Even in a town notorious for its rebels, social status mattered; those who had received a coveted invitation to the ceremony had been preening for weeks.

And for that, he has to depend on getting one of the coveted invitations.

The coveted invitations go out to members of the press, retailers who carry the clothes, and friends of the house.

He remembered the first time he had come there, his first coveted invitation to the home of one of the richest men in West Germany.

It had been sheer good fortune that she had been calling on Mrs. Willoughby the day the woman received her coveted invitation to Lady Batterslee's party.

But even snaring that coveted invitation did not provide comfort to at least one person well aware of the pecking order.

In 2007, 2008, and 2009, the crew team also earned coveted invitations to the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts.

Because of Selmon's icon status, his box is the more coveted invitation, and Vicki Mitchell and her staff put together his list for maximum impact.

But the dinners, which receive scant attention outside Washington, do give Mrs. Clinton the opportunity to reward loyalists in her campaign with coveted invitations.

Dominican Republic: the most coveted invitation, supper at the de la Rentas' house at Casa de Campo.