café society

Definitions

1. 1

   Especially from the late-19th century through the mid-20th century in Europe and America,…

   Especially from the late-19th century through the mid-20th century in Europe and America, a culture characterized by continual socializing in bistros, coffee shops, and nightclubs, sometimes extravagantly frivolous and sometimes intensely intellectual in nature but always high-spirited.

   • Manhattan café society provokes a lot of writing, most of it about as enduring as a café socialite's hangover.
   • He was one of those who in the 1930's pioneered . . . candid shots of socialites and entertainers out-on-the-town and eager to be seen. . . . His photography became one of the elements on which café society thrived.

The neighborhood