe drink number three was a bad idea.

9:30 PM

I take a couple of the interns to Singers where Addison is crashing her next party. Dara orders a round of lemon drops and everyone dances to “Aquamarine.” The world is my oyster and I’m the only girl. 

WEDNESDAY 8:30AM DEC 11,  2024, NYC

I wake up feeling wholesome and happy and surprisingly not hungover but I decide to work from home anyway. Easier to get things done. 

3:45PM

I finish a meeting and throw on a trench coat and my shearling side bag. I forgot how nice it is to have a hands free purse. I take a photo on the subway. No one knows my Celine is a loaner. 

4:11PM

I arrive 10 minutes late for my facial at Haven Spa. Being late is a bad habit, so is picking pimples, and my aesthetician is less forgiving about the latter. “Cute purse,” she says before instructing me to de robe and get ready for my 90 minute anti-aging treatment. 

5:44PM

The aesthetician tells me to get some rest. Maybe I’m more dehydrated than I thought. Thankfully I don’t have any more holiday parties until tomorrow.

5:45PM

I’m meeting my husband at a sample sale and it’s pouring rain. I’m walking and working, catching up on Slack messages, dodging pedestrians. Why am I like this?

6:45PM

I swear this is the longest I’ve ever waited in line for anything. The woman checking me in is acting like she did face at LadyFag doors in a past life. I leave my Celine bag at coat check. I’m fearful for her safety but then I remember this is basically a high-security nightclub. 

8:05PM

I lose some of my dignity wrestling with a too-small spandex dress in the communal dressing room (I do not wear a bra), but I manage not to spend too much money and my Celine bag is right where I left it. 

8:15PM

We take an Uber to get Udon at Raku. I feel spoiled, childish, and happy. I will not splash broth on my Celine bag. I will sleep well tonight. I will make my facialist proud. 

THURSDAY 10:05 AM DEC 12,  2024, NYC 

There are 5000 holiday parties tonight and I plan to attend at least three of them. I throw on my shearling bag and my UGG boots it hits me. Shearling isn’t sensitive. It’s durable and water repellent. 

10:25 PM

Work. 

5:00 PM

I’m on time for my nail appointment. I planned on a short black set but all of the sudden I’m opting for Marc Jacobs-level bling. I’m taking display nails off the wall and sending side by sides to four different friends. “I’m a bad editor,” I tell one. “This is the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”

6:00 PM

I’m obsessed with my birthday-cum-holiday bling that was supposed to be a Valentines set. This is exactly how people born on Christmas should behave. 

6:15 PM

I was supposed to arrive to a fashion dinner at The Hotel Chelsea 15 minutes ago. I rinse off, re-apply my makeup, and transfer my wallet, keys and lipgloss to my brown shearling Teen Celine Lola. This one is really giving teddy. 

7:05 PM

I’m certain my outfit is Celine rocker girl but maybe I just look sloppy? If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s showing up late and overdressed. 

8:45 PM

I get in a small confrontation in the lobby after unintentionally rolling my eyes at someone. Perhaps my soft purse is making me extra intimidating?

9:05 PM

I’m at the Morrison Group holiday party at WSA. People are way too fucked up for how early it is and there’s a line up at the makeshift bar. Great party. 

10:00 PM

I take the elevator down to the 17th floor where a magazine that I sometimes freelance for is hosting their holiday fete. I pose for a photo with a friend who works there even though I’m technically crashing. 

10:20 PM

We venture through the halls and find a corridor lined with drapes that match my purse perfectly. My friend takes some photos of me for the diary and I wonder if maybe I needed more than a facial. 

10:45 PM

Last stop, a joint holiday party for Gia Kuan Consulting and some other businesses I don’t remember. A friend I used to party with at Holy Mountain is manning the bar but they’re already out of ice. Better luck next year!