.
.
apologies to Ellsworth Kelly
30 March 2013
28 March 2013
just wild about Howard
SLATKIN'S RUGS!
lately you can find me prowling around Pinterest.
I know I was a skeptic, and it is a gaping rabbit hole Alice never dreamed of-but you do meet the most fascinating people.I've often admired the work of Howard Slatkin, especially his own home. It's one of my favorite sets of rooms to date, and I refer to again and again. Howard Slatkin's collection of carpets at Stark is just brimming with intricate pattern-but it's subtle. His apartment strikes me in the same way-there's an opulence to be sure-but it is understated-in just the right way.
another pattern I just love is "Henri."
this is "Howard"
I know I was a skeptic, and it is a gaping rabbit hole Alice never dreamed of-but you do meet the most fascinating people.I've often admired the work of Howard Slatkin, especially his own home. It's one of my favorite sets of rooms to date, and I refer to again and again. Howard Slatkin's collection of carpets at Stark is just brimming with intricate pattern-but it's subtle. His apartment strikes me in the same way-there's an opulence to be sure-but it is understated-in just the right way.
the Slatkin apartment
the pattern "Pauline", above & below
another pattern I just love is "Henri."
the hand-embroidered carpet 'Liliane' was used by Slatkin in the home of Laura and Harry Slatkin, Howard's brother.
photo credits to Douglas Friedman, from Harper's Bazaar August 2012 here
a Patchwork of Patterns from Slatkin's Collection
& it's exciting to note that a book is on its way this Fall!
I can hardly wait, but til the book's debut, Howard is here, and & better yet here on Pinterest...
26 March 2013
LBD by ALT
.
about a dozen years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Andre Leon Talley at a book signing for his autobiography- ALT. What a terrific book it is! Talley's story is one all fashion forward youngsters living in the outposts-far outposts away from the World of Fashion can read and take heart-and courage from (required reading for all design hopefuls). Growing up in Durham North Carolina, Talley has remained true to his roots while tramping round New York, Paris and Milan in couture made caftans, sweeping capes, and the occasional very large bauble on a chain.
A great patron saint of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Talley curated the college's most recent exhibition Little Black Dress. The book-by the same name- is filled with the perfect black dress-80 of them to be exact, and what makes the book so smashing is that each of those Little Black dresses makes an impact all its own. Talley's Little Black Dress is photographed by Adam Kuehl, SCAD alumni, in black and white, with "Vreeland" red*pages interspersed throughout the book,creating sartorial shivers of satisfaction while reading commentary from ALT and his contributors.Along with dresses from the twentieth century dresses into the current one, Talley has assembled an amazing collection to narrate the tale of the little black dress.
Black is the hardest color in the world to get right—except for gray...,” so said Diana Vreeland. Talley's selected LBD's get it right and his book gets it very right. It's beautiful, expertly curated, and destined to be a Classic.
*"All my life I’ve pursued the perfect red. I can never get painters to mix it for me. It’s exactly as if I’d said, ‘I want rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple’—they have no idea what I’m talking about. About the best red is to copy the color of a child’s cap in any Renaissance portrait." Diana Vreeland.
all photographs by Adam Kuehl, © SCAD unless otherwise noted
Cushnie et Ochs, LBD in neoprene, 2013
"The little black dress is the essential uniform for every woman's every occasion." Carly Cushnie & Michelle Ochs
about a dozen years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Andre Leon Talley at a book signing for his autobiography- ALT. What a terrific book it is! Talley's story is one all fashion forward youngsters living in the outposts-far outposts away from the World of Fashion can read and take heart-and courage from (required reading for all design hopefuls). Growing up in Durham North Carolina, Talley has remained true to his roots while tramping round New York, Paris and Milan in couture made caftans, sweeping capes, and the occasional very large bauble on a chain.
See-the South grows Originals, fashion loves an Original and ALT is one fashion blue blood. ALT seems to be Auntie Mame, Oscar Wilde & Bobby Short all rolled
into one opera pumped bon vivant!
