"There are people who enjoy dressing up and going out for a special night."

Said David Fisk, president and chief executive of The Charlotte Symphony, quoted in "Arts Galas Show That Extravagance Never Goes Out of Style/They are costly, labor-intensive and seemingly dated, but cultural organizations say black-tie dinners remain essential to pleasing donors and paying the bills" (NYT)(free-access link).

Yes, I'm expending one of my 10 gift links of the month on this thing. I selected the quote in the title because that one guy said what I was thinking the whole time I was reading the article: Rich women need events to which they can wear expensive evening gowns. But I'm sending you over there so you can see some gowns (and lavishly set tables and fussily arrayed foods). I don't want you to miss that absolutely crazy photograph by Michelle Groskopft that I'll just excerpt a bit of so you can find it:

Rich women have needs, and arts associations need their money.

The other reason you should go there is to look at the numbers — how much is spent to put on the event and how much is netted. And read the comments, e.g., "This type of article is useful for showing the magnitude of the excess. The cost vs gain. This is about vanity, greed and self-promotion. The attendees don’t care about the art or the causes. If they did, they’d write checks and forgo the snow crab."

They may not care about "the art," but they care about art — the art of their own self-presentation. An audience is needed for that art — the hair, the makeup, the plastic surgery, the jewelry, the fingernails, the shoes, the gowns. Without all that would it even be worth amassing riches in the first place? 

"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted luxury trips around the globe for more than two decades... funded by Harlan Crow, a Dallas businessman."

"The publication [ProPublica] said Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks. It said the justice also has vacationed at Crow’s ranch in East Texas and has joined Crow at the Bohemian Grove, an exclusive all-male retreat in California. ProPublica cited a nine-day trip that Thomas and his wife, Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, took to Indonesia in 2019... which included flights on Crow’s jet and island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht, would have cost the couple more than $500,000 if they had paid for it themselves...."

 
From "Justice Thomas has accepted luxury travel for years from GOP donor, report says" (WaPo).

"I have a Rolls-Royce, I have three homes, I have everything I could possibly want, but I was still depressed. The way I look at this is: This is my face, and it’s going everywhere I go."

Words of semi-wisdom by Hilda Back, 63, quoted in "And Now, the $200,000 Face-Lift/Luxury cosmetic procedures reach next level prices" (NYT).

The doctors touting their “designer” face-lifts insist that their advanced technique, elevated aesthetic sensibilities and experience allow them to charge these rates. Dr. Lara Devgan, a plastic surgeon in Manhattan, likened what she does to “commissioning an artist to make a very beautiful painting for you.” Dr. Devgan charges up to $200,000 for a face-lift.

“At first blush, it may seem like a big number, but I think of this as a question of value, not of cost,” Dr. Devgan said. “Your face is your job, it’s your love life, it’s your identity.”

I agree with the doctor. Skill levels vary, and there is scarcity. Why isn't it millions of dollars to get the best plastic surgeon to rearrange your face? How many times more would you have to pay to get Ed Sheeran to sing at your party as opposed to some random local singer?

As for rich people who are "still depressed"... who cares? Let them buy what they want. They're not purporting to tell you what you need to do to find happiness. One can easily infer that it's not to come up with $200,000 for a facelift, but maybe not to bother striving for the Rolls-Royce and three "homes."

ADDED: What does all that striving do to your face? If only you could buy happiness — would you pay $200,000 — it would probably make your face look pretty good. In a pinch: Smile!

BUT: Not a pinched smile:

Research shows the lines that arch above our cheeks from the corners of our eyes are viewed as a more sincere indicator of happiness. They come out when we are laughing or overjoyed. It's called a Duchenne smile, after French anatomist Guillaume Duchenne, who studied emotional expression by stimulating various facial muscles. Those lines put people more at ease than a quick pinched smile that doesn't shift other parts of the face.