Kiki de Montparnasse’s masquerade ball

Ah, what a difference a mask makes. “It’s dangerous. You feel like you can do or say anything,” said choreographer Fatima Robinson, as she fluttered a La Perla lace scrim in front of her sly smile. Promoting mischievous behavior and cheeky chatter was high on the agenda at the masquerade ball held Wednesday night at the chic erotic boutique Kiki de Montparnasse in Los Angeles. Hosts Ashlee Margolis, Negar Ali and Lysa Cooper were so adamant about the attire that they had extra facial fig leaves on hand.

“We didn’t want to do a clichéd costume party and thought this would be more elegant,” said Ali, who wore a vintage Oscar de la Renta gown and a sexy mask with enough black feathers to make a pheasant swoon. Out in the courtyard, 100 or so guests sipped St-Germain champagne cocktails between “Isn’t that so-and-so?” squints.

One woman was festooned with 3-foot-high ostrich plumes, while many men opted for traditional tuxedos and more masculine masks. Thomas Sim sported a vintage gold Gucci Venetian mask with signature logo, valued at $1,500. But it was commercial director Clay Weiner -- dressed as a macho cop with sunglasses doubling as his mask -- who summed up the irony of a masquerade ball in L.A. “People here never tell you exactly who they are anyway. It’s a little bit silly to wear masks.”

Corcoran is a Times staff writer.

monica.corcoran@latimes.com