On Thursday, auction house Phillips de Pury held a private ladies' luncheon for thirty lucky women to preview the couture dresses to be auctioned off tonight as part of Swarovski's charity auction "22 Ways to Say Black." 100% of the proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society and La Ligue...

Sitting over breakfast with documentary film producer Nicholas Shumaker in Tribeca one windy morning in March my mind was wandering over my appointment schedule for the day. It was early, I hadn't quite focused on our conversation and, well, Nick has a tendency to mumble.

What suddenly caught my...