ALT's LBD book is very ALT-stylish
& memorable just like its subject-the little black dress.
Vreeland protege, ALT has her razor sharp sartorial sense.
André Leon Talley and Diana Vreeland, 1974.
© Photograph by Bill Cunningham for The New York Times
A great patron saint of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Talley curated the college's most recent exhibition Little Black Dress. The book-by the same name- is filled with the perfect black dress-80 of them to be exact, and what makes the book so smashing is that each of those Little Black dresses makes an impact all its own. Talley's Little Black Dress is photographed by Adam Kuehl, SCAD alumni, in black and white, with "Vreeland" red*pages interspersed throughout the book,creating sartorial shivers of satisfaction while reading commentary from ALT and his contributors.Along with dresses from the twentieth century dresses into the current one, Talley has assembled an amazing collection to narrate the tale of the little black dress.
"The zenith of elegance in any woman's wardrobe is the little black dress, the power of which suggests dash and refinement." Andre Leon Talley
Carolina Herrera, 2007
of the little black dress: "...above all, it must be simple and little and black." CH
Rodarte, 2006
"The creation of the black dress is the purest form of expression for a designer.
The absence of color allows one to focus on the fundamental elements of design: texture, tone, and silhouette." Kate & Laura Mulleavy
Norma Kamali, mid 1970's
"Black is a definitive statement..." Norma Kamali
*"All my life I’ve pursued the perfect red. I can never get painters to mix it for me. It’s exactly as if I’d said, ‘I want rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple’—they have no idea what I’m talking about. About the best red is to copy the color of a child’s cap in any Renaissance portrait." Diana Vreeland.
on the cover, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel Couture, 2006
published by Skira Rizzoli and available here
.
24 March 2013
just right...
.
When I start looking for the perfect sofa for a client-I know exactly what I want them to have. Something stylish, but not, (oh no, never trendy or too modern,) and did I mention stylish?
At times it seems our conversation goes something like this:
"This sofa is too big!" she exclaimed.
So she sat in the second one.
"This sofa is too big, too!" she whined...
"too hard."
"too soft."
So she tried the last sofa.
"Ahhh, just right," she sighed.
See I told you this wouldn't be too hard!
It is tricky though-since anything worth having must be custom ordered and most often is not sitting around a showroom floor waiting to be tested. My client must rely on accurate measurement and me-to get it Just Right.
The sofa in Beraud's painting is eye catching. I love the fabric-(I think Mohair or silk velvet) my personal fabric of choice. I also like the deep seat. This measurement always becomes crucial in thinking about how the sofa is to be used.
It's been a while since I lounged looking like this (never). Helmut Newton's model is sitting on a beautifully broken in mohair velvet sofa
Does anyone actually SIT on a sofa? Yes, they do-but I recline and often the loose cushions in the back of said sofa prohibit a good nap -and in my case sharing the sofa with my Beloved-The Dog. When my Moses was getting older, (Me too), I took the three back cushions Off-that was about 5 years ago. Never have they made it back to the couch. Point taken-I do not like cushions in the back of a sofa-preferring to add some pillows to it when sitting straight up on the cushions or for propping up. If you don't believe me try it-I bet you'll be adding pillows to prop on and tossing off the cushion backs permanently. My dogs have never been content to share the couch but to dominate and stretch out alongside me-before the cushions were cleared out I oft times felt as if I were going to end up on the floor. I say, when the Dog is Happy, I adjust.
Here's a sofa from LEE that I think is great looking & hope to use in a current project-
Hope you are sitting pretty or at least very comfortably.
"It saddens me to see you so upset... but could you please tell me who makes that sofa you're crying all over?"After the Misdeed. Jean Beraud. (1885-1890)
When I start looking for the perfect sofa for a client-I know exactly what I want them to have. Something stylish, but not, (oh no, never trendy or too modern,) and did I mention stylish?
