Town & Country February 2017

1975 C A P I TA L C A M P A I G N Washington, DC’s old guard— dubbed “Cave Dwellers” in the September 1975 issue of T&C—paid little attention to politics. This group “survived colonialism, revolution, civil war, and 36 presidents… [and] regards the other society through the lens of indifference.” But that apathy wouldn’t last, thanks in part to socially savvy, politically active arrivals like Ambassador William McCormick Blair Jr. and his wife Deeda (shown here). More than 40 years later a new political faction is moving into town, and while many things about Washington have changed, indifference remains resolutely out of style.…

BENSCHOTT In gentler times, the New York–based author says, members of polite society used a code to gossip about one another. His favorite example, NSIT (whispered by debs about dates who were Not Safe in Taxis), “was introduced to me by a beloved great aunt, Laughing Anne.” In “NOBLESSE OBLIQUE” (page 29), Schott imagines a revised shorthand for the modern world. PAULAM c LAIN Complicated heroines are a passion of the author of the biographical novels Circling the Sun and The Paris Wife. In “GONE GIRL” (page 116), McLain writes about new developments in the Amelia Earhart case. “She was most alive when she was stretching toward some new frontier. Think of what we can still glean from her.” ALEXEI HAY “The challenge was to reveal the prince’s African heart,”…

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PEOPLE, PLACES, AND PARTIES Polite society used to be studded with semisecret slang that allowed PLU (People Like Us) to converse privately in front of NQOSD (Not Quite Our Sort, Darling). As English author Nancy Mitford revealed in her infamous distinction between U(pperclass) and Non-U(pper-class) words, language was inexorably linked to snobbery. Mothers looked askance at anyone who poured tea MIF (Milk In First). Fathers spoke darkly of the suitor who HKLP (Holds Knife Like Pen). And debutantes swapped tales of men who were NSIT (Not Safe In Taxis). Social media has introduced an avalanche of abbreviations (are you ROFL-ing yet?), but very few are relevant to our NGA (New Gilded Age). We now rectify this glaring omission. WEALTH TWS Trophy Wife Smile R I T Rich In Theory A…

When the news broke in October that Prince Albert had purchased his mother Princess Grace’s childhood home in Philadelphia, local preservationists were elated. Her family had sold the red brick townhouse at 3901 Henry Avenue in 1974, and in the ensuing 40 years it had fallen into disrepair. Albert scooped up the property for a relatively modest $775,000 (the original asking price was more than $1 million) and quickly made clear that the home’s status as a beloved area landmark was guaranteed. “We’re looking at having it contain some museum exhibit space and maybe use part of it for offices for our foundation work,” he said at the time of the sale. “I’m looking forward to showing the house to the kids [his and Princess Charlene’s twins, Jacques and Gabriella],…

When Brian Mosteller and Joe Mahshie began to plan their August 2016 wedding, they had an idea: What if Vice President Joe Biden married them? Brian, who is a special assistant to President Obama and director of Oval Office operations, had known Biden since 2008, and Mahshie got to know the VP after becoming Michelle Obama’s trip coordinator in 2015. Biden warmly embraced the idea. He became ordained and opened the doors to his home at the U.S. Naval Observatory for an intimate, low-key affair for the two men and their families. “It all comes down to a simple notion: Love is love,” Biden says. “And it comes down to what my dad taught me: Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity.” .COM SEND WEDDING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE MAGAZINE…