The more traditional moneyed set at Doubles includes people like Barbara De Portago and Kimberly Rockefeller,left. (PatrickMcMullan)
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Stop by the Doubles Club on a Tuesday night, and you’re likely to see the typical clientele of the private dining establishment: old money socialites and Mayflower-pedigreed businessmen picking at the buffet — and at the finer points of Eisenhower’s presidency. And right next to them: 20-something men and women who favor platform Louboutins and debates about the merits of business school.
It’s all part of the new mix at Doubles, which is located in the basement of the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on Fifth Avenue. There, a red-carpeted staircase leads members to an even redder abyss that would make Diana Vreeland woozy with joy.
These days, it’s the new old spot for quarter-life New Yorkers — the private club sort, that is, who flock to the club for its stiff drinks, no lines and abundance of pre-screened eligibles. “Everything gets tired downtown,” says 26-year-old Tierney Model, who joined Doubles in March. “How many bouncers can tell you that all your friends can’t go in or that your skirt’s not short enough?”
No need to worry about that at Doubles. As club president Wendy Carduner points out, “It is a very civilized environment. There is a dress code.” Jacket and tie are required, and if you forget, Carduner keeps no less than eight house jackets on reserve.
Doubles first opened in 1976. One of its founding members was society hostess Nan Kempner, and other notable families that belong include the Rockefellers, the Johnsons (of New York Jet fame) and the Mortimers. Since then it’s had four redesigns (the most recent in 2008) but, as Carduner, 66, proudly boasts, “It always looks the same.” Perhaps the decor does, but the demographics of the club have changed. Carduner says that junior and intermediate membership (those ages 20 to 30 and 31 to 40, respectively) has grown from 200 to 300 since 2008. Doubles has 2,500 members total.
“When the club started out, it used to be the really hot, hot night spot,” says author and socialite Jamee Gregory, who has been a member since the ’80s.
“I think now Wendy’s going back to look for that element of having the 20-somethings come after dinner.”
“Plus, I think everybody likes to see pretty young things,” she adds.
And the pretty young things appreciate the more seasoned members, too.
“I like the fact that Doubles has a lot of older members and when you go in for lunch, you see the older ladies with their big hair and Chanel suits,” says Hattie Gruber, 29.
Model decided to join the club, to which her aunt belongs, after visiting Annabel’s, the storied private club in London, last October.
“When I came back to New York, I thought to myself, ‘Why isn’t there a place like this in the city where I can wear feathers and fur?’ ” asks Model, who works in real estate at Sotheby’s. “And I did some research and I was like, ‘Oh my God, Doubles is still around!’ ”
Dying to dive into Doubles? Well, you need to be nominated by two current members and Carduner prefers that “candidates know five to 10 members.” The initial fee for junior members is $400, with annual dues of $325. For full-fledged older members, it is a $6,000 initiation, with $925 in annual dues. And then, there’s the interview with Miss Presidente herself, where she gives you what some jokingly refer to as the “Riot Act,” but is otherwise painless.
“It’s very basic,” says Gruber. “Just where do you live, where do you work, where do you summer? Just simple questions.”
“Most of our [older] members have two or three homes and they take advantage of their other homes and use those on the weekends,” Carduner explains.
Tuesday night is the most popular for the youngins, it being the only jacket-and-tie-optional evening. But the real fun happens at the junior bashes which are always themed. Most recently, Doubles hosted a “Lilly or Louder” party in June, where the fresh-faced kids showed up in their Palm Beach best. And the Jell-O-shots party held not too long ago?
“I think that was a disaster,” Gruber says with a laugh, referring to the guests’ intoxication levels. “But it was a fun night.” Next month, Doubles will host a “Leather and Lace” party. Not that the famously hands-on Carduner had anything to do with the theme.“No, that was their idea,” Carduner sniffs — but the themes have certainly revved up the scene. “People do get down on the dance floor after around 11,” says 31-year-old Alexis Van Der Mije.
“There is a great dating scene there,” adds Model. “Wendy screens people, so you hope you’re not going out with a psychopath . . . you sort of trust Wendy.”
dschuster@nypost.com