At times it seems our conversation goes something like this:
"This sofa is too big!" she exclaimed.
So she sat in the second one.
"This sofa is too big, too!" she whined...
"too hard."
"too soft."
So she tried the last sofa.
"Ahhh, just right," she sighed.
See I told you this wouldn't be too hard!
It is tricky though-since anything worth having must be custom ordered and most often is not sitting around a showroom floor waiting to be tested. My client must rely on accurate measurement and me-to get it Just Right.
The sofa in Beraud's painting is eye catching. I love the fabric-(I think Mohair or silk velvet) my personal fabric of choice. I also like the deep seat. This measurement always becomes crucial in thinking about how the sofa is to be used.
Does anyone actually SIT on a sofa? Yes, they do-but I recline and often the loose cushions in the back of said sofa prohibit a good nap -and in my case sharing the sofa with my Beloved-The Dog. When my Moses was getting older, (Me too), I took the three back cushions Off-that was about 5 years ago. Never have they made it back to the couch. Point taken-I do not like cushions in the back of a sofa-preferring to add some pillows to it when sitting straight up on the cushions or for propping up. If you don't believe me try it-I bet you'll be adding pillows to prop on and tossing off the cushion backs permanently. My dogs have never been content to share the couch but to dominate and stretch out alongside me-before the cushions were cleared out I oft times felt as if I were going to end up on the floor. I say, when the Dog is Happy, I adjust.
Here's a sofa from LEE that I think is great looking & hope to use in a current project-
22 March 2013
21 March 2013
feasting with Lesley Blanch
.
world traveler, femme fatale, Lesley Blanch was a cook, at least she was a glorious collector of recipes-a connoisseur of cuisine-more than all that-she was a poet. Lesley Blanch was The Poetess of Prose,caressing language that still today makes her reader's mouth water when putting her pen to spices for Shashlik, Paska, or just Poor Man's Caviar. Round the World in Eighty Dishes is a seductive collection of recipes from Lesley Blanch's travels first published in 1956-and will reintroduce Lesley Blanch to a new generation of readers-& new cooks. Each recipe is served up with a tale by Blanch of its origins-or her first taste of the dish in her travels. The book will satiate you even if it never sees the crockery of your kitchen.
In a later edition of Round the World... Lesley Blanch writes of her life's work: 'benign fate whisked me elsewhere to follow less restricted ways, travelling widely and eating wildly'... I don't belong in England, I don't belong anywhere, it is rather restful - I have met everybody and known nobody'.
Blanch adds her whimsical sketches to each recipe story-this new edition lovingly recreates them true to the original first edition.This Round the World in Eighty Dishes will whet your appetite for the Blanch pièce de résistance- The Wilder Shores of Love-her biography telling of the lives of the women travellers she so admired, Isabel Burton, Lady Jane Digby, Isabelle Eberhardt, and Aimée du Buc de Rivéry -delicious- or her very intimate Russian aqua vitae served "neat," Journey Into The Mind's Eye.
world traveler, femme fatale, Lesley Blanch was a cook, at least she was a glorious collector of recipes-a connoisseur of cuisine-more than all that-she was a poet. Lesley Blanch was The Poetess of Prose,caressing language that still today makes her reader's mouth water when putting her pen to spices for Shashlik, Paska, or just Poor Man's Caviar. Round the World in Eighty Dishes is a seductive collection of recipes from Lesley Blanch's travels first published in 1956-and will reintroduce Lesley Blanch to a new generation of readers-& new cooks. Each recipe is served up with a tale by Blanch of its origins-or her first taste of the dish in her travels. The book will satiate you even if it never sees the crockery of your kitchen.
In a later edition of Round the World... Lesley Blanch writes of her life's work: 'benign fate whisked me elsewhere to follow less restricted ways, travelling widely and eating wildly'... I don't belong in England, I don't belong anywhere, it is rather restful - I have met everybody and known nobody'.
