Ann Dexter-Jones

"From what I understand, New Yorkers aren't approving of a third term of [Mayor Michael] Bloomberg," said actress Susan Sarandon at the U.S. debut of the French clothing store Comptoir des Cotonniers in Soho on Thursday, Oct. 23. "I'll be interested to see who the opposition is because if they are mad at Bloomberg, they probably stand a very good chance of getting in."

Ms. Sarandon was accompanied by her 23-year-old daughter, actress Eva Amurri. The mother and daughter were invited to the store opening because the brand has focused on marketing to mother and daughter shoppers, often featuring real-life mothers and daughters in their ad campaigns.  read more »

Well, first, she's not really a Ronson; she's a Dexter-Jones, the product of Ann Dexter-Jones and Mick Jones, whom Mrs. Dexter-Jones married after divorcing real estate entrepreneur Laurence Ronson. But Annabelle Dexter-Jones has some famous half-siblings: Samantha Ronson DJs and dates Lindsay Lohan. Charlotte Ronson has a clothing line. Mark Ronson produced Amy Winehouse's Grammy-winning album and dated Daisy Lowe. 

Often spotted downtown, this other Ronson's squinty eyes and high cheekbones make her stand out next to her siblings. (Her brother Alexander also keeps a low profile.) And while she's rarely heard from in the press, BlackBook did a Q&A with Ms. Dexter-Jones, which finally allows us to bring you ten things that will help you get to know her better.  read more »

Irina Aleksander is sad to report that the parents of charmingly kooky socialite Arden Wohl have separated, and dad Larry has been spotted around town with a woman who is not his wife Denise.

Ms. Aleksander also stopped by Barneys on Monday evening for a book party celebrating Graydon Carter's new tome, Vanity Fair: The Portraits, A Century of Iconic Images, where she asked champagne-sipping guests like Barry Diller, Richard Meier, and Fran Lebowitz how the latest financial news would affect the city.

George Gurley headed to the Soho Grand to hang out with the stars of the new film Ghost Town, where he found James Lipton gruff, and Greg Kinnear and Ann Dexter-Jones characteristically sunny. She loves orchids! And her kids!

And Spencer Morgan speaks to one of the partners of beleaguered downtown club The Box, whose liquor license is up for review. In this city, hell hath no fury like a neighbor who can't sleep!  read more »

The new warmhearted comedy Ghost Town, starring Ricky Gervais and Téa Leoni, has all kinds of comforting messages about life and death. Turns out if you get hit by a bus but still have unfinished business on Earth, you get to resolve all your issues with loved ones before a beam of light appears and you fade out blissfully on the way to the next world.

After a Cinema Society screening on Monday, Sept. 15, everyone at the Soho Grand’s courtyard restaurant seemed under the spell of this sweet, hilarious movie. So we decided to bum everyone out by asking if Armageddon was right around the corner.  read more »

Last night brought together a spirited mix of New York’s cutting-edge fashion designers and artists—young representatives from two industries that are impossible to keep apart these days.

Designer Philip Lim, model Jessica Stam, stylist Kate Schelter, Vogue’s Stephanie LaCava, socialite Genevieve Jones, men's wear designer Thom Browne and supermarket mogul Ron Burkle were among the revelers swirling around the Max Lang gallery in Chelsea—a smallish, brightly-lit, bi-level space on Tenth Ave. It's where French shoemaker Repetto was celebrating its 60th anniversary traveling exhibition and the launch of their eponymous charitable foundation.  read more »

Who can claim the title of 2007’s most socially social New York society clan? In a major year-end party wrap cobbled together by Style.com, the aesthetically-inclined Web site asks—and, thank gawd, answers—that very question.

On one side of the party divide is the Peter and Minnie Davis/Tinsley Mortimer team. (Mr. and Ms. Davis are, for those who didn’t know, Ms. Mortimer’s siblings-in-law.) On the other: Ann Dexter-Jones and her three party-hardy kids—Samantha, Mark and Charlotte.

