In Black and White on the Red Carpet

Miss Sandra Bullock on the red carpet at the 2012 Academy Awards.
I didn't think the Oscar program was half-bad last night – what did you think? It seemed cleaned up and spiffed up, not so cheesy. And the Cirque de Soleil performance was truly breathtaking. Part of the fun of the Oscars of course is the fashion parade on the red carpet, and my favorite was Sandra Bullock in Marchesa, though the girls in my office were giving me a hard time about this today. Still, I thought she and the dress were beautiful, and I was tired of the pretty strapless gowns that look the same.
Here is another shot at the Vanity Fair party.

I like the dress because of its simplicity – it almost looks like a white tee shirt and and black skirt – but of course it's a very structured and expensive gown with ornate silver beading at the waist and a back that is actually...backless. She wore her hair in a sleek ponytail which complemented the clean, modern look of the dress. I thought it had a lot of style.
She seems like a fun girl, Sandra Bullock – America's sweetheart. And we know about the rough time she had with her ex-husband after she herself won an Oscar. On the red carpet before the ceremony last night Sandra talked to an ABC newscaster who had such a thick British accent that Nick Nolte could not understand a word she said to him. Sandra said, "I'm having a good time tonight. It's called sexy time. We're having sexy time tonight. Everything we're doing is going to be sexy."
Here she is pictured after the ceremony later inside the Vanity Fair party with Chris Evans

who is Captain America.

Hope she had fun!
But I digress.
A lot of people named Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford as their favorite best-dressed star.

She certainly did look strikingly, timelessly beautiful in the white gown and cape, kind of like Katherine Hepburn in Hollywood, no? Gwyneth's hair was also pulled back in a ponytail. The look was so very simple though, almost monastic. I would have liked perhaps to see her golden hair flying around, or some diamond chandelier earrings to dazzle the eye. What can I say, I'm like a magpie that is attracted to shine. But obviously, Gwnyeth wanted to look unadorned, and that's what personal style is about.
In general, one yearns to see more personal style on the red carpet, and not another strapless dress. Maria Tomei wore one of my favorite red carpet outfits at the Golden Globes a few years ago. The white blouse and black skirt by Oscar de la Renta echo Sandra Bullock's color scheme. This outfit is elegant and sophisticated but relaxed and easy at the same time, and that to me is chic.

It's like when Sharon Stone wore to the Oscars in 1998 a lavender silk skirt by Vera Wang topped off by a white oxford cloth shirt from the Gap out of her husband's closet. It takes a lot of style and confidence to pull of something like that, but that mix of refined luxury and casual nonchalance is to me very American.
(photos from Vanityfair.com and Us.com)

Gay New York and the Arts of the 20th Century

With Cecil Beaton's authorized biographer Hugo Vickers.
Last weekend I enjoyed attending an all-day symposium at the Museum of the City of New York. The symposium was called "Gay New York and the Arts of the 20th Century", and it was aligned with the Cecil Beaton exhibition at the museum which I wrote about for Elle Decor magazine.

The museum is located in the far (for me) reaches of Manhattan at Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street but I managed to get there Saturday morning at 10am with coffee in hand. The event was held in the museum auditorium which was quite packed with more than two hundred people. Kudos to the museum for hosting a day on this fascinating subject.

Donald Albrecht, the curator of the Cecil Beaton exhibit who I interviewed for my article, opened the event with welcoming remarks and talked a bit about Beaton in New York. Next up was George Chauncey, the renowned Professor of History at Yale, and author Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1980-1940, which TD read and is lying around here somewhere. He noted that in the 20th century, New York became the cultural capital of the world, succeeding Paris in the 20's, and that "gay artists and composers played a large part in shaping American culture." At the time, many gay men felt they were "the last defenders of civilization" (I can relate).

Then there were eight more guests at the symposium who spoke on a range of topics including the Ballet Russes and modern dance, gay composers who created the music of America, gay Harlem, E.M. Forster and his American friends, gay Latinas in New York, the art collector Sam Green, and more observations on Cecil Beaton from Hugo Vickers, Beaton's authorized biographer. By the end of it, my mind was spinning with history and culture.

