Only the start of polo season — the playing of the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, to be precise — can summon thousands of sporty New Yorkers wearing linen and seersucker out of lower Manhattan on an early morning in June. It’s a trek, though what awaits is more than worth it: champagne, long stretches of green grass, a parade of celebrities, and the an appearance by sport’s poster boy, Nacho Figueras
This year, on June 2, the event will take over Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., giving our glorious statue the perfect vantage point to observe the Sport of Kings.
But what about all the other spectators down on the green, gazing into the bright glare of the sun and missing the subtleties of the action on the field?
Well, that’s what the parasols are for. Veuve Clicquot has teamed up with British gamp masters Penelope Parasol to create a new model of the sunny-weather umbrella. It’s as yellow as the bubbly brand’s label, made from silk dupioni, and comes complete with a brass handle.
“We are delighted that Penelope Parasols has created one of their chic parasols especially for Veuve Clicquot,” Vanessa Kay, president of Veuve Clicquot U.S., told ARTINFO in a statement. “The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic has always been an event where guests dress to the nines, and we are looking forward to the debut of the limited-edition parasols adding even more fun and glamour on the polo field this June.”
To announce the collaboration, the two companies made a video with fashion-friendly DJ Mia Moretti and her musical partner, Caitlin Moe. It’s shot in Central Park, with the two girls frolicking on a picnic blanket, twirling the parasols, popping champagne in white lace. With the carefree skipping and abundance of pearls, it’s got a “Great Gatsby,” Roaring Twenties feel to it. F. Scott Fitzgerald would probably find the allusion quite appropriate. He did write that Tom and Daisy Buchanan “drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together.”
Starting May 12, you can pick up a parasol for the ferry ride if you buy on the company’s website, or you can snap one up once you get to Liberty State Park.
It costs $189, but it’s worth every penny. We attended the wonderful spectacle last year, and the sunshine isn’t the only thing you need to look out for. A parasol provides much-needed protection from the torrents of champagne spraying through the air. It also works as a great accessory for table dancing. And if drinking all morning and afternoon makes you sleepy, you can hide your napping head behind the parasol’s yellow silk.
Just don’t drop it when you go to stomp the divets during halftime. People take that tradition very seriously, and things get messy.