little augury

take a Seat

2012-02-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

"There is a conception about luxurious things, that we have to save them for a time that's right.

But an object is only luxurious if you allow it to be,

if you use it."- Ralph Rucci

chair from the collection of Nelia Barletta de Cates

less is MORE

2012-02-26T23:50:00.000-05:00

Yes-best dressed. She's wearing Tom Ford.

in honour of OSCAR: David Garrick Celebrity

2012-02-26T00:58:00.001-05:00

The Rare Bird of Fashion & 1 of her flock

2012-02-23T15:27:00.000-05:00

I love Iris Afpel's style- She is a Rare Bird of Fashion

top left-Iris Arpel, from the book by Eric Boman Rare Bird of Fashion, The Irreverent Iris Apfel . top right Wedding kaftan, Fez, 20th century from Une Passion Marocaine (A Moroccan Passion) image- Connaissance des Arts & muguet de Paris . Me wearing my own Moroccan wedding kaftan, Holiday 2011. No-I did not get married, and only wear it occasionally-it's very heavy.

Read about IRIS, As if you haven't already-

Iris Apfel at Architectural Digest here

an interview with Iris Barrel Apfel here

scenes from Rare Bird here

5 Big FISH

2012-02-22T15:49:00.002-05:00

these Greats born February 22, know them all?

& the 2 women have my greatest admiration-I might add.

Thakoon weaves :the Art of Cane

2012-02-21T01:26:00.000-05:00

the latest to use the intricacies of Cane? the designer Thakoon Panichgul when wondering- "How do we make the back of the coat a little sexier?”
who knew Caning was Sexy?
Sexy in the form of the age old technique of Caning- this time in leather.
On second thought-
well yes, Caning. It does reveal & conceal- that is Sexy.
Bringing an Art such as Caning to Fashion is what makes Thakoon such a great designer & what makes Fashion an Inspiration.

T magazine shares the Thakoon Story here

We sleep,
but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning. Henry Ward Beecher

these caned chairs from the renowned design firm of Jansen are available at 1st dibs-

this Thonet Chaise-

or this Marcel Breuer Cesca Chair

all use Cane in their Design.
It can be MODERN, INDUSTRIAL- HISTORIC- revealing & concealing...
& Now Add- SEXY.
thank you, Thakoon.

& I shoud say- ELEGANT.
thank you-THAKOON.

The intricacy of weaving inspired Charlotte Moss' Nantucket enamel collection for Halcyon Days-
Cane Elegance.

Cane takes a turn on curtains-Trimmings made in France for Robert Allen.

The patterns of the parquet in the prettiest apartment imaginable resemble the layered effect of Caning.

the flickering of light from a favorite candle- woven metal that creates the patterns of Caning...

Slatkin candles has woven a silver ring this Spring around their fresh candles-I've ordered multiples to go with their candles- Spring & Lilac Blossom

I love these bronze woven rings made in France that were a gift that also encase Slatkin candles.

the beauty of Weaving inspires us All-
Jennifer Boles of The Peak of Chic writes for House Beautiful and extols the virtues of Cane here
Cane inspired from Duchess Fare here
Candy Pratts Price-of Vogue, with accessories inspired by Cane here

Thakoon Panichgul has taken Caning to new levels-weaving his own Fashion magic.

& a FOOTNOTE from rosegold here

3 EDITHS

2012-02-20T11:51:00.003-05:00

“We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?”

Born Edith Newbold Jones, January 24, 1862, one of my favorite novelist's Three Novels of New York: The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence is being released by PENGUIN on the 29th of the month.

The House of Mirth was published in 1905- The Custom of the Country in 1913 & in 1920 The Age of Innocence won the Pulitzer Prize.

Lily Bart inhabited The House of Mirth- “Lily had no real intimacy with nature but she had a passion for the appropriate and could be keenly sensitive to a scene which was the fitting background of her own sensations.”

While Undine Spragg navigates The Custom of the Country- “Her black brows, her reddish-tawny hair and the pure red and white of her complexion defied the searching decomposing radiance:she might have been some fabled creature whose home was in a beam of light.”

Ellen Olenska is ostracized by The Age of Innocence. “I shan't be lonely now. I was lonely; I was afraid. But the emptiness and the darkness are gone; when I turn back into myself now I'm like a child going at night into a room where there's always a light.”

