Can anyone think otherwise? In 1952 Harper’s Bazaar’s Carmel Snow understood immediately that twenty-something couturier Hubert de Givenchy was on to something. Then as now, the world was restlessly transforming, reconsidering values and how it wished to live. Givenchy, the enfant terrible of couture ( so anointed by Snow), created clothes for his generation, elevating simplicity and ease where others offered decorous elegance. Here, a supple gown constructed without boning, padding, or a restrictive fit that lent itself to movement. Clear joyous color was the legacy of his family of artists. Snow continued that his collection that year sparkled with ideas and touches of chic. Photo by Mark Shaw. 1955.......#givenchy #hautecouture #markshaw #carmelsnow #harpersbazaar #frenchstyle #modernelegance #casualstyle #throwawaychic #chic #1950sfashion #1950sstyle #hubertdegivenchy
Who isn’t captivated by a bow, at once understated and undeniably feminine? Givenchy, master of modern elegance in the 1950s, often tied a bow at the waist as his sole nod to ornamentation. This waist detail (and ideally on a lithe one! )became his signature, just as much as casual separates, kerchiefs, and throw-away chic. Dress, 1957.....#givenchy #modernelegance #casualstyle #charmofthebow #bow #bows #bowaddict #throwawaychic #chic #1950sfashion #1950sstyle
Henry James wrote of Edith Wharton ( and perhaps of some of us?) that one did not know her until one saw her homes. So to draw us to Wharton’s aura: her rose terrace in June at Pavillion Colombe, two photos of Colombe’s facade (2 and 3), and an interior (4) . Her house, an 18th-century “folie” designed by Belanger, the architect of the Bagatelle in Paris became the writer’s civilized summer retreat after World War I when she definitively left America. .... thank you to @adaesthete and @lluriafinearts for pointers to more Wharton/ Villa Colombe photos after yesterday’s post...#edithwharton #pavilloncolombe #roses #folies #juneroses #jeromezerbe #cyrilconnolly #lespavillons #ladecoration #connaissancedesarts @connaissancedesarts
Bucolic New York. Wandering in my own city................. #newyorknewyork #saintjohnthedivine #morningsidepark #morningsideheights #countryinthecity
Fairytale dressing in famed houses. Dior’s ´Palmyre ´gown (Profilée line, Fall Winter 1952) captured inside Edith Wharton’s Pavillon Colombe (by that time the property of the Duc de Talleyrand. ) So exciting to get a glimpse of this legendary house. Arguably eclipsed by the jeweled embroidery of the gown. Dior’s reverence for the heritage of skilled dressmaking trades in Paris resulted in a spectacularly ornamented gowns in nearly every collection. Frances McLaughlin for Vogue, November 15, 1952. #dior #edithwharton #embroidery #embroideryart #vogue #hautecouture
Transported...but oh so fleeting. .....#lilacs #chinesewallpaper #tapestry @gracie #tempusfugit
Channeling Louise de Vilmorin with the best mask of all—Verrières bleu fabric (goes with everything!) , beautifully crafted and graciously given by the brilliant @pgayetapp author of #howtheydecorated. Merci! ☘️ ........#Louisedevilmorin #documentfabric #verrieres #lemanach @lamaisonpierrefrey #pierrefrey #rizzoli @rizzolibooks #maskstyle #pandemicstyle #covidchic #hippocampus #redleather #madamede #faloticostudios
How can we resist the art of @evekaplan who transforms that 18th century object of desire, Chinese mounted porcelain, into cosmopolitan cool as no other? For years I have coveted her work, which deftly marries East and West, craft and chic into a vision all her own. Commissioned before coronavirus, my vase happily arrived in the middle of lockdown! While I wait for the world to reopen, musing on this vase with its textures, gradations of color, inspirations and references transports me to distant and wonderful worlds. Thank you Eve, @geraldblandinc @georgianabl ......(photo 2 shows a 17th c Chinese porcelain mounted with 18th c French gilt bronzes at the @gettymuseum) ....#mountedporcelain #giltbronze #bronzedoré #turquoise #bleucéleste #evekaplan #shelteringinplace #gettymuseum
