cu aceasta ocazie raspund si comentariului annukai, careia ii multumesc pentru sugestii, pentru ca a citit postarile si mai ales pentru comentariu :))
Nan Kempner nu a fost doar "unica femeie americana" chic cum a numit-o Diana Vreeland sau "cea mai chic persoana din lume" cum a caracterizat-o bunul ei prieten Yves Saint Laurant...nimeni pana la ea nu a realizat atat de mult cu atat de putin.
Surprinzator, NAN era o persoana foarte modesta, considerand sincer atentia pe care i-o acorda presa ca fiind "ego-boosting" insa supradimensionata, ea neavand nici o realizare grozava care sa justifice atata atentie din partea publicului.
Dincolo de comentariile PR-istice sau ale prietenilor, NAN a fost o femeie extraordinar de puternica si hotarata, care s-a nascut urata dar a facut toata viata TOT ce i-a stat in putere pentru a fi CHIC. "Nu exista nici o scuza pentru a fi urat" chiar a fost deviza ei. S-a nascut cu foarte putine atuu-ri. Pentru a ajunge persoana despre care s-a scris atat, si-a folosit inteligenta, ironia, educatia, simtul umorului, sinceritatea si nu a uitat niciodata sa fie ea insasi, sa se simta confortabil atat in pielea cat si in hainele ei.
Pe parcursul acestui lung si complicat drum, NAN nu a fost niciodata vulgara, a inventat si respectat niste reguli simple si eficiente, de fapt a inventat stilul femeii contemporane, din care ne putem inspira cu succes noi muritoarele de rand chiar daca nu avem la dispozitie nici bugetul ei si nici ocaziile de a ne "expune" garderoba pe care ale-a avut ea.
In ciuda pasiunii pentru couture, ea avea o atitudine democratica si ireverentioasa fata de haine, combinand cu usurinta si intr-un mod chic piese couture cu piese de la GAP. NAN credea din toata inima in vaoloarea intrinseca a hainelor "Fashion is an art" spunea ea. Ceea ce o deosebeste de tot restul "colectionarilor" de haine - couture sau nu-, sau a asa-zisilor "fashion lovers"
NAN considera ca pentru a avea stil, trebuie sa te imbraci cel mai bine conform bugetului de care dispui dar sa te simti confortabil. Hainele insemna mult mai mult decat niste flecuri din tesatura cu care sa ne acoprim goliciunea. A stiut ca expresia stilului personal al cuiva este data NUMAI de atitudine. "Stilul este expresia sufletului, loctiitorul persoanei" pentru ca nu ne putem purta sufletul in public, nu-i asa?
Sa o consideri pe NAN Kempner doar o purtatoare de haine de lux este o mare nedreptate si un neadevar: a fost o femeie educata, extrem de dinamica, hotarata, inzestrata cu o ironie fina, si cu un rafinat simt estetic. Care a muncit mult desi nu avea nevoie de bani, si a fost extrem de devotata scopurilor caritabile.
Pe langa alcatuirea celei mai invidiate si dorite colectii de haine si "expunerea" in lume a acestora, de-a lungul vietii sale NAN si-a folosit stilul impecabil in scopuri nobile. Ea singura a strans donatii de 75 milioane de dolari in 30 de ani pentru Centrul de Cercetari impotriva Cancerului, a fost editor special la Harper's Bazaar, consultant de design la faimoasa casa de bijuterii Tiffany & Co, si corespondent la editia franceza a revistei Vogue.
Cand a fost nevoita sa strang ao suma mare de bani pentru una din organizatiile caritabile in care era implicata, a scris unica sa carte - in fapt o colectie de interviuri " RSVP: Menus For Entertaining From People Who Really Know How" care a avut vanzari uriase.
Cand au fost intrebati cum si-o amintesc sau cum au cunoscut-o pe NAN Kempner cei mai multi au povestit despre cat de placuta era fiecare intalnire cu NAN, uitandu-se fix in ochii tai ca si cum ai fi fost cea mai importanta persoana din incapere si spunandu-ti pe cel mai cald ton din lume "cat de mult ma bucur sa te vad"...
