The Mark Hotel's Security Situation, Where UES Women Are Buying Hats, and the Below-the-Belt Biome Test That's the Latest Status Symbol

Plus: It was a big weekend for wieners and party-crashers

Happy Met Ball Monday to all who celebrate — or to those who protest, this time around. Former Vogue editor William Norwich — novelist, and one of fashion’s most enduring observers — has noted that the Bezoses have secured what he calls “the AWOK — the Anna Wintour OK.” He also said that the event has always carried a certain controversy with it. I’m not quite sure it has ever carried this much.

The flashpoints this year are hard to keep up with. People are particularly mad Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are the lead sponsors, reportedly paying at least $10 million to underwrite the evening, and for the first time in the gala’s history, it is an individual, not a fashion house, whose name is on the invitation. This year it’s a billionaire. (As Chrissy Rutherford pointed out online, why wasn’t everyone as mad with Amazon sponsoring the CFDA Awards the last four years?).

But you probably know all of this, as it has been rehashed endlessly for the past week, right? And it’s going to be even more so everywhere today (and tomorrow…and the next day…). So you don’t need me to tell you. A few things worth knowing anyway, since everyone loves trivia:

Wintour bans specific foods from the dinner — anything that could get stuck in teeth (parsley), anything messy (bruschetta), heavy garlic and onions for bad breath, or anything that could stain a dress. Maybe this is good protocol to apply to all dinner parties. Or at least ones I attend. I am, historically, a menace to my own outfit.

Another thing to consider about how the Met has grown: In 1948, when the Gala began, tickets were $50 — the inflation-adjusted equivalent of roughly $674 today. This year they are $100,000 each. (The equivalent of that in 1948? $1,376. I think our math is a little off here, folks).

As for today’s RPS, I do have a little exclusive Met Ball news for you (which has to do with the Mark Hotel’s security), but for those of you that are sick of hearing about it, don’t worry, there are plenty of other things for you too. Everything from fancy hats to genital wellness, a break-in at the Breakers and Lauren Santo Domingo’s tower of cocktail wieners. Don’t ever say I don’t keep things interesting.