The Neue Galerie winter gala was the stuff of fantasy: sipping cocktails beside supermodels, dancing with Lauders and Rockefellers, and admiring Schiele paintings while munching on white herring – okay, scratch that last one. In keeping with the museum’s focus on the arts and crafts of Central Europe, Tinsley Mortimer, Lauren du Pont, and Alexis Bryan donned sleek gowns in pinky shades by Austrian fashion house Akris, the gala’s sponsor.

“Everyone makes such an effort. This is a fashion-forward, creative, cutting-edge crowd,” style arbiter Bettina Zilkha said.

Bare backs, low necklines, and long trains shimmied up the circular staircase of the museum, once the private home of Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt III.

A dessert and dancing party started late. Model faces in the crowd included Natalia Vodianova, Ujjwala Raut, Liya Kebede, and Carolyn Murphy.

One might expect men’s eyes to wander, but not at this elegant affair. The models’s agents, such as Kyle Hagler and Ivan Bart, took good care of their clients. A third-year at Yale Law, Werner Ahlers, who came with fiancee Tatyana Miron, and banker Chris Kojima, who brought his fiancee Beth Cohen, showered attention on their wives-to-be.

Aside from the herring, there were a few other unusual touches, like the large glass jars of pink and lavender marshmallows and the “vintage” play list on the dance floor (“Staying Alive”?).

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Poor creatures. Many who attended the Neue Galerie event had an even more elegant event scheduled for the very next night.

“I’m exhausted,” confessed Lauren Davis, a junior chairwoman of the New York Botanical Garden’s Winter Wonderland Ball, who, of course, looked perfect at both parties.

She wore Alberta Feretti, as did Zani Gugelman, Whitney Fairchild, Sloan Barnett, and other chairwomen (Ms. Feretti’s company sponsored the event, along with Rolex).

“The place is beautiful, and the women too. It’s a dream,” said Ms. Feretti. “I wanted to create dresses that were unreal, outer-worldly,” she said.

On this night, most women opted for white, silver, and blue gowns, and fur stoles were de rigeur. There were exceptions. Lydia Hearst wore a red dress with a pink wrap, and Emma Goergen looked tropical in a turquoise gown with red and yellow flowers – a vintage Koos.

The garden treated guests right (they did after all make the trek to the Bronx, in the rain, mostly in cars; we took a comfortable, 21-minute ride from Grand Central on Metro North). Upon arrival, gallons of champagne were served from silver trays and a bar made of ice offered up every other possible concoction.

The evening was indeed a winter wonderland. The air was filled with the smell of evergreens. The cocktail hour was spent viewing the quaint model train, set up for the holidays with its miniature buildings, bridges, and choo-choos. Afterward, guests adjourned to a white tent for dinner and dancing. It sparkled and glowed in white and silver, creating a dreamy effect. Each table had snow-covered trees at its center, dripping in rhinestones and silver ornaments. The event raised $250,000.