I've collected some of the Penguin's Classic Deluxe Editions of my favorite novels with special illustrations-the Wharton edition celebrating her 150th Anniversary year birthday is illustrated by Richard Gray, here.

all illustrations above are from Richard Gray.

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FINALLY

2012-02-19T21:19:00.002-05:00

OLGA IN THE SNOW BY BARON DE MEYER

What They Wore: a Lady & a TWAIN

2012-02-18T10:33:00.000-05:00

The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but of course, society demands more than this. Mark Twain

Woman Pulling a Curtain- Jean-Baptiste Santerre

Lillian Bassman- Requiescat in pace

2012-02-16T23:15:00.002-05:00

Lillian Bassman June 15, 1917 – February 13, 2012

“I was interested in developing a method of printing on my own, even before I took photographs...

I wanted everything soft edges and cropped "

Bassman said she wanted to "create a new kind of vision aside from what the camera saw.”

(B&W magazine in 1994) 

Bassman photograph from La Lettre de Photographie

© Lillian Bassman / Courtesy of Staley Wise Gallery

Lillian Bassman-fashion photographer died on Monday at her home in Manhattan. She was 94. See her work at the New York Times here
& read her obituary at the Times here
& more of her work at La Lettre de Photographie here

books of her work Lillian Bassman , Lillian Bassman: Women. A new book, Lillian Bassman: Lingerie, will be published by Abrams- April 1.

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EDIE's Pre-ferredFUR

2012-02-15T13:31:00.002-05:00

“Ah! I think every woman should have a fur coat, Only now she should wear it on her head!"

when asked of Her preference for FUR-

She replied- I prefer IT on Her...

I don't wear Fur,

No.

The thought of IT sends Me a Stir.

While Others bask in the glow of IT.

I find I'm in angst

in Woe of IT.

The Bunny,

the Monk-ey,

the Sable-

Whatever your choice-

IT is Fatal.

I prefer a straw hat-

I wear only the Stuff of Mongolian Fluff-

the Darlings still "baa" & graze in the buff.

While Others make WAR

& wear Dead Little Beasties-

I will make PEACE

with FUR-

Sacrificial Lambs for Hair- Only.

I declare, darling Edie,

will never wear Fur Malevolently.

EDIE had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that EDIE went,
the lamb was sure to go.

"Why does the lamb love EDIE so?"
Love EDIE so? Love EDIE so?
"Why does the lamb love EDIE so,"
the eager children cry.

"Why, EDIE loves the lamb, you know."
The lamb, you know, the lamb, you know,
"Why, EDIE loves the lamb, you know,"

1st quote from MARC JACOBS, remarking on his Fall 2012 Collection

image 2 Bert Stern photograph,Elsa Martinelli The Gala Head Vogue 1962

image 3 Milton Gendel photograph of Andre Leon Talley & Lord Snowdon in Fendi furs,Ruspoli Palace, 1987

image 4 Marlène Dietrich in Shawl in Monkey Hat by Reboux sketched by Eric Carl Erickson

image 5 Edie Sedgewick in a black straw hat and Mongolian fur in Ciao! Manhattan, image 6 EDIE

Dorothy Parker's Language of Love

2012-02-14T11:04:00.002-05:00

Whose Love is given over-well

Will look on Helen's face in Hell;

While they whose love is thin and wise

May view John Knox in Paradise.

Dorothy Parker- Life, 24 February 1927

Nikolai Ivanovich Argunov, Cupid

a thing for Green

2012-02-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

& jade
& emeralds

emerald stole -by Sergueï Ivanoff -worn by- a Lady in Green

Dressing Room by Studio Peregalli, Naples

bed hangings by Emilio Pucci’s -in his 17th century Villa

emerald drop earrings- by Fred Leighton-worn by Julianne-Moore

Or a sumptuous room full of GIVENCHY GREEN

the most beautiful green, there's no doubt.

green sash by Boldini-worn by Lina Bilitis

Sometimes it's as simple as a pair of lampshades in emerald green- in Givenchy's Green Room-

Or-
in Valentina's bedroom- an Alchemy of Green-Her own special blend.

