Sarah Hoover & Socialista Kick Off A New Year Of Parties

The winter break for partygoers has officially come to an end.

On Jan. 13, after weeks off to see family, ring in the new year, recover from ringing in the new year, and quietly reenter the land of the living, the downtown scene broke the proverbial seal of party season as Sarah Hoover gathered friends to celebrate the debut of her memoir, The Motherload: Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood.

The evening kicked off with a sold-out Q&A between Hoover and actress Busy Phillips at Hebrew Union, sponsored by McNally Jackson Booksellers, where the pair discussed the book’s major themes: motherhood, postpartum depression, and women’s health. “The Motherload is for anyone who has felt generally f*cked up by parenthood, lied to by systems, and betrayed by cultural narratives about being a girl/woman/human,” Hoover wrote on Instagram when announcing the book in June 2024.

After the talk, Hoover’s friends and family migrated just a few blocks south to the perennial hotspot Socialista, where the book’s official launch party was taking place. “I’m here for Sarah,” guests uttered to the bundled-up doorman before climbing up Socialista’s notoriously steep metal staircase (seriously, watch out in heels or post-martini). Inside, the space with dotted with bowls of condoms bearing the book cover; custom T-shirts with the phrase “more drama than your first birth” emblazoned across the front; and trays of candy-colored margaritas, courtesy of Código 1530 tequila — the type of fun touches that have made Hoover a dynamite party thrower. (See: the Art Production Fund’s annual gala, where themes have included cruise, camp, and the upcoming slumber party.)

For most of the attendees, it was their first “work” event of the year, and what a way to come out of hibernation. Actress Michelle Williams arrived alongside best friend Phillips and stylist Kate Young, stationing herself towards a book display that decorated the entrance, wearing wire-frame glasses and a tweed coat. Throughout the space, you could find other beacons of the nightlife scene mingling about: Tinx in a fur zip-up, Derek Blasberg snaking through the crowd, Hoover’s husband Tom Sachs on a velvet couch. Here, a closer look inside.