Style Agenda: Where to Go, What to Wear

Benefit season is here, with many luncheons, galas, auctions, and museum charity events from spring into early summer. We’ve rounded up the highlights and come up with an ideal outfit for any of the occasions below, whether it’s a luncheon or an evening cocktail party.

Daytime

Founding Friend Pop-Up Lounge at the Whitney, NYC

March 19th–20th; April 16th–17th, 23rd–24th, 12pm–5pm

With the splashy opening of its new space last year, the Whitney is hosting lots of special events for its donors, making a membership worthwhile. First up are the weekend pop-up lounges where members get to chat with museum staff and watch a special performance by artist Lucy Dodd and musician Cecil Taylor. Their upcoming first year anniversary party will almost certainly be a blast, too, making yet another good reason to join the club.

Spring Luncheon for the Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC

April 29th, 12pm

Held at the Mandarin Oriental each year, this intimate luncheon supporting the Studio Museum is a chance to meet some of the city’s most influential players on the art scene—including museum director Thelma Golden herself—along with major collectors, critics, and gallerists.

Photo Credit: Nicki Sebastian

Dia: Beacon Spring Benefit, Beacon, NY

May 7th, 12pm

While it’s exciting to dine inside Dia surrounded by works by some of the finest masters of minimalism, it’s doubly exciting to dine with the masters themselves. If there’s one annual benefit that artists will make an effort to attend it’s this one.

Evening

3.1 PHILLIP LIM Funnel Neck Elbow Sleeve Top with Lettuce Edge goop, $395
TIBI City Stretch Paperbag Pants Tibi, $365
ESCADA Blazer Basiay Escada, $1,475
REPOSSI White Noise Ring Barneys, $11,000
STELLA MCCARTNEY Zip Wallet goop, $490
MALONE SOULIERS X GOOP Maureen Mule goop, $713

Masterpiece Fair Art Gala, London

June 29th, 7pm

Now in its 6th year, this fair is quickly becoming a fixture for serious art, antiquities, and design collectors alike. It’s also a great occasion for charitable giving as each year’s fair brings with it a glitzy art gala dinner where a raffle of donated items benefits its charity partner. Specific programming for the fair and a theme are yet to be announced but as in year’s past this is a raucous art world party not to be missed.

Dallas Art Fair Preview Gala

April 14th, 7pm

With over 90 national and international exhibitors, the art fair preview is a great chance for serious collectors to get first dibs on major works of art. Plus, you can feel good about supporting three of the city’s standout art institutions, the Dallas Art Museum, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Dallas Contemporary.

Night Heist at the Art Institute of Chicago 2015 Photography by David Suarez

Night Heist at the Art Institute of Chicago

June 24th, 9pm

The Evening Associates Board at the Chicago Art Institute organize nighttime events for young professionals throughout the year, but the Night Heist is the crowning jewel. It’s a chance to raise funds for continual community engagement with the museum and also party late into the night within its hallowed halls. The dresscode is “speakeasy chic” and you can expect drinks and snacks by some of the city’s finest.

Photo Credit: BFANYC.com

Parrish Art Museum Midsummer Party, Water Mill, NY

July 9th, 6:30pm

This is one of the highlights of the summer for the art crowd that makes it to the Hamptons each year. Invariably, cocktails and a formal seated dinner quickly turn into late-night dancing on the museum grounds. This gem of a museum has supported local artists for over 100 years, and nowadays in a swanky new Herzog & de Meuron edifice.

Photo Credit: Noa Griffel

Storm King Art Center Summer Solstice, New Windsor, NY

June 18th, 5pm

Supporting this sprawling sculpture garden in Upstate New York is a pleasure when it involves private tram tours of the grounds followed by a gourmet farm-to-table meal and drinks and dancing under the stars. The vibe here is much more informal than at most benefits, which makes for a fun summer evening outside the city.

Bouquets to Art Gala at the de Young Museum, San Francisco

April 4th, 7pm

At this dressy annual gala, donors get to check out an abundance of floral arrangements inspired by works in the collection, and get a sneak peek at one of the year’s biggest exhibition openings—this year it’s a major retrospective of designer Oscar de la Renta’s work.