Wide brims of every color politely bumped one another yesterday afternoon as the women underneath them exchanged warm spring greetings. Only the sight of Central Park’s Conservatory Garden could compete for attention with the tableau of hats – paired with perfectly matched couture suits – at the Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon, the much-anticipated event held by the Central Park Conservancy’s Women’s Committee.

“This is certainly the social luncheon of the year,” guest of honor Marvin Schwartz said. The 1,100 guests, mostly women, represented numerous New York social circles and a wide spread of ages, with many mother-daughter pairs in attendance. Only the cause of Central Park could draw such a cross section of New York together, people such as Audrey Gruss, Kathryn Chenault, Shirley Lord Rosenthal, Fe Fendi, Lisa Perry, and Sheri Babbio. Together they raised $2.3 million for the park.

The luncheon celebrated Mr. Schwartz and his wife, Donna, who gave the money to restore the fence around the reservoir and are behind many other projects as well. “Central Park isn’t an option. It’s an absolute necessity,” she said.

Some of the guests devote their green thumbs as well as their greenbacks to the park. Karen McDonald is a volunteer Conservatory gardener, who is also co-chairwoman of a benefit on Monday for New Yorkers for Parks, a nonprofit group that raises money for parks throughout the city.

“We deadheaded all day yesterday,” Ms. McDonald said. “It’s an act of love, to look at every daffodil and every narcissus and decide what to keep.” As for her hat, she described it as “not elegant, more of a parkie hat.” It was forest green and trimmed with what looked like grass clippings.

Actually, there were no official park hats, as in the well-known hats worn by the city’s urban park rangers. “I wore mine two years ago, but I thought it was a cliche,” the parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe, said. The president of the Central Park Conservatory, Douglas Blonsky, was also hatless – but he wore a pink tie, matching a color favored by many of the ladies at the lunch, as well as the napkins and the Lilly Pulitzer tablecloths.

For some guests, the luncheon was merely a continuation of the Costume Institute Ball, held Monday night – call it the social spillover effect. The president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Emily Rafferty, said she had “barely” recovered. The chief curator of the Costume Institute, Harold Koda, said “the evening was beautiful.” Others comparing notes on the event were Zac Posen, Tory Burch, Gigi Mortimer, and Brooke Neidich. Still basking in the excitement were the folks from Chanel, the sponsors of the ball, and the subject of the Costume Institute’s new exhibit. The president of Chanel, Maureen Chiquet, was the perfect model of the house’s signature suit.