The Great Taylor Swift-Michael Rubin Showdown

A special 4th of July edition of THC, including a white party report, Andrew Rosen's Hamptons Ten, and a chicken-salad chart that took a really long time to make.

Happy 250th, y’all. It’s madness out there. A friend described parking at Sagaponack General Store as “a Hobbesian struggle.” I will be sequestered on Shelter Island until further notice, dodging Soros family members and Soros staffers.

If you are hosting a party today, may I suggest that you wear a black bodysuit and black tights to perform the Little Edie flag dance, one of the great moments of “Grey Gardens.” I’ve had the classic East Hampton documentary on my mind thanks to Apartamento magazine’s lovely story about Jerry Torre, who arrived at the mansion in 1972 as a 16-year-old runaway. He moved in with Little Edie and her mother Big Edie, who called him “the Marble Faun.” Buy it in print, because Apartamento is always worth properly paging through.

In today’s special holiday edition, a report on the watches and wonders of Michael Rubin’s white party; the legendary fashion titan Andrew Rosen’s incredibly macho guide to the Hamptons; and a nerdy chicken salad buzz o’ meter chart. This post is free! But as you may have noticed, some posts are now available only to paid subscribers—join the club.

The Second-Biggest Party of the Week

Michael Rubin’s Dune Road spread.

I was considering doing a Breaker-style pap stakeout of Michael Rubin’s Bridgehampton white party this week, but I was having too much fun at the nearby Hedges Inn that night to make it over. No promises I won’t be lurking outside next year in a fedora, though.

Even with Rubin’s shift of the date from July 4 to July 1—which, he insisted, was not a concession to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s nuptials—the Royal Wedding had an effect. Some of the (real) paparazzi I’m in touch with were skipping the Fanatics CEO’s extravagant beach party this year because they were prowling around New York City trying to capture any signs of Swift’s wedding. Cheat-day caterers were torn in two directions. Rubin got Lucali pizza, Red Hook Tavern burgers, sushi, and caviar, while Sartiano’s was seen loading focaccia into MSG.

Rubin still managed to pull in the heaviest room imaginable, with guests including Jay-Z, Martha Stewart, Tom Brady, Alix Earle, Ivanka Trump, and Teyana Taylor, a “pussy posse” reunion with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, and performances from Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys. I imagine the scent of the evening was a mix of cigar smoke, Cristal, and spray tan.

The white party has become a nexus of wealth, celebrity and also, critically, dealmaking. “Everyone who comes to that party knows they’re going to meet people around them that are really good for their business,” said Rubin on The Burnouts podcast. Many guests recognized the promotional power of the party, with Todd Graves of Raising Cane’s chicken fingers cross-posting his party pics with his company’s main account, and Mimi Moritz and Kylie Rubin of Y2K-inspired brand Kymi World wearing a $220 white terrycloth set that’s available to buy for only 48 hours.

Photo courtesy Lucy Guo

“It felt like summer camp,” Lucy Guo told me. An AI entrepreneur and Barry’s enthusiast who was for a time the youngest self-made female billionaire, Guo said the white party was a great occasion to see her friends who are “constantly traveling and never have overlap.”

Guo, like other guests, took the party’s dress code seriously. She wore Louis Vuitton pants, a Dior cape, Dior heels, a Dior ear cuff, and a Jacob & Co. ear cuff. She also wore a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1400G-010. Outside of the Watches and Wonders Geneva fair, the white party is one of the major spots for collectors to flex their watches. Celebrity Watch Spotter rounded them up, from Rubin’s “super rare” white ceramic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (which he angles toward the camera in many photos) to Jake Paul’s Jacob & Co. Billionaire Mini set with 492 diamonds.

Whether or not it was intentional, the date shift paid off. The world’s most in-demand guests, including Jay-Z and Tom Brady, were able to attend both Swift’s wedding and Rubin’s watch junket.

Fashion-industry soothsayer and fisherman Andrew Rosen never sits still. The son and grandson of garmentos, he was CEO of Puritan Fashions Corp by 26, later ran Anne Klein, and co-founded Theory in 1997. Today, he’s a co-founder of TWP, global executive chair of rag & bone and Alice + Olivia (Brands: What’s wrong with the word “and”?). The part-time Southampton resident is on the board of the brands Skims, Good American, Frame, Veronica Beard and Westman Atelier. A racehorse aficionado, Rosen is a sort of Hamptons racehorse himself, roaming his stores in the villages, crunching diner bacon, and fishing the high seas.

Describe your perfect Hamptons day.
First, I’d do some sort of short exercise after waking up, to loosen up my back. I’d then go to Sebonack [Golf Club] to have breakfast and play some golf with my buddies. After that I would head back to my house in Southampton and enjoy lunch by the pool with my wife and dog and see my grandkids. Next stop would be fishing...ideally in Montauk for some striped bass. The striped bass have been amazing this year. After that, I would head to the TWP stores with my wife to check out the flow.

What’s your favorite spot for a drink?
Not for drinks, but my favorite spot for a meeting is breakfast at Sip’n Soda. The owner Mark and his team make the best breakfast in the Hamptons. I’d have eggs, bacon and some oatmeal.

What’s your secret shopping spot?
Tenet. I like to browse there and see what is on offer. I also like to go to Round Swamp, I like their display and how they do everything.

Who would you love to bump into at the farmers market?
There are two places I always run into people: Sant Ambroeus in Southampton, and the car dealership. Last time I was at the dealership I ran into Calvin Klein and Stan Herman.

What’s your main gripe about the Hamptons?
The season is too short! I don’t think it really gets started until mid June because of the weather and ends in September. I wish it was longer. I do love September and October in the Hamptons though, that is really my favorite time. [Ed. note: Me too. Team September.]

What would be your dream dinner: spot, order, company?
My ideal dinner at home would be with my dog Minnie. I’d have a nice steak. Then Minnie would have some bites. Minnie loves steak and to eat with me. She’s a 14-year-old Schnauzer.

What’s your advice to newbies about a visit out East?
Stay north of the highway. It’s easier to get around.

Where do you go in the Hamptons to be alone?
Fishing, of course. Fishing is one of my favorite things to do, and the fishing in the waters off the Hamptons is great.

What’s your go-to gift for hosts/hostesses?
My go-to is always a bottle of wine.

Who makes the best lobster roll?
Clam Bar, right on the way to Montauk. And their clam chowder isn’t bad either.

What’s the perfect book to read in the Hamptons?
I prefer to read the Racing Form. Horse racing is another one of my passions. I race a lot of horses during the summer and love to bet on the races at Saratoga, so I read the Racing Form to keep current on it all.

Who should fill out this questionnaire next?
Mickey Drexler, no one knows the Hamptons better than him. Want his cell?
[Ed. note: Yes, please.]

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And finally, I’d like to share the first THC Index on the buzziest chicken salads in the Hamptons, a painstaking collaboration between myself, Taylor Gabrovic (my wonderful babysitter and a photographer and reporter in her own right), and my husband Nathaniel Kilcer. I will admit that the fixation on chicken salad is a bit of a mystery to me. Blame it on Bethenny Frankel, blame it on carb-free lifestyles, blame it on an aversion to post-beach cooking—whatever the reason, it’s unavoidable. Here’s our guide to navigating $20 plastic containers of chicken.