Jet Set with No. 9 Thompson

Speaking of travel...when I was growing up, my mother always made sure that I had a nice suitcase and garment bag as well as a cosmetic bag, jewelry roll, and dopp kit that matched. (She also drilled it into me to never wear white shoes, but that's a topic for another day.) So, with Mother's advice ringing in my ears, I'm on the hunt for new travel accessories. I love the new No. 9 Thompson collection of travel bags that are available on the Seventh Floor at Bergdorf's. The bags, cosmetic cases, and jewelry rolls all come in No. 9 Thompson's Chana print fabric or in one of their colorful silks. (No. 9 Thompson is, by the way, part of Jim Thompson fabrics.) And, the price is nice, ranging from $50-$125.

So, where will you be taking your No. 9 Thompson travel gear this summer?

















All images courtesy of No. 9 Thompson/Jim Thompson.

A Lesson in Style from Ann Bonfoey Taylor

By now, you have probably read at least a few articles on the late, great Ann Bonfoey Taylor. (In fact, Charlotte Moss wrote an interesting article about her in the WSJ a few weeks back.) Just in case you've missed any of the coverage, I'll brief you quickly on Taylor. She was a Denver grande dame, a champion skier, an athlete, a ski wear designer in the 1940s, an aviator, and one of America's most stylish women. In fact, her family recently gave Taylor's impressive collection of couture and ready to wear to the Phoenix Art Museum, where much of the collection was recently exhibited.




I just finished reading the exhibit's accompanying book Fashion Independent: The Original Style of Ann Bonfoey Taylor, and I urge you to read it too if you get the chance. This woman was utterly fascinating. Oh, and fearless too. Fearless when it came to skiing (she was known as "Nose Dive Annie" for much of her adult life), and fearless when it came to fashion. Only a confident woman can wear a Scottish sporrans and a Civil War soldier's hat while skiing- and pull it off with aplomb. Actually, I think it takes more than confidence to wear an ensemble like this. And her shooting clothes? Some of the chicest outfits that I have ever seen. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you might have read my breathless exclamation that her Hermès sporting outfits made me want to get SPORTY! Trust me, that is saying a lot.





But I don't really want to focus on her clothes in this post. Rather, let's take a look at both her Denver and Vail homes. Her houses were obviously well-appointed and just what one would expect from one of America's most fashionable women. The rooms are proper and formal, but more importantly they look quite comfortable. That takes flair, you know, to achieve just the right balance between high style and comfort. And flair was something that Ann Bonfoey Taylor had in spades.

I love this twilight shot of the Taylors' Denver home circa 1967.



Taylor lounging in ski wear in her Vail home.




I told you she was into all kinds of sporting endeavors.




Don't you admire that marbled paper on the walls?




Taylor's collection included stunning evening gowns.




A detail shot with a Ginori "Fiesole" cachepot.




The table set with charming lily of the valley napkins and mats.




Her potting room filled with flowers, including carnations. I feel vindicated seeing the number of carnations that Taylor used around her home.





Taylor also had a yen for military jackets and uniforms. Doesn't that tea look delicious?




A 1967 photograph of Taylor wearing a silk satin Madame Grès gown with chinchilla cuffs. She is standing in the hallway of her Denver home.








These two images were actually taken at photographer Toni Frissell's home in Long Island. I couldn't resist including them because of the pretty Porthault cloth, the lettuceware salad plate, the ceramic lemon used to serve sorbet (so terrific!), and of course Taylor's safari outfit.




I can't improve upon the caption that accompanied this 1965 photograph of Taylor that ran in the New York Herald Tribune: "Wearing a little gray Balenciaga suit and quite marvelous eyelashes she is eating a quick breakfast in her suite at the Carlyle. Since she is lighting there only temporarily- she just flew in from Paris the night before- there are eleven pieces of elegant, Vuitton luggage in the background, Vuitton is so sturdy and it was wonderful in Uganda last summer, she says." Does it get any better than that? Not a chance.


All images from Fashion Independent: The Original Style of Ann Bonfoey Taylor.