Monday 15 March 2010
Sunday 7 March 2010
coafuri chic dar foarte simple
"lucrurile simple sunt cele mai complicate" este un truism, de acord, insa cand vine vorba despre parul nostru, toate stim cat de greu este sa il aranjam asa..foarte simplu...nepretentios...sa fie si sexy deja e bonus. Iata cateva sfaturi (si imagini) de la profesionisti, cum sa ne aranjam parul "stylish" & simplu, in doi timpi si trei miscari... si intr-un stil "timeless"
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-french-twist-hair-2
http://http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-create-a-messy-knot
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-french-twist-hair-2
http://http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-create-a-messy-knot
Saturday 6 March 2010
Ici et la
..te rasfata cu delicioase mancaruri frantuzesti autentice. Si nu e de mirare , dat fiind faptul ca patronul in acelasi timp "Chef cuisinier" Phippe Dupre care gateste chiar in fata ta, vine din Lyon , una dintre cele mai renumite zone gastronomice din lume.
Meniul cuprinde exact ce trebuie pentru un bistro mai chic decat media, absolut toate felurile sunt DELICIOASE, vinurile sunt bune si fara mari pretentii, cat despre deserturi...deja am apa-n gura....toate sunt din liga "mare" a deserturilor. Ah! preturile sunt decente.
Dintre preferatele mele:
- supa de ceapa - cea mai autentic-frantuzeasca supa de ceapa pe care am mancat-o in Bucuresti;
- vinul Chateau Roquefort;
- TOATE deserturile
- melcii
Atmosfera e calda si linistita, iar gazdele impart cu generozitate zambete largi si cuvinte prietenoase. Si asta nu in modul comercial cu care suntem obisnuiti ... ci chiar sincer...
Nu astepti mai mult de 10 minute nici un fel de mancare iar meniul tipic frantuzeste- este scris cu creta pe o tabla :))
"Ici et la" este un bistro chic, cu atmosfera calda, cu mancare frantuzeasca foooooarte buna si preturi decente si se afla langa Piata Romana, mai extact pe Mendeleev 43.
Locul nu-si merita deloc comentariile n aparute pe metropotam.ro (sursa in general "reliable" si cu atat mai putin cele din Wall Street - 5 martie, cu iz de razbunare impotriva refuzului de a cumpara publicitate la ei. Sau poate, cine scrie cronica restaurantelor la "Wall street" de Bucuresti, are gusturi culinare neaose romanesti - ciolan cu varza / slanina de porc / tocanita de cartofi / sarmale moldovenesti si foarte multa bere - atunci inteleg de ce a fost omu' nemultumit.
In ce priveste comentariile despre design-ul locului citite acolo - romanul tipic isi da cu parerea si despre mancare si despre arhitectura si despre lobotomie...cu acelasi aer "doct" si acelasi ton categoric.....tupeul nu cunoaste limite....mai ales daca scrie la gazeta vorba 'ceea...
Pozele le-am imprumutat de pe metropotam k altele n-am avut la indemana, dar voi reveni si cu foto facute de mine.
Pozele le-am imprumutat de pe metropotam k altele n-am avut la indemana, dar voi reveni si cu foto facute de mine.
Monday 1 March 2010
Lessons Learned
desi niciodata nu voi "a Park Avenue Princess" here are the lesson I have learned from Nan Kempner:
Read more: Nan Kempner: How to Be a Park Avenue Princess (in 2004 Fall Fashions) http://nymag.com/nymetro/shopping/fashion/fall04/9647/#ixzz0gv3pLWKJ
- “I’ve always liked being noticed, and I work hard at it.”
- Get “tons” of sleep, entertain “constantly,” and “be yourself.”
- “When you’re trying on clothes, look at yourself sitting down and look at your reflection from the back side.”
- All a woman needs is a good trench coat, a pair of black pants, a long black skirt, a short black skirt, and lots of tops.”
- "There is really no excuse for anyone to be ugly".
- "You know me - I wouldn't miss the opening of a door. "
Read more: Nan Kempner: How to Be a Park Avenue Princess (in 2004 Fall Fashions) http://nymag.com/nymetro/shopping/fashion/fall04/9647/#ixzz0gv3pLWKJ
from the guardian 2005
The American socialite and couture collector Nan Kempner, who has died aged 74, was an exemplar of how to spend it if you had it; she demonstrated that entrance to the New York elite was open to those with elan and wardrobes of size two couture. As the slogan on her cushions read, she was The Queen Of Everything.
She had been a muse to Yves St Laurent, the original of Tom Wolfe's "social x-rays" (hostesses, in The Bonfire Of The Vanities, as thin as they were rich), and a reliable photo-op for 50 years, recently in demand for glossy features on fabulousness in age. "If I'm going to go," she warned en route to hospital for treatment for the emphysema that killed her, "I'm going to do it with a photographer taking my picture."