It was all interesting, and the crowd especially enjoyed Hugo Vickers who knew Beaton and many of his acquaintances. "It's fantastic for me to be here in New York," he said in his deliciously plummy accent and then went on to share funny bits like the fact that artist Jean Cocteau called Beaton "Malice in Wonderland." It was a knowledgeable crowd that was ready to laugh and be entertained by this insider's view.

What I took away from the day was this chorus of gay men besides those mentioned – Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Ned Rorem, Paul Cadmus, George Platt Lynes, Andy Warhol, just to name a few – who came to New York to produce creative work. It's a long tradition of those who came before and those who will come in the future. At the end the question was asked, why are gay men so often attracted and interested in the arts? There were various answers, but I didn't hear anyone say "Talent." Gay men often are just innately gifted in art and style and aesthetics. Why is that I wonder. What do you think dear reader? Why is it that gay men are very often talented creatively?

Five Bloggers and Several Cocktails

A round of drinks for five style bloggers at the Gramercy Park Hotel.
I had the great pleasure on Thursday night of meeting up for cocktails with four other blogger friends who I had never met in the flesh before. Lisa Borgnes Giramonti of A Bloomsbury Life was visiting New York City from her home in LA. Lisa and I have been online friends for several years, following each other's blogs, leaving comments, and connecting on Facebook. Likewise the pen-named Reggie Darling and his partner Boy Fenwick who joined the party, as well as Nick Olsen, who is a new friend.
Lisa was staying at the apartment of a friend who lives on Gramercy Park so we all met there and then hightailed it across the street to rustle up some drinks at the swanky Gramercy Park Hotel, owned by Ian Schrager and designed in collaboration with Julian Schnabel. After an ill-fated attempt to take the elevator to the roof garden bar which turned out to be closed, we landed on a chic perch in the ground floor Jade Bar on low little stools surrounding a table with one glowing candle.
The Jade Bar, photo from the Gramercy Park Hotel.
There we had a great time getting to know each other in person. It was funny because we already knew a lot about each other – our families, our homes, what we have been up to for the past couple of years. We talked about the what we like about blogging (the global reach, the opportunity to teach) and what we didn't like (the hours required, the lack of monetary reward). Lisa observed that for the most part we like romantic things that go back in time but that we are using the very modern internet to communicate our point of view. We agreed that blogging helped us to know ourselves better; certainly my blog about style has helped me define my own style. The Infinicam iphone photo app was recommended, we discussed the current second season of Downton Abbey, and talked about the books we are reading (Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, The Guest List by Ethan Mordden, The Love of Erika Ewald by Stefan Zweig). It was fun to be with others who share a similar viewpoint about aesthetics and manners and art, and the internet had already connected us.
Soon our time together was over. We dispersed our separate ways but we can always meet again online. I rode my red Raleigh bicycle home around dark, historic, nineteenth-century Gramercy Park.

Chanel Spring-Summer Couture

Wow, what a dress. (photos from WWD)

I'm writing this post because I wanted to look at that dress – a wondrous mix of midnight blues sparkling and shimmering over the body like the summer ocean at night under a full moon. And notice the slouchy low pockets which add a casual ease to an incredibly expensive dress. This dress is a simple shape which follows the lines of the body but glitters with sublime color and decoration – just beautiful.

Karl Lagerfeld presented the Chanel Spring-Summer 2012 Haute Couture collection in Paris this week. The entire collection was in shades of blue which is my favorite color. Additionally, the show was presented at the Grand Palais in a set which had been specially built to represent the inside of a...wait for it...luxury airliner. The airliner was made out of anodized aluminum and took five days to build inside the Grand Palais. The interior included 250 first class seats. A drinks cart circulated and fake clouds floated by the windows. At the end of the show, Lagerfeld, who turns 79 this year, emerged from the cockpit which was complete with glowing dials. I mean really, that sounds like a lot of fun.

This looks like a dress that Coco Chanel herself wore.

The stones on the dress below glow with a greenish tinge.

Lagerfeld told a journalist that he wanted the low pockets to look "like boys whose jeans are falling off." I love the idea of bringing that boyish attitude into the couture. It's what you call French insouciance.