Shopping at Stone Road Vintage

If you spend your summers in the Hamptons, lucky you. And it looks like your luck just improved because now you get the chance to shop at Stone Road Vintage's recently opened space at Flowers & Company Antiques Center in Southampton. Stone Road Vintage is the vintage furniture and accessories collection that has been curated by owners Tom Dolby and Drew Frist. (You might remember their Hamptons home that was featured in Lonny a while back.) Stone Road Vintage had a really successful tastemaker tag sale last year on One Kings Lane, and that success spurred Tom and Drew on to open a retail shop selling pieces that they like to call "preppy beach meets exotic bohemian." You'll find mid-century ceramics, nautical themed accessories, Chinoiserie, Assouline books, and Sunbrella pillows from Les Toiles du Soleil. Sounds like just the right mix for your Hamptons home or any other home for that matter.

Stone Road Vintage's address is Flowers & Company Antiques Center, space #2, 245 County Road 39, Southampton, New York. For more information, call 646-470-7623 or visit their website.



On 1960s Italian gilt rope and tassel bar cart: vintage brass cat and mouse tic-tac-toe game; silver dolphin bottle opener; ceramic coasters from the Dragon Club of Miami, 1960; A Privileged Life by Susanna Salk.




In this shot, selections include a pair of mid-century exotic Moroccan-inspired brass lamps; a plaster and terra cotta female bust, dated 1959, from a Hudson Valley estate; a pair of turned wood mid-century stools; and a 1930s still life of a globe.




Other selections include a pair of 1940s gazelle antlers found in Sag Harbor, NY; a pair of mid-century Swedish abstracts; a Colorado taxidermy form mounted on a base; and a 1960s faux bamboo iron screen. The fabric on the vintage industrial camp stools (lower right) complements the more contemporary French designs of the Toiles Du Soleil pillows on offer.




On industrial metal and marble console: mid-century Southern California study of male nude with staff, oil on canvas; 1940s female portrait, oil on board; La Mamounia by Laure Verchere; brass horse head paperweight; bronze "bird vase" with verdigris; 1970s green enamel and brass box; 1940s art nouveau-style letter holder; 1930s French dog show medals; large antique magnifying glass; vintage geode bookends; 1970s ceramic faux bamboo lamp; silver turtle ashtray box.


Image at top: Stone Road Vintage's new space at the Flowers & Company Antiques Center in Southampton, NY. In foreground: vintage Italian plaster whippet statue; 1950s French iron beach chairs, with striped Toiles Du Soleil pillows, "Tom Multicolore" pattern; 1940s boat anchor found on the North Fork of Long Island; iron industrial ice tong, chain, and wheel table with glass top.

A Terrific Threesome

I wasn't planning to post today, but was most inspired to do so after learning two things:

1) Ann Getty and Thomas Britt are each having a Tastemaker Tag Sale tomorrow (Saturday) on One Kings Lane. Now this is really huge news. Seeing that these two design legends are each blessed with an enviable abundance of style and talent, I just know that their sales will be chock full of interesting pieces and tidbits. Because after all, who doesn't want a little Getty and Britt magic in their own homes?

2) And speaking of homes, remember Alexis Swanson Traina's fabulous San Francisco home that Ann Getty designed with the help of Thomas Britt? (That's a photo of the Traina's conservatory at top. Seriously one of the best interiors that I've seen in a while.) Well, Alexis has a really great blog called Napa for the Curious & Eccentric that covers all kinds of interesting topics like wine (Alexis and her father are vintners and proprietors of Swanson Vineyards in Napa Valley), travel, Napa, food, and...Ann Getty and Tom Britt. Alexis has written some really interesting blog posts about her life-long relationships with both designers. She has also included some terrific photos of her own home, her sister's West Village loft, and some vintage photos of her parents' Britt-decorated Florida home from 1971. I'll warn you- you're going to want to spend a lot of time reading her blog!



Image at top by Francois Halard, Vogue, December 2009.

Imitation of a Skirt

You're going to have to bear with me on this post because it's about as scattered as I have been this week. Anyway, I finally got the chance to read the book Balenciaga and Spain the other night, and I found the photo above of Pauline de Rothschild in her glorious Balenciaga black lace and brown organza coat. Her pants peeping out from beneath the coat reminded me of those skirt and pants combos that women seemed to wear often in 1950s movies. More specifically, it made me think of Lana Turner in Imitation of Life:




I have no earthly idea what you call this outfit, though I'm sure that many of you do. (If so, please shed some light!) I suppose that it's some type of hostess gown or day dress with pants? Whatever it is, I think it's really pretty fabulous. In fact, Chanel had one of these hybrid dresses in their collection about five or six years ago, if I recall correctly.