Blanch adds her whimsical sketches to each recipe story-this new edition lovingly recreates them true to the original first edition.This Round the World in Eighty Dishes will whet your appetite for the Blanch pièce de résistance- The Wilder Shores of Love-her biography telling of the lives of the women travellers she so admired, Isabel Burton, Lady Jane Digby, Isabelle Eberhardt, and Aimée du Buc de Rivéry -delicious- or her very intimate Russian aqua vitae served "neat," Journey Into The Mind's Eye.
photograph of Lesley Blanch by Henry Clarke
Round the World in Eighty Dishes will have you craving more, more Blanch that is.
Bon appetit!
the book is available at grub street here
.
Bon appetit!
the book is available at grub street here
.
18 March 2013
sweet dreams
.
It's in Style- I love the pajama top as a blouse. It means blissful sweet dreaming all day.
Marc Jacobs, for Louis Vuitton Fall 2013 has something else in mind...
Something wild, something red
Diana Vreeland referred to it as a "garden in Hell."
It's in Style- I love the pajama top as a blouse. It means blissful sweet dreaming all day.
Marc Jacobs, for Louis Vuitton Fall 2013 has something else in mind...
Something wild, something red
Diana Vreeland referred to it as a "garden in Hell."
Diana Vreeland in her Billy Baldwin decorated apartment- by her own decree "a garden in Hell."
photograph by HORST
* quote linked in text and here from Diana Vreeland here
Marc Jacobs from Vogue here
.
Lucy, Sonya, & the Kaleidoscope
As with most stories, fiction drives many more than fact. The vagaries of a story always add an allure- as with the John Lennon song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Whatever the realities of the song- I've always conjured the fantastical kaleidoscope patterns of Sonia Delaunay. While you may conjure an LSD induced trip via Sargent Pepper, or Lennon's son Julian's drawing about a classmate "Lucy"-songs become personal-we draw our own pictures from them.
Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you,you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone
And she's gone
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies
Where rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high
That grow so incredibly high
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you're gone
And you're gone
Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstyle
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
An abstract painter, Sonia Delaunay is today best known for her kaleidoscope textiles that appeared in the 1920's and 30's in interiors, fashion, film and advertisement. Her ability to translate her canvases into the practical-and commercial made her a wealthy woman. She and her husband painter Robert Delaunay were founders of Orphism-an art movement drenched in colour and geometry. Sonia referred to her work outside her more important works on canvas as "exercises in colour."
Designers continue to be inspired by her kaleidoscope eyes today-
(plasticine porter-by Robert Delaunay)
there is more about Delaunay here from the 2011 exhibition of her work at the Cooper Hewitt.
about the Lennon song here
most of the Delaunay images are from Red List here, or at pinterest.
.
17 March 2013
11 March 2013
Mrs. Higgins at home
.
It's always most intriguing to watch a movie for the sets only. At times I've been so distracted by an interior I couldn't follow the plot-sets and decoration can at times- be infinitely more compelling. For as many times as I've watched some of my favorites-Rebecca-Manderley, Gone with the Wind-Tara,I never tire of looking beyond the action to where the action is... The first time I saw My Fair Lady (likely a 10 year old) I was most intrigued by Mrs. Higgins house where Eliza retreats after she triumphs at the ball and back at home Professor Higgins humiliates her. Luckily Eliza gets some good advice from Mrs, Higgins-about that "mean old Henry Higgins" and hopefully some decorating advice- because for all the books in the Professor's library it needs a feminine touch. No doubt, Eliza was sure to have been taking notes at Mrs. Higgins charming abode.
The professor's mother's rooms were decorated a la Arts & Crafts-by way of Cecil Beaton doing Voysey, Mackintosh-and a bit of Kate Greenaway. Beaton's year in Hollywood at Warner Brothers in charge of costumes and settings for My Fair Lady is chronicled in his book Fair Lady. Beaton was insistent about the Voysey influence in his first meetings in London with George Cukor-My Fair Lady's director. C.F.A. Voysey was an English furniture-textile designer and architect. Voysey takes center stage at Mrs.Higgins but William Morris-a great influence on Voysey- and Charles Rennie Mackintosh play their parts as decorators too-envisioned by Beaton.