Gumball-size stones decorate this short dress.

Chanel has been mounting recently some amazing fashion shows in the Grand Palais. For the Spring-Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collection, the all white collection was set "under the sea." Models who had pearls on their face and in their hair, walked past giant white choral, and English sensation Florence Welch emerged from a big clam shell to sing her hit "What the Water Gave Me."

Click on the image below to watch the entire couture show. Don't miss Karl emerging from the cockpit at the end. After, click on Fashion Shows to watch other Chanel shows including the Spring-Summer ready-to-wear with the performance by Florence Welch. Don't you love the internet?

The NYC Metro Show

I loved this simple woodblock print of morning glories by Margaret Patterson (1867-195) available at Dalton's American Decorative Antiques.
This week I went to the opening night of The NYC Metro Show, an antique show up at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street through this Sunday. This inaugural show is held at the same time and place as the previous American Antiques Show but it has now expanded to more diverse offerings including Americana and folk art, Outsider Art, mid-twentieth century furniture, sculpture, and textiles. Stop by and see it if you can this weekend; general admission is $15.
These colorful metal toys from Gemini Antique, Ltd. were charming.

Barry Friedman had a series of oversized photographs of deserted Cuba by Michael Eastman that were hauntingly beautiful.

Dalton's American Antiques from Syracuse, New York, offered a wondeful selection of handsome, classic Stickley furniture. TD and I just drove through Syracuse on the way to the funeral in Rochester. Next time we're in the neighborhood maybe we'll stop in Dalton's.

I ran into decorator extraordinaire Bunny Williams who was admiring intensely this large sculptural carved wood peacock. I said to her, "For you or for a client?" and she said, "For me!" She said she also had spotted elsewhere a beautiful John Marin painting, and I love John Marin, but I didn't find the work.

On the way out, I passed a striking looking older woman and I heard her speak with a Southern accent. Tall with wavy white hair, she was wearing a simple black pants suit. She had on big, black, round Carrie Donovan-style eyeglasses, black pumps with a lavish grosgrain bow on each, and a gigantic diamond ring. This look was all about the accessories. A woman friend joined her and even though it was a frigid night, they went out the front door arm in arm with no coats on (checking your coat at these shows and retrieving it again is always such a pain), crossing the street to where the chauffeur leapt out of the black Lexus to open the car door for miladies. Off they zoomed into the night, a modern day Downton Abbey.

Midnight in Paris, and the Murphys

Top to bottom: in the movie, the character Gil Pender travels back in time to meet Adriana; Gil and Adriana talk with Ernest Hemingway; Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

TD and I missed the movie Midnight in Paris, which was written and directed by Woody Allen, when it was in the movie theaters last summer, but we recently watched it on pay-per-view and enjoyed it immensely. Last night the movie won the award for best screenplay at the Golden Globes but the elusive Mr. Allen was not in the audience to receive his trophy. If you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it.

In it, the main character Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, travels back in time to Paris in the 1920s. I don't know about you, but I am fascinated by Paris in the 1920's when so many artists and writers were living and working there. Hemingway wrote about the era in his book A Moveable Feast which I think I have read five times. Hemingway along with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso, T. S. Eliot, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Salvador Dali, and Man Ray all make appearances in Midnight in Paris, and it's such a delight to see all these artists show up on screen. In different media, the artists in Paris in the 20's created the culture of the twentieth century. I was wishing the movie would go on and on and not end. And one is left thinking, who is left out of the cast here? Coco Chanel. Igor Stravinsky. James Joyce. Publisher Sylvia Beach who owned the influential bookstore Shakespeare and Company. And the Murphys.
The Murphys of course were Sara and Gerald from New York City. The couple escaped a stifling life in the United States and set up house in a villa on the French Riveria where they entertained most of the artists listed about and created a life of beauty and art informed by their American way of easy, relaxed elegance. Living Well is the Best Revenge by Calvin Tomkins and Everybody Was So Young by Amanda Vaill are two wonderful books about the Murphys.

Gerald and Sara on the beach at Cap D'Antibe.

Traveling in Venice with Cole and Linda Porter.

