‘LADIES, you no longer need to worry that the cute guy at the bar works in advertising.”
Yes, this was the tag line for the Fashion Meets Finance after-work mixer hosted by nightclub Taj last Thursday.
No, we’re not kidding. These events actually exist.
There’s nothing mysterious about the purpose of the bimonthly bashes; it’s all spelled out in the name. But just in case you are confused, “Women in fashion need men who can facilitate their pre-30 marriage/retirement plan,” explains the invitation. “And men in finance need women who will allow them to leverage their career in their dating equity.”
And leverage they did. So many people RSVP’d to the event (more than double the club’s 500-plus person capacity) that pocketchangenyc.com, one of the organizers, stopped accepting reservations at noon.
“I don’t think anyone thought it would reach that level,” says doorman Jake Kent, who helped promote the event.
To RSVP, applicants were required to post their title and company, and were also encouraged to post their photos and salary.
Yes, salary.
Would investment manager Victor Park – he of the $500,000-plus annual income – find true love with Juicy Couture’s Kellie Tracy, who nets under 50 grand annually? Would they spawn?
Matching up moneyed men and female shopaholics is hardly Ph.D.-level chemistry. The Mr. Big formula is practiced nightly in clubs, where bankers buy $400 bottles and encourage thirsty young girls to come to papa.
The only difference is that
these organizers were gauche enough to spell the whole thing out – and leave the label showing, to boot. In a city where partygoers think nothing of paying obscene cover charges, Fashion Meets Finance charged a mere $5 entry for wheelers and dealers able to attend the 5:30 p.m. weekday party, which, for the record, raises money for charity.
“I honestly think I’m organizing the obvious,” says event founder Beth Newill.
It’s clear what’s in it for the ladies (two words: meal ticket) – but what’s in it for the guys? “I’m not a fashionable guy, but I appreciate the women of the world that are fashionable,” says commercial real estate worker Aaron McCann, who said he didn’t list his income online -but actually did. ($200,000-$299,000, if you care.)
For 20-something fashionista Cindy, it’s not about the money – it’s about full disclosure.
“It wasn’t really about how much they made, it was about where they worked, and it was the fact they were willing to put their names and the amount they were making,” she says. “That they were that confident to put it into the profile – that was interesting to me.”
Interesting in the sense they confidently admitted to making lots of money.
“It doesn’t matter what they do as long as they’re passionate about it,” she said, when asked whether she’d choose a millionaire banker over a millionaire musician.
Though most of the crowd was looking for love, Lauren Moreno was looking for . . . financing. The designer came to the event armed with a dozen handbags and hocked her wares to big spenders.
“All the guys here are looking for a girl who’s very easy to manipulate,” says Moreno. But Jessica Anderson thinks there’s more to it than that. “Women want to meet successful men,” says the 31-year-old fashionista. “You don’t want to marry some loser.”
She should know. Anderson’s engaged to a hedge funder – info she divulges by request only. Like Moreno, she’s here to network.
“If they ask me, sure, but I don’t write it on my forehead.”
“I came here sort of to observe this whole thing,” says 26-year-old Prescott Hahn. “It measures up to what you thought it would be.”
Not worried about gold diggers, Hahn thinks, “They’d be stupid if they weren’t doing the math.”
Kerry, a 26-year-old fashion industry lawyer, certainly wouldn’t mind meeting her Mr. Big tonight. Her only request regarding her mate’s income is that “It has to be higher than mine.” (She declined to tell us how much that was.) Her friend Courtney, who works for Nautica, says she’d let a guy take her shopping on a first date – but would also deign to meet a man of meager means, “If I were really into him.”
“Liar!” accused Kerry, before quoting Carrie Bradshaw (or was it Socrates?) saying, “All women are looking for labels or love.”
But it isn’t just women, according to 24-year old Jose Montero, who works in marketing for Bloomingdale’s. Montero says there are a lot of suits who might prefer a young Terry Bradshaw to Carrie Bradshaw.
“Trust me; a lot of down-low finance guys are really in the scene,” says Montero. “A lot of my friends are in finance, and they’re gay.”
So was it love at first financial sight at Taj that night?
Perhaps not – but a gold-digging girl can always hope.
One fashion industry partygoer reported she’d met a finance guy named Ben, with whom she’s planning a date. Admitting he’s “probably not” her Mr. Big, she – along with just about every woman at the party – had seen the “Sex and the City” movie and believes the Mr. Big dream is true, “to a great extent.”
Organizer Newill agrees, saying, “Even if they’re not going to admit to it, deep down inside, of course, every girl [is looking for] a guy who’s going to make their lives easier or pleasurable in the sense they have the money to provide.”