American Fashion Then and Now

Generally speaking, commentaries written about society rarely age well, but one that has is The Beautiful People.  Written in 1967 by former New York Times journalist Marylin Bender, the book is, to quote the front of the dust jacket, "a candid examination of a cultural phenomenon- the marriage of Fashion and Society in the 60's".  The Sixties was a turbulent decade in which upheaval was the norm rather than the exception, and Fashion and Society were not immune to that era's seismic changes.  The 1960s saw fashion designers achieve newfound social status, while many socialites left their lofty perches to become shills for the fashion companies, ultimately becoming what we now refer to as brand ambassadors.  Sound familiar?

So many of Bender's observations remain relevant today, especially this one:  "American fashion is flower-printed sheets and towels by Porthault, fine French 18th-century furniture, English silver, baby pillows, silver-framed photographs and a clutter of small objects all over the place."  The same could be said of today's American fashion, although French furniture and English silver may not be quite as popular as they once were.  (I still have an appreciation for both, and I'm sure many of you do, too.  On the whole, though, younger sophisticates don't quite have the passion for either one.)  Porthault remains a favorite among the cognoscenti, as do silver-framed photographs, baby pillows, and clusters of small objects.  Take a look at sophisticated homes from the past and today, and you'll see that although things have changed greatly over the decades, there are some elements of fashion (and good taste, for that matter) that have thankfully remained the same.
  

Flower-Printed Sheets & Towels by Porthault

 

The former London bedroom of Jayne Wrightsman

A bedroom in the former Washington, D.C. home of Deeda Blair

 A bedroom in the Long Island home of Veronica and Jamie Beard (Simon Upton, photographer)

 

Fine French 18th-century Furniture

Consuelo Balsan in her Southampton Drawing Room
 

Billy Baldwin's prized Louis XV chair

Jayne Wrightsman's former Palm Beach drawing room

 

 

English Silver

A Tiffany tablesetting, which included English flatware, by Sister Parish

Dinah Shore's antique English flatware
 

Baby Pillows

A baby pillow nestled among bed pillows on Joan Kennedy's bed
 

Silver-Framed Photographs

 

Silver-framed photographs in the home of Blair and Alistair Clarke

Silver frames in the Palm Beach home of Pauline Pitt

 

A bevy of frames in Earl Blackwell's chic home

 

 

Clutter of Small Objects

 

Stanley Barrow's bronze collection

19th c. stirrup cups on the mantel in the Millbrook home of Fernanda Kellogg and Kirk Henckels

 

C.Z. Guest's collection of blue and white porcelain

The Serial Entertainer's Passion for Parties

Before we part for the weekend, I'd like to recommend a new book on entertaining: The Serial Entertainer's Passion for Parties. Written by Steven Stolman, a.k.a. The Serial Entertainer, Passion for Parties is Stolman's second book on entertaining, a subject about which the author knows a great deal. An inveterate party-giver at his homes in Milwaukee and Palm Beach, Stolman is also the man who introduced me to Mater's Mess, a party dish that has subsequently garnered fans in my building. (It's really good.)

Stolman's latest book is full of reminiscences of parties the author has attended and recipes inspired by them. Written in a breezy, anecdotal style, the book is both a fun read and a go-to book for party recipes, which include Chicken Hash, Caviar Pie, and Potatoes Pauline.  Also included are recipes for such basic-but-delicious appetizers like Cheese Straws and Smoked Salmon Canapes, because as most avid hosts and hostesses know, guests love simple, delicious food.  And flowers, too, figure prominently in this book, with Stolman's tips on arrangements sprinkled throughout the book.

If you'd like to test drive one of Stolman's recipes before purchasing the book, I'm including one for Crab Canapé Lorenzo below.  Enjoy!

Crab Canapé Lorenzo
SERVES 4
4 slices white bread, toasted
1⁄4 cup melted butter, divided
1⁄2 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1⁄4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked and cleaned
Salt and white pepper
Cayenne pepper
1 cup Béchamel Sauce (page 109)
4 egg yolks
1⁄2 cup breadcrumbs (made from toast scraps)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8 anchovy fillets

1.Preheat broiler to high. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter, cut circles from the centers of the toasted
bread slices. Reserve the circles and grind the bread trimmings
in the food processor. Set aside.

2. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the
scallions and parsley and cook for 3 minutes until tender. Gently fold in the crabmeat and
continue cooking until heated through. Season to taste with salt, white pepper, and cayenne
pepper.

3. Fold in the béchamel sauce and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the mixture just begins to simmer.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg yolks, 1⁄4 cup of the breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon of
the Parmesan cheese. Continue to stir gently over low heat
for 1 minute. Remove the pan from
the heat and allow the mixture to rest for 2 minutes.

4. Place toast circles on a sheet pan. Divide the crab mixture into 4 equal portions and form into
balls. Place each of the balls on a toast circle and compress gently. Crisscross 2 anchovies across
the top of each canapé.

5. Mix the remaining 1⁄4 cup breadcrumbs and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and sprinkle the
canapé evenly with the mixture. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and place
under a broiler until golden brown.

Serve immediately.




Photographs by Capehart Photography from The Serial Entertainer’s Passion for Parties by Steven Stolman, reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith

Join Me

I hope you'll join me at two special design events this fall.

First up is AmericasMart Atlanta's inaugural Fall Design Week, which runs September 19-23.  At noon on Wednesday, September 21, I'll be participating in a panel discussion on Southern design and hospitality.  Joining me will be Lisa Mende, Paige Sumblin Schnell, Meredith Ellis, and Traci Zeller.  Moderating the discussion will be the editor-in-chief of Atlanta Magazine's HOME, Betsy Riley.  Following the event, a complimentary lunch will be served.  Please come!  For more information or to register for the event, please visit the AmericasMart website.

Then, in early October, I'm off to Lynchburg, Virginia for Design on Stage, a special event to raise money for the refurbishment of Lynchburg's historic Academy Center of the Arts.  To take place on Thursday, October 6th at 11:00 AM, the on-stage conversation will feature Atlanta designer Barbara Westbrook and Veranda's Editor-in-Chief, Clinton Smith.  Also included is a seated luncheon and a book-signing to follow.  The event is shaping up to be a highlight of the fall design calendar.  For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit Design on Stage.

What Libraries Are For

"What's the room with all the books for?"  If you read Peter Haldeman's recent New York Times article on his experience with using a home stager ("The Twilight Zone of Home Staging"), then you were likely horrified by this quote, which was uttered by the stager upon seeing the author's home library for the first time.  Honestly, if someone came into my home and asked such a dumb question, I wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.  I realize that people don't read like they once did, and I understand that, sadly, libraries are no longer symbols of aspiration like they were in the recent past.  But have our standards slipped so much that a home library is considered a detraction and not a luxury by many?

It seems to me that the Eighties was the last decade in which the library was lavished with attention, and two stellar examples from this decade are the libraries of Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard (today better remembered as the mother of Annette de la Renta)  and Carter Burden.  Both serious book collectors, Engelhard and Burden created not just some of the finest book collections in private hands, but two of the finest libraries to house them.

Converted from a former bedroom suite, Mrs. Engelhard's library was designed by architect Robert Raley and Parish-Hadley.  Perhaps reflecting the American focus of Mrs. Engelhard's collection of rare books and manuscripts, the library is efficiently designed and somewhat restrained in its furnishings.  The glass bookshelves were inspired by those at the Morgan Library, while the lighting was copied from that at Yale's Beinecke Library.  With its fireplace, round reading table, and leather-covered chairs, the library was, to quote Albert Hadley, "a little jewel of a room."

Burden's library, on the other hand, was more decoratively effusive, famously decorated by first Parish-Hadley and, later, the great Mark Hampton.  An obsessive collector of modern American literature, the late Burden said, "Books do not merely furnish my rooms, they engulf them."  (This was the man who also quipped, "You can never be too thin, too rich, or have too many books.")  But alongside those books were personal mementos, a flock of comfortable chairs, and layers of cosseting fabric, all of which must have encouraged hours upon hours of reading, reflecting, and relaxing, which is exactly what a room with all the books is for. 




