Grand Style for a Carousel Ride

The pretty people went all out dressing up for Barbara Davis’ Carousel Ball for diabetes charities on Friday night.

Vaults were cleared out for the evening--make that jewelry vaults, not fur. And, for a change, Los Angeles women abandoned their beloved rhinestones, sequins and beads for gowns of satin, chiffon and velvet.

The big exceptions were the tiny rhinestone-encrusted handbags with four-figure price tags designed by Judith Leiber and clutched by nearly all. The bags come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but this evening there were so many egg-shaped Leibers, it looked like a strange bird had laid an egg on every table.

Dresses were grand and full-skirted--from Ivana Trump’s chartreuse, fuchsia and orange gown from Christian Lacroix’s couture collection to chairwoman Davis’ pink Scaasi. (Pink is Davis’ favorite color, and she matched the roses, balloons and even the carousel horses on the napkin rings.)

Indeed, there were so many people swathed in so many yards of fabric that maneuvering through the Beverly Hilton was no easy feat.

If someone wasn’t stepping on your skirt, you were stepping on theirs.

“Dangerous dress,” allowed Anne-Marie Graff, wife of London jeweler Laurence Graff, as someone walked across her Hanae Mori gown.

“Sorry, you caught me,” said designer Pat Kerr as her own dress suffered the same fate.

“I’ve never seen women anywhere look so good,” said Rose Marie Bravo, chief executive officer of I. Magnin, herself dressed in Yves Saint Laurent’s slim plaid skirt and jacket.

“They really outdid themselves.”