Philanthropist and author Jean Shafiroff hosted her Annual Bastille Day Luncheon for 40 guests on Thursday, July 13, 2017 at Le Cirque Restaurant in New York City to honor the French on their national holiday.
Host & Philanthropist Jean Shafiroff & Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia
During the luncheon, the hostess Jean Shafiroff, wearing a pink and yellow silk Zac Posen dress, toasted the French and then gave a short speech honoring the 86 people who lost their lives to terrorism in Nice on Bastille Day one year ago. She then spoke of the need for our country to unite and avoid fighting with one another during these difficult times. She said our enemies would want to see us fighting with one another so that we would weaken as a nation. Jean then repeated the famous quote, "United we stand, divided we fall", a saying originally attributed to Aesop but then later used by several leaders in the United States including Abraham Lincoln. Ms. Shafiroff announced that she would give a donation to the French Heritage Society in honor of the French and her guests. She has been a board member of the French Heritage Society for approximately 6 years.
Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th's Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol the people signaled that the king's authority should be limited by a separation of powers.
Notable attendees included: Jean Shafiroff, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, fashion designers Zang Toi, Maggie Norris, Frederick Anderson and Victor de Souza, best-selling author Nina Burleigh, feature writers George Gurley and Darold Cuba, Sharon Bush, international decorator Geoffrey Bradfield, Ann Rapp, Roy Kean, Rachel Hirschfeld, Michele Herbert, Janna Bullock, Chiu-Ti Jansen, Natalie Ross, Margot Langenberg, Joan Judell, Marilyn Kirschner, Laurel Marcus and Joyce Brooks.
photos by Patrick McMullan