YVES GREEN-

Even Better

earrings by Lorraine Schwartz in heavenly Jade worn by Julianna Margulies

green ribbon by Thomas Sully worn by Mrs. George Lingen

Salon by Studio Peregalli, Naples

green vest by Thomas Sully worn by Elizabeth Wharton - Room by Robert Couturier

What They Wore: a Comedian & a Courtier

2012-02-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

I base most my fashion sense of what doesn't itch. Gilda Radner

Portrait of Phillippe de Courcillon, 1702 by Rigaud.

What they wore: the playwright & the painter

2012-02-10T10:43:00.001-05:00

."A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic" George Bernard Shaw

Giandomenico Tiepolo's the Promenade, & the Minuet

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Deshabillé: Balenciaga

2012-02-09T00:38:00.000-05:00

BALENCIAGA
Deshabillé
1949.

casual or lounging attire

French déshabillé, from past participle of déshabiller, to undress : des-, dis- + habiller, to clothe; see habiliment

detail of The Halt during the Chase by Watteau

Henri Sauguet Chez Balenciaga, Deshabillé.

1959.

French composer Henri Sauguet designed this loose opera coat for Balenciaga in 1959- though my mother did not attend the opera that year-it was the year I was born- She could sing like a nightingale and might have easily sung this Creole Lullaby by Sauguet-

more likely it was this Lullaby-

still it was Brahms-

Lullaby and good night, with roses bedight
With lilies o'er spread is baby's wee bed
Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed
Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed

The Cousins by Watteau

Jacqueline Kennedy said of Mrs. David Bruce-Evangeline- "the bright path you cut through an age where so few people have grace and imagination and the virtues of another time."

Mrs David Bruce,
Deshabillé

Balenciaga 1957.

Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to Evangeline Bruce saying- "the bright path you cut through an age where so few people have grace and imagination and the virtues of another time." She was the extraordinary silent ambassador in her husband's diplomatic career that led them to France, Germany, Britain and China.

Interiors according to Evangeline-by way of John Fowler.

John Fowler decorated the London apartment in for the Bruces after a Louis XVI Parisian model.

image from Architectural Digest here

detail of L'enseigne de Gersaint by Watteau

Deshabillé

Mona von Bismarck in Balenciaga from 1955,

photographed by Cecil Beaton

Hotel Lambert.

Known as the Kentucky Countess, Mona von Bismarck was born to a family of horse breeders in the state. Her second husband-Harrison Williams installed her in a New York Delano & Aldrich mansion decorated by Syrie Maugham & she was well on her way. Cole Porter wondered "What do I care if Mrs. Harrison Williams is the best dressed woman in town?" Cecil Beaton dubbed her “a rock crystal goddess." Diana Vreeland claimed at the close of Balenciaga in 1968 that the Countess locked herself in her bedroom at Il Fortino for days.

Today Nicolas Ghesquière designs under the Balenciaga label.

read my posts on Balenciaga posts here

read at home with Evangeline Bruce here

Soane on Fabrics

2012-02-08T00:04:00.000-05:00

SOANE founder LULU LYTIE has developed the company's first fabric collection with the look of documents and lost & found scraps from ancient textile pieces. A number of the fabrics in the SOANE collection are hand-printed or woven in the UK.

The Damascus Stripe comes vibrantly to life in Soane's styling (above). I love the very pink walls & the textile lamp shade & textile fragment hanging on the wall-all set on a larger looking version of the fabric- a stripe rug.

Damascus Stripe is a silk based on a 19th Century Syrian original

The Leon de Smet painting- Little Girl at the Table inspired-

A PATCHWORK OF SOANE'S COLLECTION

Symi

This Soane piece Symi -a handprinted linen,could have been plucked right out of the Avedon photograph-

My favorite from the SOANE Collection- PAW PRINT

Paw Print is inspired by an African print from the 1940's or 1950's.

Ottoman Scribe -another Soane hand printed linen

Panel from kaftan

Ottoman Scribe was inspired by a photograph in LULU LYTIE's book of antique photographs from North Africa

in a recent Vogue- Lulu Lytle said "I wanted the fabrics to feel as if they were the continuation of an antique fragment I might stumble across in a souk or bazaar" -

 What do you sell O ye merchants ?

Richly your wares are displayed.

Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirrors with panels of amber,
Daggers with handles of jade.

What do you make,O ye goldsmiths?