As Style points out, it’s been quite a year for both clans: Topper and Ms. Mortimer’s wedding got a major write-up in the Times; and Ms. Davis tied the knot with Syriana director Stephen Gaghan. (What they don’t mention, however, is that 2007 was also the year society scribe Mr. Davis found true love in a certain young social, Paul Johnson-Calderon.)

Meanwhile, Mr. Ronson’s single, Stop Me, climbed to the number-two spot on the British charts—no small feat, to be sure. What’s more, Samantha Ronson was, for a while anyway, queen of the tabloids, soaking up the buzz as her friendship with Lindsay Lohan continued to heat up. And then there’s their younger sis Charlotte, who we caught up with not long ago at her Nolita boutique, where she was introducing her 2007 Resort collection. Ms. Dexter-Jones, too, told us all about her new lease on life post-divorce, loving the high-thread-count sheets at her new digs in the Bowery Hotel.

In the end, though, there can only be one winner; (as Heidi Klum might say, “You’re either in or you’re out.”) And in this case, Patrick McMullan must pick the winning bunch—“that ultimate litmus test of social visibility.” While the Dexter-Jones/Ronson squad racked up an impressive 422 photos credits on the social shutterbug’s Web site, the Davis/Mortimer clan reigns supreme. The trendy trio said "cheese" for Mr. McMullan’s lens a whopping 732 times.

“It was kind of inspired by mosaic travels," said Charlotte Ronson about her Resort 2007 collection previewing this week. She was standing in the middle of her small shoebox-shaped boutique on Mulberry Street in Nolita. The clothes were piled up on white shelving units in a take-it-or-leave-it style that suited the 30-year-old socialite and designer. “Just like a vacation after a long fall, it’s nice to have that soft wearable—but still, like, dark tones that I can wear in fall, so you don’t look too …” she said, eyeing this reporter’s light-colored sweater.

Though she doesn’t get to travel as much as she’d like, Ms. Ronson said she was influenced by trips to Spain, Ibiza and the Caribbean—“anywhere the sun shines.” She looks up to fellow clothiers like Rachel Comey, APC, Stella McCartney and Chloe, but she thinks it’s important to showcase young designers, too. (In the store, she has a case filled with retro-looking jewelry designed by a Teen Vogue assistant named Mary Kate Steinmiller.)

Ms. Ronson, whose brother, Mark Ronson, and sister, Samantha Ronson, have achieved a certain amount of notoriety in the music industry, has high ambitions for her own label. On top of her New York and Tokyo stores, she said she’d like to open others in L.A. and London. And she would also like to try her hand at designing a line of baby apparel. How cute! At the moment, however, she's just looking forward to spending the holidays at her sister's in L.A. “I’m going to stay with her Thanksgiving and cook—probably everything but turkey.”

So, is Ms. Ronson a vegetarian?

“No, I just am not a huge fan of turkey,” she said.

Ann Dexter-Jones isn’t afraid of a little street meat (no, not the Boy George variety!) Last night, The Daily Transom chatted with the socialite at the meatpacking district nightclub STK (where she was celebrating her friend, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger’s new book), she was craving—gasp!—a hot dog.

“On the way here—I came from this Chopard, Elton John thing tonight—and on the way down in the car, I was thinking, If I see one of those Gray's Papayas, I really feel like a hot dog. I like the funky street vendor hot dogs.” She was wearing a great beige pantsuit that would have made toppings perilous, though; and anyway she didn't get the opportunity. “There was no Gray’s Papaya on the way down; the driver was in a hurry. But I walk in here and they have sliced hot dogs!” she said excitedly, referring to trays of sliced gourmet bratwurst being passed around the super-sleek event space.

Unpretentious, right? So how does Ms. Dexter-Jones navigate her perilously high-altitude New York social life? “How do I deal with pretension? I don’t! I just cut to the chase and am attracted to talk to people who I feel comfortable with,” she went on, “And everybody else can have a very good time having their own party in their own head.”  read more »