18 April 2010

DV RE: THE BATHROOM


a terrific series of photographs of DV here
as I've said before- DIANA VREELAND is an infinite inspiration for aspiring aesthetes. All my favourite bloggers have written at least 1 post about DV-if Not ,Get Busy! I've been going through my Visionaire 37 Diana Vreeland Memos,* most of us know DV's- Why Don't You? columns. The Vreeland Memos are glimpses into the thoughts of this iconic fashion Diva. If only Diana had been able to Email- Imagine the ideas that would constantly being tossed about and out. There is a wonderful stream of consciousness in the memos that reveal a vitality, a passion for the business of fashion and an iron will to insure her staff knew what she expected, and it was all delivered with an exuberance that must have been infectious. Mrs Vreeland was always thinking,thinking, thinking. I hope to share some of the DV memos that amuse, some that are vague-odd, random, and some that are truly brilliant over the next weeks & months.


(this memo went out to Madame De Langlade, Mrs Schiff, Mrs. Di Montezemolo, Mrs. Butler, Mrs. Mellen, Mrs. Lloyd, Mrs. Tuten  from Mrs. Vreeland dated April 11, 1969)


RE: THE BATHROOM

Jay Canne is very interested in great
bathrooms anywhere - Paris, London,
Rome, San Francisco - anywhere.. We will
send people to photograph them.

I know that Miss Canne has spoken to 
several of you about this but nothing
yet has come in or been accomplished.

We must work on this every day in every
way and call everyone we know everywhere
in the world.

We really want beautiful bathrooms.

We would like to call these bathing rooms.


Voila! A perfect 'bathing room'- first introduced by An Aesthete's Lament (read more here)
DV would have thoroughly  approved.

Divine!



described by An Aesthete's Lament:
Pierre Sciclounoff's... master bath, in which walls of smoke-grey velvet frame a delicately modelled antique chimneypiece. Especially inspiring was his decision to install two tubs, each encased in minimalist polished-metal surrounds. The taps of each are arranged at opposite ends, so the occupants could face each other and converse while soaking in fragrant bubbles. And just out of view is a seating area for aprés-bath relaxation. 




 *This collection of Vreeland memos compiled from her years at Vogue were written to editors, assistants recording her current obsessions from on high-actually DV dictated them to a secretary from her home or in her office in the Graybar Building on Lexington Avenue. Loosely bound and wrapped in red ribbon, "Visionaire 37" reproduces 150 of the 400 surviving memos that detail Vreeland's absolutely definitive thoughts about fashion,photographers, models, and the inner workings of the world's most powerful fashion magazine.
.

18 comments:

  1. I am so obsessed with this woman! I need these memos...stat!

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  2. LOL, I love this post, except that Mrs. Vreeland used to look much older in pictures, and now, forty years later, she looks younger...but I digress....great post, the gray bathroom is too good to be true...

    and thanks for calling the Vreeland memos to our attention. It's just what I needed for a housebound friend.

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  3. Zhush, yes just the thing and it goes well with purple.pgt

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  4. DownEast, oh yes, but now they ALL do. I am reading the Diana Vreeland book by Eleanor Dwight again, Mrs Vreeland, so complex and really brilliant I think. How exciting to get a dose of that sort of creative energy.That grey bath has been haunting me ever since I saw it-which leads me to my next RE DV post. These Memos are divi.pgt

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  5. Fascinating! Can't wait to see what other memos you will share with us from this!

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  6. She was the quintessential perfect woman. Love to read those memos!

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  7. What a lovely way to soak! Imagine the fire roaring and all the while soaking into a stage of serendepity.
    What a bath!
    Thanks,
    L.

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  8. Emily, Cynthia, of course I do agree. Glad you like the memo post, more coming. The Eleanor Dwight bio of DV is essential reading for her admirers-and also chock full of pictures. pgt

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  9. Just discovered your blog and very happy about it, unfortunately forced to admit that I know practically nothing about Ms Vreeland, so will be remedying that immediately. I definitely need two baths in a bathroom, i don't know why we don't see this more often, I love it.
    Sharon

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  10. I've always desired a bathroom with a fireplace ..... the largest of clawfoot tubs poised just so, next to the perfect mantle. And of course, a comfortable rug.

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  11. Sharon, Vreeland will never disappoint. hope I will entertain you a bit here! I agree about this bath.pgt

    Author- it seems the obvious has been forgotten in a bathing room, and some of the ridiculous has been added-I keep asking what will they come up with next, surely something bathers do not really need. pgt

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  12. Little, Dear-

    The bathroom is one of the chic-est, ever.
    It shows such restraint. Even the fire is smallish.
    The faucets etc are not flashy...just do the trick.
    This is what a bathroom should be.
    ...with a tiny little flute of very very cold Henriot Champagne...
    cheers, DIANE
    www.thestylesaloniste.com

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  13. In a word Divine!

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  14. I love DV. Thanks for sharing. Great so see some younger unseen images of her. Pierre Sciclounoff's bathroom is fabulous. I need a new bathroom and it has given me some inspiration. Sadly I can't fit two baths in but I can fit in a fireplace where the original one once was... xx

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  15. Diane, Christina- the bath is the chic-est ever, I agree. You two must explore each others blogs. pgt

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  16. You've inspired me to reinstate the Victorian fireplace in my chimney breast. So much better than a brick wall! I shall go to Diane's blog now xx

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  17. I love your blog - an amalgamation of fashion, style, decor, cafe society and art. What more can anyone want or need?

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