Voysey's belief that "simplicity in decoration is one of the essential qualities without which no true richness is possible"- couldn't possibly have been shared by Beaton- his results are very much Hollywood goes Arts and Crafts, but delightfully so.
The charm is evident at Mrs Higgins-all bathed in Voysey blue- the interior is calm and serene, and set off all the more by Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins seething on the settle. The year would have been 1914 Edwardian England and the three aforementioned men were great influences in decoration's turn away from the topsy turvy of Victoriana.
Voysey preferred natural wood-and that's where Mrs.Higgins makes a departure-installing Mackintosh pieces painted in white and set amongst comfortable English chairs in chintz mixed with white wicker (perhaps the remains of the good pieces from her Victoriana.)
Beaton's pleasure with the results of Mrs. Higgins house is noted in his book Fair Lady: "Mrs. Higgins house looks like a Kate Greenaway-Walter Crane version of art nouveau. I was so elated with the day-nursery effects that I insisted upon registering them on colour film immediately."
The Voysey space was "Beaton eclectic"-white wicker repeats itself in Mrs. Higgins solarium. Beaton uses the terms Arts & Crafts, and Art Nouveau interchangeably. Arts and Crafts originated in Britain with the work of William Morris, his paintings-designs-textiles and papers full of the sinuous organic lines in nature.
From the diary: Gene appeared with the model for Mrs. Higgins' house. This is the last set to be made. Thank God it looks excellent, full of ingenious nooks and cannies and very 'Voysey' and English arts and crafts'. It should be amusing, and a real change.
Authentic papers from Coles in London were flown in for Beaton to peruse and for Warners studio to reproduce. Though Beaton sought historical accuracy-one of the many reasons he had
been hired-his sense of theatrical atmospherics were greater & the results lived up to that philosophy. Executing it all were the real work
horses of the film George Hopkins, Set Decorator and Gene Allen the Art Director. These two took on Beaton's vision and realized it.
A year in Hollywood had seen Beaton's buoyancy for the film wane-his relationship with director Cukor deteriorate, supposedly due to Beaton's incessant picture taking-while Beaton exclaimed in Fair Lady-it was part of what he was hired to do! His contract over and his health shot, he packed up and returned to London-& so the book ends. The My Fair Lady story doesn't end there-his work was rewarded in 1964 with Academy Awards for the movie's Art Direction, along with Hopkins and Allen, and for Costume Design in Color. The movie swept the Oscars-though Audrey Hepburn's Eliza was not recognized with a nomination for Best Actress. Looking back on the film today-that's hard to imagine. Her voice doesn't grace the Lerner and Lowe songs but her face-ah-"I've grown accustomed to her look; Accustomed to her voice;
Accustomed to her face." & that face speaks volumes.
LINKS to more details on this story, and to images. Images also linked in captions.
Hunterian Mackintosh Collection
C.F.A Voysey''s Architecture
V & A Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Kelmscott Manor
Morris & Co.
more about Morris, Mackintosh and Voysey at fellow blogger Soodie Beasley, here
the book Fair Lady at abebooks
.
photograph of Beaton and Hepburn-amidst Mrs. Higgins furniture
photo by Bob Willoubhby
It's always most intriguing to watch a movie for the sets only. At times I've been so distracted by an interior I couldn't follow the plot-sets and decoration can at times- be infinitely more compelling. For as many times as I've watched some of my favorites-Rebecca-Manderley, Gone with the Wind-Tara,I never tire of looking beyond the action to where the action is... The first time I saw My Fair Lady (likely a 10 year old) I was most intrigued by Mrs. Higgins house where Eliza retreats after she triumphs at the ball and back at home Professor Higgins humiliates her. Luckily Eliza gets some good advice from Mrs, Higgins-about that "mean old Henry Higgins" and hopefully some decorating advice- because for all the books in the Professor's library it needs a feminine touch. No doubt, Eliza was sure to have been taking notes at Mrs. Higgins charming abode.
