After last night's Broadway premiere of Top Girls—the star-studded cast includes Marisa Tomei, Martha Plimpton and Elizabeth Marvel—revelers headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for an after-party of schmoozing, boozing and a buffet of the restaurant's fine cuisine (think extra-drippy Caesar salad). I asked Plimpton what she thought of the party's venue. "It fits in with the theme of the play, I guess," said the actress. "How so?" I asked, trying to surmise the connection between Caryl Churchill's cerebral work and the neon-lit 43rd Street tourist destination. "Well, the 80's! For maybe 30 seconds in 1983, [this place] was really cool," she quipped.

Dressed in a sleek, sheer belted wool number, Plimpton herself looked anything but dated. Turns out that the ensemble was custom designed for her by Malan Breton, best known for his appearance on season three of Project Runway. The designer, who was also at the party, told me the two met via an unlikely and thoroughly modern channel: Myspace.com. "We had mutual friends," says Breton.

"Myspace is better than Facebook," Plimpton declared. "Facebook takes over your life!"

Above: Martha Plimpton with Malan Breton. Photo: Bennett Raglin/Wireimage

Last week, I ran into Liz Goldwyn at the opening night gala of the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment." The Los Angeles heiress and filmmaker, who owns a near-legendary collection of vintage clothing—that night she was wearing a pale blue couture Yves Saint Laurent gown from 1979—has been designing fine jewelry over the past several years. (Her pieces go for prices up to $6,500). Goldwyn told me about her newest fashion world venture, a gently-priced accessories collection that is being sold at Opening Ceremony. The line, called Springtime Romance, consists of vintage headpieces and sweater guards (the bejeweled clips that girls used to wear to hold their cardigans in place) from the 1940s and 1950s that Goldwyn found at estate sales and flea markets. (Because the items, priced between $150 and $350, aren't actually reworked in any way, she served as more of the line's curator than designer.)

"I'm so excited because Kylie Minogue bought one of the headband hats," she told me giddily. "I'm going to look for photos of her to see if she wears it!"

Photo of Goldwyn by Steve Eichner

New Yorkers are typically not very impressed with celebrity sightings. But that was certainly not the case Thursday night at Morandi, Keith McNally's latest establishment. While dining with a friend at the trendy Italian trattoria, the one and only Madonna graced us—and the entire restaurant—with her presence. Dressed in a slinky dark dress and sporting her signature wavy tresses, Madge was seated right next to us in the back alcove. Joined by a large entourage (sans Guy Ritchie) that included fifteen stylish friends and two bodyguards, the ultimate queen of reinvention appeared to be having a private celebration: She toasted, sipped wine, nibbled on tomatoes and mozzarella, and seemed generally unfazed by the chaotic fanfare surrounding her. One enraptured diner in particular, who was sitting nowhere nearby, actually made several laps around the area, eventually stopping at the superstar's table in a silent stare, prompting a hostess to tell him to "sit down or leave." Obviously unable to contain himself, he chose the latter option.

Wednesday night, I caught indie duet She & Him, the collaboration between actress Zooey Deschanel and Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter M. Ward, at the Skirball theater at NYU. It was their second and final show in New York on a brief bi-coastal tour—now, they're off to L.A. for two more sold-out dates.

Their new album, Volume One, features songs written by Deschanel and produced by Ward, along with Beatles and Smokey Robinson covers. At Wednesday's show, they also performed Maxine Brown's "Oh No Not My Baby"—a perfect fit for Deschanel's sound. Vocally right at home with the soulful, imperfect female country and blues voices of the 1940s and 50s, Deschanel's influences also include other actors/musicians like Doris Day, Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, she told Women's Wear Daily.

The project has served as a chance for Deschanel, who has much less creative control as an actress than as an indie chanteuse, to wear her heart on her sleeve and for Ward, to play the supporting role to someone he clearly adores. The music is precious, and in the role of modest, innocent, girlish crooner, Zooey Deschanel is perfectly cast.

Give them a listen on their myspace page and hear some lovely exclusively recorded tracks on NPR's website.

It's not every Saturday that you glance up from your brunch menu to see an enraged Julian Schnabel charging your table. But that's exactly happened to me and a friend at the restaurant Wallsé this past weekend.

As we were busy persusing the menu, we were suddenly rushed by a bearlike man wearing a blazer and a bright blue knee-length caftan. He gestured towards my companion's dining chair, which had, unbeknownst to us, been scratching up against a wall-sized, monochromatic painting hanging behind it.

"That's ruining my painting!" he bellowed, as we rose and dutifully shifted our table away from the artwork. "It's not your fault," the aging enfant terrible continued, "it's this restaurant's!" Then he threatened to remove his paintings if they didn't get more respect.

