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Living in rural Eastern Washington was a culture shock to my family when we moved there from another life, even though we were living in a University town. My father insisted we make regular trips to Seattle and spend time doing things he thought would expose me to the world, as appropriately as possible. We would go to the theater, shopping, visit galleries, try different restaurants- especially those with live music, jazz ensembles being preferred. We became friends with a variety of interesting people and we often stayed at the Sorrento Hotel. In my freshman year of college my father died. That year was the last time I would set foot in the Sorrento Hotel... at least, until this past winter when my friend, JJ, threw a penthouse party and invited me, 20 years later. It just so happened I was looking for a place to create the backdrop for a little scene that I was hoping to contrive here in Seattle using my Subterfuge blog. They would be an interesting and fabulous group, successful business types as well as poetic, artsy and stylish people. I was hungry to be in the company of an eclectic, intelligent- not boring, mix of people that I knew existed in Seattle and yet, were not to be found together in the same place. As chance would have it, I soon met a wonderful little group of socially active and yes, stylish people (my wonderful friends in the photo, posing for a shot at the DIFFA Fashion Event last month in the VIP Lounge at the W Hotel). As I began to investigate venues for this modern day salon, I had many suggestions. A number of trendy hotspots, both hotels and restaurants, were recommended. But they were lacking in substance, at least for those of the Salon attending variety. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me before JJ’s party that the Sorrento Hotel would be the perfect place; its old world European backdrop could set the stage for the most conservative as well as the hippest people to gather in high style- the kind of unpretentious style that doesn't go out.