IF A ball is an excuse to dress up and look daft, the White Nights' week appears to have been a frenzy of trying to outdress everyone else.
Top of the list, with more costume changes than Diana Ross, have been the women of the organising committee, most notably Marjorie Kutzman and Leslie Feeney, who have worn (and dispensed with) cheongsams, Cossack gear, assorted gowns and crazy headgear.
Such have been the guests' concerns to dress right that the bell boys at the plush Grand Hotel Europe and Astoria were heard to mutter they have never dealt with so many (and such large) suitcases in their lives.
However, the perils of ''theme'' dressing were plain to see at Thursday's champagne reception.
Following the announcement of the ''Chinoiserie'' dress code, shares in Hongkong's China Products and Sam's Tailor must have rocketed, with most men sporting a suitably Oriental-looking waistcoat they'd run up before catching the plane.
One design, a bright red and gold traditional Chinese pattern, was particularly fetching - so much so that it was there to see in quadruplicate.