Wristlet and anklet and ring,

Bells for the feet of blue pigeons

Frail as a dragon-fly’s wing,

Girdles of gold for dancers,

Scabbards of gold for the king.

What do you weave, O ye flower-girls

With tassels of azure and red?

Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom,

Chaplets to garland his bed.

Sheets of white blossoms new-garnered

To perfume the sleep of the dead

from in the Bazaars of Hyderabad-Sarojini Naidu                                                                    

SOANE images are linked throughout this post-as is their website-

buying a Modigliani

2012-02-06T00:52:00.000-05:00

When Bonham's offers its auction of Impressionistic and Modern Art in February- I'll bask in the knowledge that I have a Modigliani's of my own-
Sort of.

This one can be yours on 7 February-

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920),

Jeune fille avec des cheveux noirs

Estimate: £700,000 - 1,000,000

Jeune fille avec des cheveux noirs will be auctioned on February 7th this year at Bonham's 101 New Bond Street in London.

image above from Bonham's

Mine-

Jean Louis Morelle's Tribute to Modigliani, in Yves Saint-Laurent 1983

Sévigné: a historian is Born

2012-02-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

"When I step into this library, I cannot understand why I ever step out of it."

Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sevigne

born today February 5th 1626

read her letters-here

1500 books

2012-02-04T12:35:00.000-05:00

I couldn't live a week without a private library - indeed,

I'd part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor before I'd let go of the 1500 or so books I possess. -H. P. Lovecraft

the Library at Chatsworth

Babe Paley: style, grace, gesture

2012-02-02T22:40:00.001-05:00

BABE PALEY by AVEDON

Zac Posen's Pre Fall Collection-BABE CHIC style

the Rooms-the Houses

the Grace- the Gesture

inspired by CHANEL

2012-02-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

though many ideas ebb & flow in my design aesthetic-
I'll always have CHANEL.
The style of the original CHANEL-Gabrielle has always greatly attracted Me. I know it is the juxtaposition. The hard edge-and the soft.

The Feminine

Chanel designed evening gown from 1940, Photographed by Horst

The Masculine

CHANEL-the original & My last CHANEL Incarnation at right-the Sitting Room in one of my houses

So-when I started thinking about personal stationery from William Arthur-I thought CHANEL. See how I did-at the William Arthur blog here.
Let Me know what you think-

what are you reading Now?

2012-01-31T11:43:00.000-05:00

Most of what makes a book 'good' is that we are reading it at the right moment for us. Alain de Botton

portrait of the Grand Duchess Cathrine Alexeevna, as a young bride, around 1745.

I just finished Robert Massie's book Catherine the Great- Here is a passage that I marked,

Catherine refused to leave her room "until I felt strong enough to overcome my depression" (Catherine's words) She remained the entire winter of 1754-55 in this narrow, little room with its ill fitting windows through which freezing drafts blew...To shield herself and to make life bearable, she turned again to books. That winter she read the Annals of Tacitus, Montesquieu's L'Esprit des Lois(The Spirit of Laws), & Voltaire's Essai sur less Moeurs et l'Esprit des Nations(Essay on the Manners and Spirit of Nations). The work of Tacitus, she said, caused a singular revolution in my brain to which, perhaps the melancholy cast of my thoughts at this time contributed. I began to take a gloomier view of things and to look for deeper and more basic causes that really underlay and shaped the different events around me."

Reprise: GUINNESS again

2012-01-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

Delores Guinness-Mrs Lowell Guinness in her mother's Georges Geoffrey decorated apartment-Gloria Guinness portrait at far right.

Robe du soir en organza de soie de BALENCIAGA, Perles et diamants de CARTIER.

Philippe Halsman photograph

Revisiting the Splendor of Guinness.

here at little augury last summer-

image from a previous little augury post here

Moving Pictures: Written On The Wind

2012-01-29T00:15:00.000-05:00

"But you don't have to take my word for anything. Just try keeping your head clear and your eyes open."

Film critic Roger Ebert, said of Written on the Wind, "To appreciate a film like Written on the Wind probably takes more sophistication than to understand one of Ingmar Bergman's masterpieces, because Bergman's themes are visible and underlined, while with Douglas Sirk the style conceals the message."

above-the film in full-if you have a hour and thirty nine minutes & forty six seconds

image from the Spring Couture Collection of Valentino