Had she been born later, or poor, her character and wit would have furthered a career. As it was, they were her career, although now and again she swept past as consultant at Harper's Bazaar, Tiffany's, French Vogue and Christie's (where her role was to be "a shill to bring friends in").
In the Manhattan manner, she worked her networks in service of charities, especially the Memorial Sloan-Kettering cancer centre, which, in 2000, received the proceeds of her book, RSVP: Menus For Entertaining From People Who Really Know How.
"Nervous hostesses ruin a party," she advised, "imagination and great friends" made for good ones, while the best hospitality might be no more than a bowl of spaghetti in Greenwich Village. Every Sunday night, she did downhome pasta for friends - Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan among them - "home" being a 16-room duplex at 79th and Park Avenue, where she lived for more than 45 years.
Nan was from San Francisco, the daughter of a Ford car dealer, Albert Schlesinger, and his wife Irma, "who cared terribly about how she looked". Her formal education ended with a year in Paris, taking painting lessons with Fernand Léger, who told her "I had so little talent I should go back to San Francisco and stop wasting my parents' money . . . it was true."
Her informal education, in the power of appearances, began when Irma put her on a diet at 12; Nan read recipe books for comfort and turned to cigarettes at 14. She smoked heavily until a decade ago, tar toning her voice to a timbre that intensified the wit. On the way back from that Paris foray, she met Thomas Kempner, chairman of an investment bank, who said her Dior skirt was too short; they traded insults at the Monkey Bar, dated, and married in 1952.
Her mother and grandmother had trained her as a clotheshorse. Grandma wore "classy silk jackets to bed, with sheets to match"; mother wore only red, black or grey. When they picked her up from summer camp, she noticed they had coats with linings that matched their dresses. Her own first couture gown was a white Dior sheath, bought in the early 1950s, just before she attained instant celebrity via a Museum of Modern Art committee.
She travelled to Paris and Milan twice a year for shows, seldom absent from the St Laurent salon. Nicotine, deprivation - she used thick lettuce leaves instead of bread for sandwiches - and exercise in her apartment mini-gym kept her slender enough to fit into couture samples, discounted at $10,000 a gown. She stored them (when the children grew up, she converted their rooms to extra closets) and "it turns out that I was an art collector. Museums come and ask me for clothes all the time". As curator of her own rails, she was elected to the fashion Hall of Fame and gave courses at the Metropolitan museum.
She bought too much and wore all of it, dressed up in the 1970s as "Pocahontas, Nanook of the North, I'd be - God knows - the River Boat Queen; it was such fun". She was crazy about, and in, high heels - she bent to kiss her husband after climbing into a pair of rare spikes, tripped and broke her hip.
Such insouciant stories were a wow. Remember that 1960s legend of a socialite who was stopped at the door of a chic restaurant because she was in a trouser suit? That was Nan Kempner in a St Laurent tunic over pants. She took off the bottom half on the spot, gave it to her husband, and flaunting the top as a minidress over racehorse legs, warily sat to dine. "I put a lot of napkins in my lap and didn't dare bend over."
"Artificially relaxed" was how Nan described her style. "I've always liked being noticed, and I work hard at it . . . Never has anyone done so much with so little." She was frank about her plastic surgery. As she would go "to the opening of a door", there were decades of lunches, galas and parties worldwide, her favourite being her 50th wedding anniversary, catering for 476 people at the New York Botanical Gardens. Although by then accessorised with a portable oxygen tank, she attended Ronald Reagan's funeral, and dished the dirt on it with the rest of the girls next day.
Two women in an Armistead Maupin story propose a wax museum of society so that future generations will know what Nan Kempner was like. No need. She left enough snaps of herself looking swell to paper Park Avenue.
Her husband, and children Tommy, Lina and James, survive her.
· Nan Kempner, couture collector, born July 24 1930; died July 3 2005
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 7/25/2005
She had been a muse to Yves St Laurent, the original of Tom Wolfe's "social x-rays" (hostesses, in The Bonfire Of The Vanities, as thin as they were rich), and a reliable photo-op for 50 years, recently in demand for glossy features on fabulousness in age. "If I'm going to go," she warned en route to hospital for treatment for the emphysema that killed her, "I'm going to do it with a photographer taking my picture."