Gerald Murphy on his boat photographed by Man Ray.

The Murphys were renowned for their style of living, and inspired a recent traveling museum exhibition entitled Making It New. The catalogue stated that for the Murphys, "Life itself became a seminal work of art. The artist redefines the terms and conventions of life without necessarily leaving a single art work object behind." Although the Murphys suffered great tragedy when two of their three children died of disease, and Gerald struggled with his homosexuality, they remain a great lasting inspiration. And Paris in the 20's is a gift that keeps on giving.

Downton Abbey Season 2

Lady Mary Crawley being dressed for dinner by Anna, the head housemaid in Downton Abbey

I loved the first season of Downton Abbey on PBS which tells the story of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants before and during the years of World War I, and wrote about it on the blog. Last night the second season started here in the United States but when I talk to friends about it I am surprised by how many are not familiar with the program. If you are not watching Downton Abbey by all means do tune in. It's a total pleasure and takes you away to a beautiful world.

The drama is shot in part at Highclere Castle, the home of Lord and Lady Carnavon who still live there today. The site has been home to the Carnavon family since 1679, and the castle was built in 1842 by Sir Charles Barry who was responsible for building the Houses of Parliament in London.

The production values including the costumes and interiors are gorgeous. The family members dress in ornate evening clothes for dinner, and downstairs, the servants in uniform are a monochromatic study in black, white, and grey. One of my favorite rooms is Lady Mary Crawley's bedroom, pictured at the top. A deep red pattern decorates the walls and there is always a fire ablaze in the fireplace opposite the bed. Sometimes the female characters are pictured in her bedroom in evening dress having a chat before dinner and invariably Mary says, "I'll be down in a minute." I am often reminded watching this series of John Singer Sargent's paintings, like this – Sargent's The Dinner Table from 1884.

or this oil sketch of Madame X giving a toast.

(watch my video tour of a recent Sargent exhibition in Cooperstown)

But of course the real world interupts the beauty of Downton when World War l breaks out in 1914, which is where we find ourselves in season 2, and honestly one is concerned for the welfare of these characters because you know that some of them will not survive the war. It reminds me of the autiobiography of the Duchess of Devonshire which I enjoyed so much reading last year. She lived through World War ll and noted how practically all of the young men she knew died in its wake – an entire generation.

At Downton Abbey, the war affects those left at home too. With some of the servants enlisted, the household becomes disorganized, and its refined manners and way of operating begin to crumble. The aristocratic art of living starts to crack. But Lord Grantham tries to reassure his servants and relieve them of pressure during wartime. "The world does not turn on the style of a dinner," he says. "Mine does," replies Mr. Carson the butler.

Life in 2012

A view of the Hudson River this summer at sunset
TD and I had a wonderful holiday season packed with many activities with family and friends. In the middle of it, my aunt Molly died. She had been sick for a long time but still it was a surprise to me when I received the news. I wrote about Molly here on the blog before, and we attended her birthday party. She was a larger-than-life figure in my childhood who was always taking us on adventures. Summertime was her strong suit and so she was often leading us to swimming pools, the beach at the lake or picnics in the park. She raised five children and she said to me once, "I loved children so. The 'terrible twos, the troublesome threes', I never experienced that. The children were like sponges and they absorbed everything up." TD and I drove up to her funeral service which was held on Friday in Rochester. At the end of the service, her son Peter, my cousin, delivered a great remembrance. He said, "What is the lesson of Molly's life? Have fun, play hard, spend time with your family, enjoy the present moment." Driving back from the funeral to New York City in the car we received an email from our friends April and Matt with the joyful news that their baby had just been born, and two beautiful pictures of little smiling Miles Perry. That made us so happy. Birth and death and everything in between – that is life. We embrace the happy and hope to avoid the sad though sometimes it must come. I am wishing you dear reader more happy this year. Have fun, play hard, enjoy the present moment.

