From left to right

East Coast, West Coast.

The New York and California delegation parties yesterday were, of course, at opposite corners of the city, and each had a very different fashion vibe.

New York was not so subtle. There was the downtown chic contingent, where style trumped functionality on the beach (sun and sand be damned). There were lots of guys in Hawaiian shirts (to match the clam-bake theme at the L Street Bathhouse). And then there were the overt, often political, statements. We loved the tote bag emblazoned with "McGovern Shriver" and the I (heart symbol) NY T-shirts the wait staff had to don. One bartender from Newton agreed to wear it so long as he was allowed to keep on his Red Sox cap.

Meanwhile, guests at the California party, at the Franklin Park Zoo, were either dressed in flip-flops or runway-style heels and short skirts.

Karen Park, an alternate delegate from San Francisco, took in the mellow sartorial mood and said, "It's very California." She said she was more dressed up than she would have been because she was off to a cocktail party next. "I was very lucky," she said, "because my two-week-old pedicure matched my blouse."