Vogue Editors on Paul Ryan, Halloween Costumes

Last night at Barneys, Vogue editors Grace Coddington, Tonne Goodman, Phyllis Posnick, Hamish Bowles, and Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele gathered to celebrate the launch of The Editor’s Eye, a book of images from their magazine spreads. They signed books for guests like Carolyn Murphy, Hilary Rhoda, Joseph Altuzarra, Zac Posen, and Derek Lam, and remembered funny stories from the shoots — some of which suggested the photographers are more demanding than the sittings editors themselves. (Ahem, Annie Leibovitz.) Curious about what the Vogue-trained eyes would think of Paul Ryan’s weightlifting photographs for TIME, we pulled them up on our phone. Fashion director Tonne Goodman, who was wearing an Obama 2012 button on her lapel, was in disbelief. “Oh, you’ve got to see this,” she said to Virginia Smith. “A very, very serious sitting that he did.”

Click through our slideshow for more thoughts on Paul Ryan, persuasive photographers, and Halloween planning.