Wild orchid centerpieces weren't the only thing on display at Thursday night's El Museo gala. "Latin women tend to dress for their men," explained Chilean-born designer Maria Cornejo of the plunging necklines and curve-clinging fabrics that made for some pretty lethal eye candy. (Count Cornejo out of that generalization, though: "I dress for myself," she added.) On the more demure end of things, a number of guests, including El Museo co-chair Yaz Hernández, Luisana Mendoza, and Jana Pasquel, adhered to the night's theme of a quinceañera (the traditional Latino "Sweet Fifteen"). That meant white dresses, opera-length gloves, and tiaras—plastic versions of which were provided at the door for anyone who cared to be faux royalty for a night. Miss USA Crystle Stewart naturally brought her own and was quick to assure us it was the genuine article. "I think people are wondering if it's real," she said of the $75,000 crown generously studded with fat Mikimoto pearls.

After a dinner of shrimp ceviche and steamed halibut, guests like Francisco Costa, Angel Sanchez, and co-chairs Isabel and Ruben Toledo hit the dance floor. But not before the Unanue family, of Goya Foods fame, presented the museum with a hefty check for $3 million. In all, it was a quinceañera to remember. Still, it couldn't beat the one Simon Doonan told us about: "There was a quinceañera in Miami recently where the girl was supposed to be presented in a giant clamshell," he said. "But she got stuck inside, and the fire department had to come and jack it open."

— Evelyn Crowley