The library of Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, decorated by Parish-Hadley:

Carter Burden's library, decorated by Parish-Hadley and Mark Hampton:

All photos from House & Garden, March 1987, Oberto Gili, photographer

That Was Entertaining

As you well know, vintage magazines are my one of my biggest indulgences.  Copies of House Beautiful from the 1930s?  Divine!  Late Sixties issues of House & Garden? So Age of Aquarius!  And Architectural Digest from the Seventies?  Fantastic!!  But the issues that, frankly, rather bore me are those from the 1950s and very early 1960s.  The design mood of that era was a little bland.  But what I do enjoy about magazines from those years are the entertaining features, because entertaining at home was serious business back then.

First, there were often suggested themes for sophisticated dinner parties and buffets.  A flambé supper?  Hmmm, maybe not, but I can get on board with a soup buffet supper or even an omelette party.  (Hiring a chef to make those omelettes would be a must.)

Also, all of the accoutrements of gracious entertaining were encouraged, not pooh-poohed.  Chafing dishes, coffee services, and casseroles were on full display in the magazine photos.  And while I realize these photos were staged, many people had- and actually used- these kinds of table accessories for their at-home entertaining.  Oh, and they dressed up for dinner, too.  How novel.

As much as I pore over these old entertaining photos and wax rhapsodic over elegantly-set buffet tables of yesteryear, the reality is that I'm not going to host an elaborate buffet supper anytime soon.  My excuses are lack of time, too much work, and a kitchen that is awaiting a renovation.  But it certainly doesn't hurt to fantasize about being a hostess par excellence. Who knows?  Maybe someday I just might host that omelette party.

Ralph Rucci at Home

It's been a while since I first reviewed Ralph Rucci: Autobiography of a Fashion Designer, and four years later, I still enjoy perusing it. An autobiography that is told through images of the fashion designer's home and office, the book is an intimate portrait of one man's interests and tastes, both of which reflect a life seemingly well-lived.

I thought it worthwhile to revisit the photographs of Rucci's Manhattan lair, which was decorated with the assistance of designer Susan Gutfreund. Dark and dramatic, the apartment is a jewel-box gleaming with mirror and lacquer, an elegant backdrop to the furniture, books, and, above all, objects that Rucci seems to have chosen with exactitude.  Meanwhile, Asian influences abound, which is to be expected considering Rucci named his fashion house for chado, the Japanese tea ceremony.  But perhaps what strikes me most about Rucci's home is that while it's very personal, personality was not allowed to run amok.  There is a sense of restraint that brings harmony to the home of a man who, like so many of us, has great interest in the art of the interior.

All photos from Ralph Rucci: Autobiography of a Fashion Designer; Baldomero Fernandez, photographer

Where to Spend a Saturday Night

There was a time in my life when weekends were spent going out, catching up with friends, and having too much fun.  Well, that time has come and gone, because as much as I still enjoy being out and about, I love nothing more than spending a quiet Friday or Saturday night at home.  But the more time I spend at home, the more I understand how important it is for one's home to be inviting, comfortable, and, above all, cozy.  Because if you're going to spend a Saturday night at home, you want your home to give you a warm embrace and not the cold shoulder.

One home that must have been supremely cozy on a Saturday night (or any night, for that matter) was the Mayfair apartment of the late decorator, Geoffrey Bennison.  Seen here in photos from the April 1987 issue of House & Garden, the apartment was filled with all kinds of interesting furnishings, which was hardly surprising for a man who began his career as an antiques dealer.  But look beyond the pictures and objects, and you'll see the pieces that really contributed to the home's cozy atmosphere: comfy upholstered sofas and chairs, generous curtains that kept the hustle and bustle at bay, glowing lamp light, loads of books, and a most impressive canopy bed.  If that were my bed, I would have a difficult time getting out of it in the mornings.

Now tell me, wouldn't you rather spend a Saturday night at home in digs like these rather than the enduring the agony of a hip and trendy restaurant?  I know that I certainly would.

All photos from House & Garden, April 1987, Christopher Simon Sykes photographer