NIGHTLIFE

An after-dinner walk on Worth Avenue is the perfect nightcap...
 

To view the after-dark slideshow, click here

An evening walk on Worth Avenue is a visual sensation, whether you begin with a fashionable waltz around Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue or a two-step twist-and-turn through the maze of shadows along Via Mizner and Via Parigi, an ever-changing stage set for an architectural cocktail of shops, restaurants and galleries. Streetlamps, pinspots, lanterns and spotlights transform Jim Ponce's daytime historical stroll into a glowing dimensional tableau for Mediterranean Revival, Streamline Moderne and Madison Avenue Modern facades. Must-have essentials and accessories compete for the wandering eye, showcased within shimmering jewel-box display cases as chic as the Place Vendome and behind large plate-glass windows as with-it as Rodeo Drive. While long-lost labels such as Bella Darling, Mrs. Dulany, Edna Rosner, Miss Brogan and Helen Hiller are faded memories (replaced by Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo and Juicy Couture), Kassatly's endures, an Avenue landmark since 1923. Worth Avenue nights recall the era when the world-famous street was Palm Beach's living room, where the Everglades Club hosted galas, fashion shows and concerts, the Cadillac showroom unveiled the latest V-8 and how in the legend of the Loggia Bar, it never closed, when Worth Avenue was the most wonderful show in town.

By AUGUSTUS MAYHEW
Special to the Palm Beach Daily News