Have you joined Palm Beach’s most exclusive country club? You know, the one where you can sip on a minty grasshopper cocktail, peruse the Shiny Sheet, and plan the next glamorous gala while relaxing on a striped poolside lounge chair.
No? Oh, darling, don’t feel left out.
Those of us who live over the bridge can get a peek into the secret lives of a group of snarky socialites who rule a fictional club inspired by real-life Palm Beach counterparts in “Palm Royale,” the Apple TV+ original series now streaming.
While the show is based on the 2018 novel “Mr. & Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel, which is set in Palm Springs, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, “Palm Royale” creator Abe Sylvia decided to go another ritzy route — to the sun-drenched, scandalous social circles on the island of Palm Beach.
The show’s fans who live, work and play in Palm Beach have been tuning in every Wednesday (when new episodes drop) to see whether the vintage designer clothing, lavish sets and subtle nods to some infamous Palm Beachers of the past are on point.
One of those fans, Ashley Lauren Smith, a fashionista who moved to the island four years ago, is planning a finale watch party on Wednesday, May 8, for fans to gather in their best Palm Beach-style fits, shop, eat, drink and mingle in Studio 1608’s parking lot in West Palm Beach.
The Palm Royale country club is a mashup of iconic Palm Beach hotels and historic social clubs such as The Breakers, The Colony, The Everglades Club and Bath & Tennis Club (though the series was filmed in Los Angeles).
The series stars Kristen Wiig as Maxine Dellacorte Simmons, an outsider from Tennessee who in 1969 (literally) climbs a wall at the Palm Royale in a Lilly Pulitzer shift dress on a mission to join the high-society housewives (Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Claudia Ferri and Julia Duffy).
Maxine funds her (faux) luxury lifestyle by pawning jewelry owned by Norma Dellacorte (comedy legend Carol Burnett), the rich comatose aunt of her pilot husband Douglas Dellacorte Simmons (Josh Lucas).
Laura Dern, Ricky Martin, Kaia Gerber and Mindy Cohn round out the cast of characters who cross Maxine’s path in her desperate — and, at times, wacky — fight to fit in.
Another Palm Beach newcomer
In the real world, Ashley Lauren Smith, much like Maxine, has had a lifetime love affair with Palm Beach.
“My first time visiting The Breakers when I was 20 years old, I was swooning over the formality and grandeur, literally declaring my love for the pomp and circumstance in the air,” she said. “Palm Beach was paradise … It was always Palm Beach on my mind.”
So when her tech company went remote during the pandemic (with no plans for a return to the office), Smith decided it was time to trade the hustle and bustle of New York City for an ocean view.
“I packed up my car and found a cozy little house on the island next to (The Society of the) Four Arts. At the very least, I would get to be outside, walk to the beach every day, exercise and enjoy a sunny winter instead of dreary New York City,” she said.
Her plan for a three-month rental “turned into a year, fast-forward, another year, and I am still here!” Smith said.
Soon after her arrival, Smith started to share her love of the island and its happenings, along with her fashion and style adventures, on her @palmbeachfancy Instagram account.
She’s quick to give a smile and wave while tooling around town in her pink Moke car, and she delights in modeling her curated collection of 1960s house dresses when friends come over.
“You can never be overdressed. I like to document my outfits for myself and for others, so they can get a glimpse at life in Palm Beach,” she said. “I wanted to learn all about my new town when I swapped the Big Apple for Palm Beach.”
A Palm Royale party
Before the “Palm Royale” premiere in March, Smith invited friends over to her house for a small backyard gathering with an inflatable screen and projector. But as her excitement grew, so did her watch party plans.
“That week, I attended the SoSo Sunset Market, hosted monthly by the Palm Beach Regency and Chelsea Lane,” in West Palm Beach, she said. “I wildly threw around this grand idea to have a community watch party for the show and turn the parking lot into a mini resort, our very own Palm Royale, with food, shopping and a theater.”
Working with the business owners, she organized the party in three days and sold out 150 tickets in less than two weeks.
“I just thought the whole world was about to get a peek into our tiny little paradise — even if it’s far-fetched, exaggerated and shot in LA! — and we should be watching it together,” Smith said. “So why not have a party?”
She trucked in a large mobile screen and set up chairs and hot-pink tents for vendors in Chelsea Lane and Palm Beach Regency’s parking lot off Dixie Highway.
And now she’s ready to do it again at the “Palm Royale” finale watch party from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at Studio 1608 in West Palm Beach. Admission is $49, at eventbrite.com for age 21 and older, and includes light bites, movie snacks, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. (VIP tickets are already sold out).
Playing off the show’s end-of-season Beach Ball, vendors will have everything from hats, swimwear and sunscreen to perfume, caftans and jewelry for sale.
Plan to dress Palm Beach chic (think Lilly Pulitzer dresses, Jack Rogers sandals, white sunglasses, colorful hair scarves), in resort wear, or 1960s style for Insta-worthy photo ops throughout the night.
Camilla Webster, a museum-collected artist and author who moved to Palm Beach in 2017, is returning to the party with her Love From Palm Beach accessories line that features her popular palm tree paintings on picture frames, handbags, stationery, home decor and pet items.
“We are extremely excited to see how our island is portrayed through a Hollywood lens,” she said before the premiere of “Palm Royale.”
“We are a fashionable and fun group. There are so many fantastic characters and nuances in the hierarchy of Palm Beach. I can see glimpses of this in the show already. We’ll watch with knowing Cheshire-cat smiles ready to be entertained.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Palm Beach Fancy presents the “Palm Royale” finale
WHEN: 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, May 8
WHERE: Studio 1608, 1608 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
COST: $49 for age 21 and older
INFORMATION: eventbrite.com
