in memory: Albert Hadley

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Living well, is not Living Large.
Live Simply.
Live Elegantly.

Albert Hadley Requiescat in pace

March 30, 2012

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the ever EleGant Stefano Pilati

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Exiting from Yves Saint Laurent.
 I admire Stefano Pilati, over the years his ability to channel- not copy the elegance- the spirit of Yves Saint Laurent.

My idea of elegance – and this refers to women as well as men – is that someone is elegant when he or she shows a good knowledge of what fits them, where you can find naturalness and self-esteem. Not showing off. Elegance is the idea of showing an optimistic depiction of oneself, and to lose oneself in the frivolity of style and fashion. Nowadays nobody gives a shit about being elegant, or chic. -Stefano Pilati

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tete a tete : a Classic Autumn in New York

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Which interior designer extraordinaire would I want to spend several days with in New York-(hint hint) tete a tete?
The inestimable Charlotte Moss of course.

the bouquet that awaited me in my room

It was a delight to attend the Royal Oak Foundation Gala with Charlotte on Wednesday the 19th in October at the Metropolitan Club. "The foundation engages Americans in the work of the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, one of the world’s largest and most progressive conservation organizations." 

A beautiful sea of faces and tables, I met several of my design heroes- Mario Buatta for one, and had a dinner tete a tete with the spiffing Miles Redd.

 Charlotte before the dinner began

(from the NYSD pages)

Awards presentations highlighted the evening.  Designer Ashley Hicks accepted  the Timeless Design Award for his father, the late David Hicks. Hicks resurgence in popularity today is testament to his singular way with geometric pattern and explosive color -now considered Classic Interior Design. Richard Broyd's considerable investment in the perpetuation of historic properties was recognized with the foundation's Heritage Award. Broyd added three historic house hotels to the National Trust treasury,  Hartwell House, Bodysgallen Hall and Middlethorpe Hall.

 the tables
(from the pages of the NYSD)

Lunch at La Grenouille, cheese soufflé- a visit to Charlotte's office to see her new  fabric collection from Fabricut  rounded out the day and an evening tucked into Charlotte's library completed it- I was, as you can imagine, in absolute heaven.
Charlotte's new fabrics are wonderful and an upcoming post will feature them this week!

The flowers of La Grenouille are as lauded as the cuisine, and the little gem of a book (above) is one I highly recommend. Like that perfect soufflé- the base of the flowers provides the flavour and above that- the airy leaves provide the wonder.  At the time Charles Masson's father founded the restaurant flowers were limited to a stem or two on restaurant tables-if seldom ever seen when dining. One day after being particularly bothered by the sun streaming in while eating lunch at one of his tables, Masson came upon the perfect solution-a grand bouquet of flowers to filter the light!  A Baccarat vase was purchased and another La Grenouille legend was born. Soon more flowers appeared. One day the restauranteur found Salvador Dali with his head in a bouquet- "Monsieur Masson, you throw money out the windows, but it comes back to you through the doors."

Charles Masson with La Grenouille flowers-this photograph from 2005, shows an autumnal arrangement very much like the  ones in the restaurant the day we had lunch.
Change is GOOD, yes- but Only If it is Better.
The Classic exuberance of the flowers at La Grenouille is perfection.



A day of museum stops and breakfast at the Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show made the day fly by, and I flew home that evening.

 What we saw-

 at the Antique show-Charlotte and I both stopped when we saw this- Jannoit's ELEGANCE from 1933.

 Ingres at the MORGAN gives over 17 fine drawings by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), one of the greatest draftsman and portraitists in French history.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Odalisque and Slave, 1839, 

graphite, black and white chalk, gray and brown wash. 

Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum

and do notice the pattern in Ingres' Odalisque-

Very Hicksian I'd say!

Ingres'  Odalisque with a Slave

commissioned by Charles Marcotte d'Argenteuil in 1839,

Ingres many odalisque paintings were influenced by the writings of Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the Turkish Ambassador- whose diaries and letters Igres was fascinated by.
The men of Ingres drawings are dynamic while his studies of women in and about society are a far far cry from his slightly writhing Odalisque.

David, Delacroix, and Revolutionary France: Drawings from the Louvre-, again at the Morgan. Included are eighty drawings by such noted artists as David, Prud'hon, Ingres, Géricault, Delacroix, and Corot.

The Morgan is a beautiful and dynamic place, while staying true to the opulent splendor of the original- a Classic- the Classically modern- Renzo Piano additions launch the Morgan into the future.

rendering of the proposed library for Morgan by McKim, Mead & White, ca. 1902. 

Watercolor over pencil

View from 36th Street of the Annex (left), the new "cube" gallery (center), and the McKim building (right)

Photography by Michel Denancé

at FIT

the Sporting Life

Christian Lacroix, 1990

My in depth story on the Guinness FIT exhibition here

Yes, this was almost 3 weeks ago-but I had to regroup and rest when I returned.

I was woefully remiss in snapping my own photographs- no apologies, I see more without it- at some point I hope to walk and chew gum simultaneously.

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last time I checked

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as I am often told, I can get carried away- do you?
shouldn't we all?
isn't that what inspiration is all about? being enthusiastic about a single perfect rose- an slightly imperfect nose?

this particular photograph of Evelyn Lauder  is one I've held on to  for some years.

Why?

What could be more-

Simple,

Elegant,

Confident.

The central decoration on the table- a tray of broccoli- & it works.
A tiny silk check jacket
A smile.
All radiating confidence, how perfect!
&
how simply perfect.

It must be the check.



(image from Town & Country)


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Elegance, again

Elegance with Dapper

Dapper with Soignee

Elegance with Soignee

 

No one is more Elegant in pictures today than- Carolina Herrera- anywhere, at any age. Here at the PLAZA HOTEL Hamish Bowles, Amy Fine Collins and Lorry Newhouse hosted a dinner kicking off the Lighthouse International's annual POSH fashion sale and honored designer Carolina Herrera and 1st Dibs Founder Michael Bruno.  (all pictures from NYSD here)

see my other post on Elegance, Ease, Glamour

elegance,ease and glamour

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far removed, (very far) from the dazzling world of fashion-I confess I enjoy it. At one point I might have said I love it. One dirty little secret I've shared here before is my love of paper dolls-I chalk it all up to the paper dolls. Do little girls even play with them anymore?

the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Benefit held last night celebrated the  American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. When did the American woman step out onto the fashion stage? It started with the first American original -the Gibson Girl. The exhibition chronicles the changing styles of fashion in America and the women who wore them.

detail of an Oscar de la Renta dress

Autumn 2010

The beauty of fashion in America is the beauty of America-It is a fusion of cultures, styles, the exotic, the glitter and the gold. For the most part this post is a piggy back to the elegant Ulla van Zeller's Model's Own telling of her evening at the Met Gala (click here to read it)

elegance, ease, glamour

 Ulla in Oscar de la Renta

the colours are real favourites of mine together

(the most fabulous dress,click to enlarge for the gorgeous detailing)

Though some of my readers may scoff at fashion and its milieu, but It is just like an interior or a novel-some are good, some are bad, some indifferent. Fashion though- is uniquely and surprisingly original beyond that of a well  decorated room, made so by the woman that wears it- and so it follows-some good, some bad...

Here is a glimpse at what is good about fashion- American fashion at its best, at least for last night.

elegance

ease

glamour

go see Ulla's gala photos here.

images are from Style.com or from model's own.
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