A young girl approaches Joanna Coles, shakes her hand and asks for a picture. They snap a selfie and proceed to chat. Suddenly Coles stops to tuck in the tag that’s hanging out of the girl’s floral printed shift dress.
“Oh, it’s a Karl Lagerfeld,” she says approvingly of the dress designer. They start talking fashion.
The relaxed and unscripted moment seemed rare in a town where the cocktail circuit is like a professional sport, especially when it involves someone with a title as hefty as Coles’s (former editor in chief of Cosmopolitan and now the chief content officer for Hearst Magazines). But that’s not her vibe. In fact, her fear that people are losing sight of the value of building connections organically is what prompted Coles to write “Love Rules: How to Find a Real Relationship in a Digital World,” in the first place.
So on Wednesday night, an intimate crowd of D.C. insiders such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), restaurateur Maria Trabocchi, Washington City Paper owner Mark Ein, author Sally Quinn, CNN White House reporter Kate Bennett and media consultant Tammy Haddad packed the small rooftop patio of Trabocchi’s newest restaurant, Del Mar, to toast Coles.
“I wanted to address what was happening to relationships in a digital age when we spend so much time on our devices,” Coles said of the inspiration behind her new hardcover. Focusing on in-person interactions and expanding your social circle is key to developing any kind of successful relationship, she said.
Coles channeled that mantra for her party by putting the focus on good old-fashioned mingling. The agenda for the night? No program, no panel discussion, no reading of book chapters. Just drink and be merry.
“Are you having fun?” asked a guest, fresh drink in hand, before answering her own question with a bit of shock. “I’m actually having fun.”