Was the world really my oyster? One thing I learned in digging through old files for you @medora2014 (and @pgayetapp @quintessence) is that the pre-iPhone era did not lend itself to much photo documentation! In my twenties I was definitely searching; I had just finished several years at Vogue and a brief stint in book publishing. I hadn’t yet found my stride and had no idea the world was my oyster. But I was inquisitive and curious where life might take me and went off to graduate school. Thong had just entered the picture. But where did that YSL blouse go? . ............#voguemagazine #ysl #perryellis #soniarykiel #mrwonderful #twentysomething
Divine blue skies this morning but the chill of winter. Will the Central Park tennis courts open this season?........#centralpark #newyorkcovid19 #eldorado #emeryroth #tennisanyone
May 1 arrivals: lily of the valley and weekend reading. Covent Garden Book Number Two 1947-1948 season...every page is bliss. Oh yes—And at 8 tonight Ballo della Regina on NYCBallet.com .........................#sadlerswells #newyorkcityballet #nycballet. #meganfairchild #wendywhelan #royaloperahousecoventgarden #coventgarden #frederickashton #léonidemassine #cecilbeaton #margotfonteyn #abebooks
Cecil Beaton said of an early paramour (Adele Astaire to be precise): “We have nothing in common. She frankly doesn’t like flowers.” (Can we fathom such a being? ) Thank you dear @hugovickers so many times over for elucidating Beaton so insightfully in your biography. This photo was taken in the garden of Bowood, Wiltshire before we met for dinner . ....#cecilbeaton #hugovickers #bowood #englishrose #roses #englishsummer
Who isn’t feeling life has become both more intimate and more vast in these past weeks ? The world as I see it from my window this evening, as I sit virtual vigil over someone who was very dear to me as a child, thinking of the particular and the universal..... #meditation #connection #humanconnections #vigil
What will we do without flowers? Kenya has to destroy roses, South American flowers wilt in warehouses—flowers are becoming rare indeed. I follow EVERY relevant instruction in Charles Masson’s The Flowers of La Grenouille, my bible for cut flowers.(Swipe to see this beautiful, inspiring, useful little tome.) , trim stems and clean vases daily in hopes of prolonging these lilies from the neighborhood bodega. Missing very much @alexanderflorals where I stop at least twice a week for flowers. Be well and appreciate what we have. Xx. .....PS the sculpture is by Julia Kunin......#lilies #flowers #charlesmasson #flowersoflagrenouille #lifeincolor #flowersareessential #flowertherapy #tapestry #juliakunin
Is a tiny waist the ultimate luxury? Or a stranglehold by fashion? Here, a waist cinched by a leather belt—the accessory described by fashion soothsayer Genevieve Antoine Darriaux as the gendarme of a women’s waistline. Photo by Richard Rutledge, master of the fashion photograph as graphic design, for Vogue October 1951.
Do bows make the heart soar? I , for one, consider them essential. After all, according to Christian Dior ( who else?) they are the most fundamental of ornaments because tying material is the most natural way of closing a garment . Photographed here by Clifford Coffin —the photographer who never saw a bow he didn’t like—for Glamour July 1951.
Everyone in our household has taken every precaution to stem coronavirus. ..................#socialdistancing #mask #socialdistancingwithstyle #corneliusvancleve #caffieri #fightcoronavirus💪 #vintagehermes
A great example of social distancing with style. Clifford Coffin shows the way, Vogue June 1949. But how adapt when we shelter in place? ....#cliffordcoffin #beachstyle #fashionphotography #vogue #socialdistancing ##swimcap #blueskies
Shall we continue to believe in the gift at the end of the rainbow? Let’s look to the Irish today and the wearing of the green. Frances McLaughlin-Gill, the first woman photographer to have a contract with Vogue, had this set custom built (those were the days!)!for a shoot for Glamour. Who can identify Jean Patchett in this lineup? .....#luckoftheirish #green #vogue #francesmclaughlingill #jeanpatchett #glamour #fashionphotography #wearingofthegreen #saintpatricksday. #waistgoals
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