Had she been born later, or poor, her character and wit would have furthered a career. As it was, they were her career, although now and again she swept past as consultant at Harper's Bazaar, Tiffany's, French Vogue and Christie's (where her role was to be "a shill to bring friends in").
In the Manhattan manner, she worked her networks in service of charities, especially the Memorial Sloan-Kettering cancer centre, which, in 2000, received the proceeds of her book, RSVP: Menus For Entertaining From People Who Really Know How.
"Nervous hostesses ruin a party," she advised, "imagination and great friends" made for good ones, while the best hospitality might be no more than a bowl of spaghetti in Greenwich Village. Every Sunday night, she did downhome pasta for friends - Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan among them - "home" being a 16-room duplex at 79th and Park Avenue, where she lived for more than 45 years.
Nan was from San Francisco, the daughter of a Ford car dealer, Albert Schlesinger, and his wife Irma, "who cared terribly about how she looked". Her formal education ended with a year in Paris, taking painting lessons with Fernand Léger, who told her "I had so little talent I should go back to San Francisco and stop wasting my parents' money . . . it was true."
Her informal education, in the power of appearances, began when Irma put her on a diet at 12; Nan read recipe books for comfort and turned to cigarettes at 14. She smoked heavily until a decade ago, tar toning her voice to a timbre that intensified the wit. On the way back from that Paris foray, she met Thomas Kempner, chairman of an investment bank, who said her Dior skirt was too short; they traded insults at the Monkey Bar, dated, and married in 1952.
Her mother and grandmother had trained her as a clotheshorse. Grandma wore "classy silk jackets to bed, with sheets to match"; mother wore only red, black or grey. When they picked her up from summer camp, she noticed they had coats with linings that matched their dresses. Her own first couture gown was a white Dior sheath, bought in the early 1950s, just before she attained instant celebrity via a Museum of Modern Art committee.
She travelled to Paris and Milan twice a year for shows, seldom absent from the St Laurent salon. Nicotine, deprivation - she used thick lettuce leaves instead of bread for sandwiches - and exercise in her apartment mini-gym kept her slender enough to fit into couture samples, discounted at $10,000 a gown. She stored them (when the children grew up, she converted their rooms to extra closets) and "it turns out that I was an art collector. Museums come and ask me for clothes all the time". As curator of her own rails, she was elected to the fashion Hall of Fame and gave courses at the Metropolitan museum.
She bought too much and wore all of it, dressed up in the 1970s as "Pocahontas, Nanook of the North, I'd be - God knows - the River Boat Queen; it was such fun". She was crazy about, and in, high heels - she bent to kiss her husband after climbing into a pair of rare spikes, tripped and broke her hip.
Such insouciant stories were a wow. Remember that 1960s legend of a socialite who was stopped at the door of a chic restaurant because she was in a trouser suit? That was Nan Kempner in a St Laurent tunic over pants. She took off the bottom half on the spot, gave it to her husband, and flaunting the top as a minidress over racehorse legs, warily sat to dine. "I put a lot of napkins in my lap and didn't dare bend over."
"Artificially relaxed" was how Nan described her style. "I've always liked being noticed, and I work hard at it . . . Never has anyone done so much with so little." She was frank about her plastic surgery. As she would go "to the opening of a door", there were decades of lunches, galas and parties worldwide, her favourite being her 50th wedding anniversary, catering for 476 people at the New York Botanical Gardens. Although by then accessorised with a portable oxygen tank, she attended Ronald Reagan's funeral, and dished the dirt on it with the rest of the girls next day.
Two women in an Armistead Maupin story propose a wax museum of society so that future generations will know what Nan Kempner was like. No need. She left enough snaps of herself looking swell to paper Park Avenue.
Her husband, and children Tommy, Lina and James, survive her.
· Nan Kempner, couture collector, born July 24 1930; died July 3 2005
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 7/25/2005
Expo Nan Kempner la San Francisco
nan kempner: american chic at san francisco’s de young museum
(photo courtesy of natalie zee drieu)
yesterday i had the distinct pleasure of attending a press preview of an upcoming exhibition at san francisco’s de young museum entitled nan kempner: american chic, which opens to the public june 16, 2007, and runs through november 11, 2007. this unrivaled exhibition will showcase nearly 75 of nan’s amazing wearables and ensembles, many of which are fine examples of 20th century couture.
nan kempner, for those who may not be in the know, was a world-reknowned new york city socialite, fashion muse and couture fashion collector. she originally hailed from san francisco, was married to businessman thomas “tommy” kempner, and once served as a contributing editor for harper’s bazaar and a u.s. correspondent for french vogue.
to call nan kempner a clothes horse would be an understatement: she was the penultimate fashion obsessive, a chic, educated, dynamic, witty woman with a refined aesthetic who collected clothes as if they were art. while her covetable collection of apparel contained a sizable portion of ready-to-wear, she clearly adored couture clothing above all else, and collected select couture pieces in a steady, deliberate and specific manner over the course of 50 years.
