Palm Beach Illustrated

Through the years, we've learned quite a bit about you loyal devotees of Palm Beach Illustrated through our annual reader survey, Simply the Best".

You've delighted us with your candor, educated us on your likes and dislikes, regaled us with your wit and, occasionally, blindsided us with an unprintable response.

This year proved no different. We discovered that one man kept an Easter Bunny suit in his closet, another felt divorce was the best way to shed pounds, and yet another stocked up on gold-plated toothpicks.

A record number of readers weighed in, making this year's Simply the Best" tops in quantity as well as quality. As always, this is your story. Enjoy!

THE TRUMP FACTOR: Duplicating his success against the shows running opposite The Apprentice, The Donald trumped the competition in three Simply the Best" categories, and received multiple votes in several others. Trump was the runaway winner for "Best Host," "Favorite Entrepreneur of All Time" and, to no one's surprise, "Most Powerful Man" in Palm Beach County. To the person who nominated professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin in that category, we meant art-of-the-deal powerful, not body-slam brawny. Trump's offspring even got into the act, with daughter Ivanka receiving several nods as "Most Eligible Bachelorette" (good luck to any would-be suitors attempting to earn Dad's vote). The real estate tycoon also finished in the top three for "Most Stylishly Dressed Man," "'It' Guy," and "Most Eligible Bachelor." However, in light of Trump's recent engagement to model Melania Knauss, the staff of PBI was forced to convene in its boardroom and analyze the situation: Donald, you're fired from the "most eligible" category. Somehow, we don't think Melania will mind.

MOST STYLISHLY DRESSED WOMAN: We realized, in scanning the hundreds of submissions, just how fortunate the men of this area are. Could there possibly be more stylish ladies with connections to this county? We think not. However, because of a plethora of nominees, plus a messy hanging-chad issue, not one, but seven, women shared the best-dressed honor. The list included Aimée de Heeren, Pauline Pitt, Celerie Kemble, Celia Lipton Farris, Audrey Gruss, Tina Fanjul and Lucy Musso.

MOST STYLISHLY DRESSED MAN: Congratulations to John Wanamaker-Leas (whose wife, Susan, is stylish in her own right) for nabbing top honors in this category. Rob Russell of The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach and Trump also earned big points for their style sense.

"IT" GIRL/GUY: For those of you confused by this category - such as the man who wrote, "I have no idea what this means" - we're not going to bother explaining the "it" factor. People in the know understand who has it and who doesn't. Trust us, the readers were right on the mark by selecting designer Fernanda Niven and model Amanda Hearst. Special mention to the incomparable Helen Cluett - "an original it girl," a reader wrote, "and still beautiful." We couldn't agree more. On the men's side, Cucina Dell' Arte owner Nick Coniglio grabbed the lion's share of the votes. However, we're left to wonder: Could this have anything to do with the display of his rock-solid abs in the March 2004 issue ("The Perfect 10+") of PBI? We will continue to investigate the abs/it connection.