Audrey Hepburn in the role of Eliza Dolittle and Dame Gladys Cooper as Mrs Higgins,
photographed by Cecil Beaton (from the book Fair Lady)
photographed by Cecil Beaton (from the book Fair Lady)
The professor's mother's rooms were decorated a la Arts & Crafts-by way of Cecil Beaton doing Voysey, Mackintosh-and a bit of Kate Greenaway. Beaton's year in Hollywood at Warner Brothers in charge of costumes and settings for My Fair Lady is chronicled in his book Fair Lady. Beaton was insistent about the Voysey influence in his first meetings in London with George Cukor-My Fair Lady's director. C.F.A. Voysey was an English furniture-textile designer and architect. Voysey takes center stage at Mrs.Higgins but William Morris-a great influence on Voysey- and Charles Rennie Mackintosh play their parts as decorators too-envisioned by Beaton.
Voysey's belief that "simplicity in decoration is one of the essential qualities without which no true richness is possible"- couldn't possibly have been shared by Beaton- his results are very much Hollywood goes Arts and Crafts, but delightfully so.
The charm is evident at Mrs Higgins-all bathed in Voysey blue- the interior is calm and serene, and set off all the more by Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins seething on the settle. The year would have been 1914 Edwardian England and the three aforementioned men were great influences in decoration's turn away from the topsy turvy of Victoriana.
Shades and Patterns -Voysey, Mackintosh & Morris
collage by PGT
Voysey preferred natural wood-and that's where Mrs.Higgins makes a departure-installing Mackintosh pieces painted in white and set amongst comfortable English chairs in chintz mixed with white wicker (perhaps the remains of the good pieces from her Victoriana.)
Beaton's pleasure with the results of Mrs. Higgins house is noted in his book Fair Lady: "Mrs. Higgins house looks like a Kate Greenaway-Walter Crane version of art nouveau. I was so elated with the day-nursery effects that I insisted upon registering them on colour film immediately."
The Voysey space was "Beaton eclectic"-white wicker repeats itself in Mrs. Higgins solarium. Beaton uses the terms Arts & Crafts, and Art Nouveau interchangeably. Arts and Crafts originated in Britain with the work of William Morris, his paintings-designs-textiles and papers full of the sinuous organic lines in nature.
Kate Greeneway at left, and Walter Crane at right
From the diary: Gene appeared with the model for Mrs. Higgins' house. This is the last set to be made. Thank God it looks excellent, full of ingenious nooks and cannies and very 'Voysey' and English arts and crafts'. It should be amusing, and a real change.
A year in Hollywood had seen Beaton's buoyancy for the film wane-his relationship with director Cukor deteriorate, supposedly due to Beaton's incessant picture taking-while Beaton exclaimed in Fair Lady-it was part of what he was hired to do! His contract over and his health shot, he packed up and returned to London-& so the book ends. The My Fair Lady story doesn't end there-his work was rewarded in 1964 with Academy Awards for the movie's Art Direction, along with Hopkins and Allen, and for Costume Design in Color. The movie swept the Oscars-though Audrey Hepburn's Eliza was not recognized with a nomination for Best Actress. Looking back on the film today-that's hard to imagine. Her voice doesn't grace the Lerner and Lowe songs but her face-ah-"I've grown accustomed to her look; Accustomed to her voice;
Accustomed to her face." & that face speaks volumes.
LINKS to more details on this story, and to images. Images also linked in captions.
Hunterian Mackintosh Collection
C.F.A Voysey''s Architecture
V & A Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Kelmscott Manor
Morris & Co.
more about Morris, Mackintosh and Voysey at fellow blogger Soodie Beasley, here
the book Fair Lady at abebooks
.
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