(image courtesy of the de young museum)
upon her death in 2005, ms. kemner had consciously and deliberately groomed and edited her clothing collection down to what she felt were the very best, most refined expressions of 20th century fashion, removing what she felt were merely passing trends. out of the approximately 5000 pieces of apparel in nan’s possession at the end of her life, 3000 were couture. favored designers of ms. kempner/designers that favored ms. kempner? fashion all-stars such as yves st. laurent, valentino, chanel, and balmain, to name but a very few.
(photos courtesy of natalie zee drieu)
this exhibition celebrating ms. kempner’s closet of couture comes to san francisco courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art’s costume institute, and it’s celebrated head curator, harold koda. koda was the mind behind amazing shows like rara avis, honoring the personal style and clothing collection of one of my favorite fashion icons, iris barrel apfel, as well as goddess, chanel, and dangerous liaisons, among a fabulous myriad of others.
mr. koda was the special guest at yesterday’s press preview. he knew nan kempner personally, and while walking through the exhibit, he gave all in attendance a unique and enlightening look into the fashionable world of nan kempner: who she truly was, what she loved, and how she lived, and why she was special…all illustrated by a carefully chosen selection of the clothes she wore.
it was, in just a few words, a rare glimpse into the personal style of a fashion icon.
***
take a lesson! quotes and style notes from the life, mouth and mind of the irreplaceable nan kempner:
-nan had a love affair with fashion, comparing her obsession with all things sartorial to an addiction:
“I’m drunk when it comes to clothes.”
“It’s a disease, like being an alcoholic.”
-on trends:
“My mother always said to me, ‘Put it all on, then take half of it off.’ Understatement is the key. It is important to have your own style and not be one of those creatures who follow fads. I can wear a Dior or Mainbocher couture jacket with a pair of Levi’s and it will look great.”
-nan kempner heartily believed in buying good quality, well-designed pieces. if something is classic, beautiful and well-made…don’t give it away, because it is likely to always remain in style.
-nan was irreverent and democratic about clothes, despite her avowed love of couture. she mixed formal and informal clothes with ease and style:
“Nothing can replace the cut, fit and love that goes into a couture outfit: it has been made by an artist. And besides, it mixes very well with the Gap.”
-nan paid attention to detail, and her trained eye allowed her to select and collect a formidable, beautiful, exceedingly personal collection that expressed her amazing personality to a tee. her attention to detail was one of many factors that set her apart from most collectors of fashion or so-called fashion lovers. (remember?: the angel is in the details!)
-Nan heartily believed in the inherent aesthetic value of clothing:
“Fashion is an art.”
-nan believed in dressing as best you can within your budget, and in being comfortable, though like other women of style, she didn’t at all mind wearing clothes that you could “play” with: she favored clothing with stunning detail that one could morph and style to one’s own whim or aesthetic.
-above all: nan kempner wore her clothes with panache. she knew that any successful expression of personal style is ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE. nan wore high-class clothes that some might consider uptight, but she always appeared relaxed and carefree. the lesson one should learn? that style is as much an expression of the personality as the carefully selected threads and baubles that cover our bodies. to paraphrase the words of harold koda yesterday,
“Style is an expression of the soul, the surrogate for the person.”
***
if you live in san francisco or are going to be in the city this summer or fall, i highly suggest checking out the nan kempner exhibit…it’s a must see for lovers of fashion and those who appreciate fashion history, costume, and individuals who exude amazing personal style.
***
thanks again to mary jo bowling of the de young for the invite! it was such an unparalleled treat, and i had a lovely time! i actually think i’ll be going back for a second look!
and special shout out to natalie z. of coquette and craft: zine, and jennine of the coveted, two fellow san francisco fashion bloggers with whom i had the delight of viewing the exhibition yesterday!
see more of natalie’s photos from the nan kempner exhibit here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/natzee/sets/72157600359161408/
(photo courtesy of natalie zee drieu)
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