Are you familiar with Imitation of Life? There was the original 1934 version that starred Claudette Colbert as a successful businesswoman who makes a fortune on her maid Delilah's pancake recipe. Seriously. But the 1959 version with Lana Turner reads more like a soap opera: a driven woman (Lana Turner) stops at nothing to become a successful and wealthy Broadway actress, while her daughter (played as a teenager by Sandra Dee) feels neglected, despite the fact that she has been lovingly raised by Lana's housekeeper (Juanita Moore), who in turn is having problems with her own daughter who rebels by running off and working in a raunchy nightclub. And did I mention that the movie ends with the mother of all funerals, one in which Mahalia Jackson sings the stirring spiritual "Trouble of the World"? That scene with Mahalia always brings a tear to my eye.

So now that you have a synopsis of the film, let's take a look at Lana's suburban house in Imitation of Life. As you can see, it's a little bit of a mish-mash...just like the skirt/pant combo.



Another shot of Lana in her day outfit.




The living room with a stone fireplace and rolling hills beyond the window.




My favorite part of the house is the bar with the padded leather front and those barstools. And how about that niche of glassware?




The dining room table is set for an after-theater party.




And the dining table set for a simple dinner. This is the way that I wished that I dined. But you know, my silver serving pieces just don't see the light of day for those everyday kind of dinners.




Is it wrong to like this chair's trim?




Another shot of the bar, this time with Sandra Dee serving up John Gavin a highball. She informs him that he only gets one highball before lunch. Well, alrighty then. I will say, though, that I'm not so sure about that clown painting to the right.




I suppose that John Gavin's glasses add a note of seriousness to that gargantuan leather ottoman.




Lana's bedroom. Better than the bedroom, though, is that fur trimmed pink velvet robe. I really would wear that if I could find something similar to it.




And because I couldn't resist: Lana in a fabulous mocha-colored turban with an attached scarf that is pinned to her day dress with a diamond brooch. This was worn for her daughter's graduation. If only one of the mothers had dressed like this for my high-school graduation!

Fred Hayman & Bijan - A Blast from the Past

I am anxiously awaiting the release of the new Fred Hayman biography Fred Hayman The Extraordinary Difference. You might recall that Hayman was the impresario behind both the famous Rodeo Drive boutique Giorgio Beverly Hills as well as the infamous fragrance of the same name. Even if you never stepped foot in Hayman's store (and unfortunately, I never did), you have to be familiar with the perfume. There was a time there in the 1980s that Giorgio perfume was all anyone talked about. I remember that the fragrance was heavy. As heavy as those big earrings that Felicia Gallant used to wear. In fact, weren't there establishments which posted signs asking patrons not to wear Giorgio? I guess you either loved it or hated it. Of course, I was too young at the time to wear anything as mature as Giorgio (I believe that I had to settle on Anais Anais), so I don't know which camp I would have fallen in.

Thinking of Fred Hayman and Giorgio made me think of Bijan and his fragrance:



Bijan was omnipresent in his ads that were strewn throughout Vogue and Bazaar. He was always laughing (laughing all the way to bank?) while the doughnut shaped flaçon was usually prominently displayed. Like Hayman, Bijan was very much part of the Rodeo Drive scene of the 1980s and 90s. (He was also famous for his menswear.) What I didn't know until over the weekend is that poor Bijan passed away back in April. While visiting his website, I found photos of his home that give us a glimpse into Bijan's lifestyle. But the best part just might be the website's photos and video of the Bijan Edition Rolls-Royce Phantoms that were part of a recent collaboration between the late designer and the luxury automaker. A throwback to the 1980s? Perhaps. But you've got to admit, Bijan certainly knew how market himself- and this was long before the days of Twitter and Facebook!



The late Bijan at his front door. Love his Bijan dinner jacket and velvet slippers.




Bijan's stairwell. Are those framed Bijan ads? Well, really, why not.



Bijan's living room with more framed ads or photographs.



Another living room.




Bijan in his study.




The dining room.




His kitchen.




I suppose this is Bijan's bedroom?




And his bath?



A shot of his garden.





Bijan's cars including a Rolls-Royce in Bijan's signature shade of yellow that may or may not be a Bijan edition. I can't tell.

All Bijan photos courtesy of his website.