Our shaken server told us later that Schnabel, who lives just a block away, loans Wallsé much of its art—he's friends with its chef and owner, Kurt Gutenbrunner. The painting in question was not actually painted by Schnabel, although the artist's own canvases also adorn the restaurant. While Schnabs was visibly perturbed about his painting, at least he got VIP treatment: he and his companion were served long before the spatzle and bratwurst made it to our table.

Another Schnabel Encounter

Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage.com

Last weekend, socialite Mercedes Bass lived out a lifelong dream, appearing onstage as an extra in the famous café scene of La Boheme, which opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday night. From her box, cheering her on, were friends Barbara Walters, Jayne Wrightsman and Henry Kissinger. And although Bass (attired in full period costume, complete with wig and bonnet) did not sing a note, a source assures us that she "stole the show."

Bass's more typical role at the Met is that of its benefactor: in 2006 she and her husband, Sid Bass, donated $25 million to the Met, the largest gift in the opera's history.

Bass photo by Steve Eichner

The subMercer, a bar/lounge that opened last month in the Mercer Hotel's basement, has become a downtown destination of late. Margherita Missoni's pals held a surprise going away party for the fashionista a few weeks ago (she's moving to Paris) and it's also played host to fetes thrown by Radar Entertainment and Me magazine.

It's actually the second coming of the subterranean spot, which enjoyed buzz back in the late 90's (when the Mercer opened) and closed in 2001. The boite is not a total blast from the past, however, with the twist of a cyber-bouncer: would-be guests must email inquiries@submercer.com to request a reservation, detailing the time and date they'd like to visit and their "relationship to the subMercer."

Once you get past the doorman, you take the elevator down to the basement and walk down a creepily quiet hall. You pass through a heavy red door and a wine cellar to get to the main event. Brick archways divide the lounge area from the tiny dance floor; patrons can duck under a low hanging eave to sneak cigarettes in a tiny room behind the DJ booth. The place feels like a glossier, less-kitschy version of the Beatrice Inn.

The other night, a friend and I met the very congenial Ed Westwick, who plays villain Chuck Bass on "Gossip Girl." He was sporting a Chelsea Football Club jersey, torn down the front to reveal a hirsute chest. "Please state the trend!" he enthusiastically shouted in a heavy English accent upon learning I worked for a fashion publication.

Photos by Phillip Angert

Julianne Moore can't seem to get enough cashmere. After serving as Lutz + Patmos' guest designer for fall '07, the actress is now showing her love for another line of knits. On Tuesday evening, she played hostess at the opening party of Tse's new boutique on Wooster Street, where she looked super-chic in a layered turtleneck-and-dress combo from the label, paired with Yves Saint Laurent's black patent ankle booties—fresh off the fall '08 Paris runway. Moore said Tse made a "generous donation" to the Friends Seminary scholarship fund, an organization she and her husband Bart Freundlich support. What else does the gorg redhead have up her (luxe) sleeve? She's just started traveling back and forth between New York and Pittsburgh, where she's filming Shelter, a thriller co-starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. All that cozy cashmere should come in handy on the Delta shuttle. "What can I say?" she said. "I love sweaters."

Photos by Brian Ach/WireImage.com

With her gorgeous kids boogeying to tunes in the corner, Liya Kebede unveiled the second season of her lemlem children's wear collection at Yoya in the West Village on Monday night. "This is my fifth career," she joked, alluding to her other high-profile roles as supermodel, actress and philanthropist. Although the looks on display are slated for fall/winter, the unspeakably cozy togs for tots—hand-crafted in Ethiopia from organic cotton—are actually pretty perfect for right about now. And they're ideal for two-year-old Raee, who has been pressed into service as a fit model for Mom's collection, "She's been pretty good about it so far," says Kebede. "But I don't know how much longer that will last."

Photos by Stephen Lovekin/GettyImages

He'll forever be a romantic hero to millions of BBC-watching Jane Austen fans—but I found out last week that there's a lot more to actor Colin Firth than brooding gazes and frock coats.

The actor's chic wife, Livia Giuggioli, recently invited a clutch of London journalists to the launch of Eco, the new green-minded housewares store that the couple (together with business partners Nicola Giuggioli, and financier Ivo Coulson) have set up in the leafy West London suburb of Chiswick.

Sadly, filming commitments kept Mr. Darcy—er, Colin—from the event. But still there was plenty to ooh and aaah over. Chic glassware, vases and furniture. Graham & Brown's wallpapers made from managed timber sources. Even a plasma screen television encased in rich Sapele wood, made by the Irish company Iameco.

For those interested in further "greening up their homes," as Livia put it, there's a consultancy area where customers can choose fabrics and wood floors or get advice on economical heating. So while Firth might not be a regular fixture in the store, he'll still be raising customers' temperatures.