Happy Holidays From NYC

A fantasy tropical garden in the window at Bergdorf Goodman

Recently after dinner with friends TD and walked over 57th Street to Fifth Avenue. Trees covered with white lights glittered in front of 9 East 57th Street where I did some work this year at the Chanel corporate headquarters. Down near 5th Avenue we reached Bergdorf Goodman and their spectacular holiday windows which are particularly exciting at night.
Starting in the 57th Street windows, the theme was a circus. Next to a grey merry-go-round horse was a pale pink gown encrusted with jewels at the waist by CD Greene (click on photos to enlarge).

We turned the corner at Van Cleef & Arpel and continued on to the big Bergdorf Goodman windows along Fifth Avenue – the main event – where the theme is "Carnival of Animals."
"The Brass Menagerie" (also pictured at the top of this post) shows a chanteuse in a fantasy recording studio made of gold, brass and copper. The floor is layered with shiny pennies and the heroine wears a special dress created by Naeem Khan.

In a frosty setting of white and blue, polar bears, a moose, a seal, and more attend an arctic party in "Breaking the Ice." The hostess has donned a dress and one-of-a-kind cape by J. Mendel.

A figure in a white Alexander McQueen seashell dress floats through the sea in "Testing the Waters." The blue mosaic sea creatures swimming past sparkle with iridescence. This dreamy window was my favorite. Bergdorf Goodman told me that this window was ten months in the making and is the most labor-intensive window display in its history.

This small window pictures a pastel gem garden complete with dragon flies and spiders. Jewels by Iradj Moini.

In "Teacher's Pets" a life-size paper zebra and other black and white beasts gather around the teacher who is glamorously dressed in a black and white lace Marchesa gown.

And at the corner of 5th and 58th is "Artists and Models," a complex collection of wood and leather folk art animals assembled together with the sculptor dressed in a hat, beads and fur. It's a sophisticated scene but at the same time it evokes the innocence of a boy's toy chest.

The Bergdorf Goodman windows are a crowd-stopper along Fifth Avenue.

They really are a gift to the city and the people who visit it – a dazzling display of elegant imagination and creativity.
I am wishing you dear reader a dazzling holiday season of light and warmth. Enjoy your time with your loved ones.

The Personal Style of Oberto Gili

Just in time for the holidays came a party last week for photographer Oberto Gili's new book Home Sweet Home, published by Rizzoli. I hadn't met Oberto Gili before but was familiar with his evocative interiors photography published in magazines including the sadly now defunct Vogue Living. This book is subtitled Sumptuous and Bohemian Interiors, and it celebrates Gili's personal take on style. He writes in the book, "Decor serves as an expression of personality, fantasy, personal taste, culture and history." So the interiors photographed here are not designer showcases but instead signature homes created by people with great style.

Speaking of. At the front door of the party I ran into my friend Mary Randolph Carter. The party, held at the gallery of antiques dealer Liz O'Brien, was warm and welcoming on a cold and rainy night. Carter and I became friends when I worked at Polo Ralph Lauren and she was in charge of advertising there. Now she works on Ralph Lauren advertising, books and collections, and has written several books herself, including the recent A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life, also published by Rizzoli. Carter's country-in-the-city approach to style has had a big influence on me.

Her apartment on the Upper East Side is photographed in Oberto Gili's book. Carter's mix of art, antiques, comfortable furniture, and books illustrates a wonderful way to live. (Click on photos to enlarge; photos courtesy of Rizzoli)

I had the pleasure of meeting Oberto Gili at the party and I asked him more about his book of interior photographs. He said, "The interiors are all quicky, intellectual, romantic." "Decoration is like fashion," he continued. "You can copy a fashion picture or you can mix and create your own style. In the same way you can hire a decorator and you will have a very pretty room but it is never yours. You want to feel a love of your place. Then it's a great success. Otherwise it's just showing off."
Here is the romantic, simple bedroom of Alvaro Bravo in Marrakech.

The library of Laura di Collobiano and Moreno Petrini in Tuscany.

The last section of the book is devoted to Gili's own home in Piedmont, Italy. This cozy room has a mix of art and antiques and textiles, and a blazing fire. I love the industrial metal hanging lamp shades.

Style continues outdoors into the garden.

These are timeless settings that don't go out of fashion. This book inspires the reader to mix all different kinds of things together that he or she loves, and it attests to the power of the individual to create something personal and unique.