Twirling Clare: france

Showing posts with label france. Show all posts

Friday, November 6, 2015

Jacqueline de Ribes

On the evening of December 5, 1969, the beau mode was assembling for dinners at the most elegant tables in Paris, pre-gaming for the fancy-dress part of the year, if not the decade - Baron Alexis de Rede's "Bal Oriental." Among the most impenetrable of these preparatory gatherings was that of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the international jet set's de facto king and queen. Dining with the elect at the Windsors' that night was couturier Oscar de la Renta. "The first course, the second course, the third course and finally the dessert arrived," de la Renta recalls, "and still Jacqueline de Ribes had not appeared. The Duke was furious!" Suddenly, the dining-room doors opened and in glided the Vicomtesse de Ribes. An exotic vision, the aristocratic beauty was swaddled from the pinnacle of her tasseled hat to the tips of her pointed slippers in a fantastically opulent Turkish disguise, ingeniously cobbled together by the Vicomtesse herself from three of her old haute couture dresses; organza lame from a remnant market; and a sable cape, acquired from an impoverished ballerina. Recalls de la Renta, "It was a show. And she was the star. No one knew like Jacqueline the power of an entrance."

Read more in this divine article from Vanity Fair about "The Last Queen of Paris."

Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

November 19, 2015 - February 21, 2016

The Costume Institute exhibition will focus on the internationally renowned style icon Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, whose originality and elegance established her as one of the most celebrated fashion personas of the twentieth century. The thematic show will feature about sixty ensembles of haute couture and ready-to-wear primarily form de Ribes's personal archive, dating from 1959 to the present. Also included will be her creations for fancy-dress balls, which she often made by cutting and cannibalizing her haute couture gowns to create nuanced expressions of her aesthetic. These, along with photographs and ephemera, will tell the story of how her interest in fashion developed over decades, from childhood "dress-up" to the epitome of international style.

A muse to haute couture designers, de Ribes had at her disposal their drapers, cutters and fitters in acknowledgement of their esteem for their taste and originality. Ultimately, she used this talent and experience to create her own successful design business, which she directed from 1982 to 1995. While the exhibition will focus on her taste and style, extensive documentation from her personal archives will illustrate the range of her professional life, including her roles as theatrical impresario, television producer, interior design and director and organizer of international charity events.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Celebrating 75 years of Madeline

Madeline, one of my favorite characters, turned 75 this year.

I have always enjoyed the books, in fact I think I love them even more now, than I did as a little girl. The presentation of twelve little girls in two straight lines running through Paris is marvelous. With beautiful illustrations, charming rhymes, and a fantastic depiction of a young girl's adventures through one of the most fabulous cities on earth - who wouldn't envy Madeline?

She finds a way to get into trouble wherever she goes, but with a yellow coat and Eiffel Tower in the background, a fiesty red-head couldn't look better :)

This past weekend, The CBS Morning Show had a wonderful segment on the beloved story books, that I have shared below.

While researching the segment, I came across a couple wonderful articles that I would recommend checking out if you're interested in the history of Madeline, author Ludwig Bemelman and Madeline's legacy.

New York Parenting: Celebrate 75 Years of Madeline

The New York Times: At 75, Still Stepping Out of Line

I took bits and pieces of an excerpt from The New York Times piece by Edward Rothstein for you to read below:

"Could anything be more steeped in the order and orders of the Old World than those 12 little girls leave an old house covered with vines, in two straight lines, in rain or shine? It has been 75 years since they made their appearance in Ludwig Bemelman's classic Madeline with their hairbows and yellow hats: models of propriety being led through the gradeur of touristic Paris (the Opera, the Place Vendome, Notre Dame, the Tuileries). Except, of course, for Madeline, who never quite stayed in place.

"Many readers under the age of 95 have Bemelman's images and words inscribed in their consciousness: Madeline daring to 'pooh-pooh' a tiger in the zoo; Lord Cucuface thinking it disgraceful for 'young ladies to embrace a dog of uncertain race;' and, of course, Miss Clavel, the only woman in children's literature, who, when afraid of a disaster, could run fast and faster, and give the black habit of a nun the sweep of a superhero's cape.

"Yet there are many particular aspects to the first and best of these books...Here is a tale about Paris by an Austrian immigrant to the United States, who began writing it on the back of a menu in Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in Manhattan. Madeline first appeared in Life magazine in September 1939, the same week World World II began, but she is immersed in a sacral, almost antique world...

This Paris certainly didn't exist at the time, and was doomed to become an even more distant memory in a matter of months...

"In fact, the books have not found a French audience the way they have found an American one. They show an imagined France, not an experienced France. The only hint of disruption in their fantastical vision of an old order is Madeline herself, whose spunky individualism is a mark of modernity, and whose mischief just manages to shake Miss Clavel's equanimity without the more serious consequences history was about to provide...

"Even the final lines of Madeline are meant with a wink, as we learn 'And that's all there is - there isn't anymore'...and though you aren't left deeply moved by the fascinations of this show, by the end, you feel an urge to applaud."

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Chateau de Gudanes

Every few months, I like sharing particular Instagram accounts that I follow. Today, I am featuring one of my favorites - chateaugudanes. The account description: "France. Follow the story of an Australian family currently restoring a Chateau in the South of France."

The Chateau, located in a small town called Chateau Verdun, was built in the early 1700s. Through the centuries the beautiful estate fell under significant disrepair, but still hold its neoclassical grandeur. Last year, an Australian family purchased the property and in November 2013, began an extensive renovation project to bring much needed tender loving care to the picturesque manor. The family maintains a blog to follow the refurbishing of the chateau, share stories of the Chateau's past, and celebrate what is yet to come!

"The past - clear and defined, the present - expected chaos....and the future - a surprise!"

When I traveled abroad in France last year, I stayed at an old farm house estate, La Giraudiere. The home had fallen into disarray after decades of neglect. La Giraudiere has been under renovation for many years, in attempt to restore the property to its old charm and splendor. Part of my time at the estate involved working on the home and land. La Giraudiere still has a way to go before it reaches complete restoration, but is a true testament to creative vision, hard work, passion, discipline, inspiration, and the triumph of bringing something back to life.

Speckled throughout the countryside, abandoned estates and chateaus are a frequent sight. As families moved from the countryside and farm life for metropolitan areas, the properties were left, neglected. In some instances these once-beautiful estates have become almost unrecognizable - overtaken by nature, with trees and ivy encompassing their walls. You would drive by fields and spot a collection of trees nestled together in the center of the meadow, after a couple of glances, you'd realize there was a home underneath the arbor canopy! It was crazy, I had never seen anything like it!

Any renovation project takes a lot of time, effort, and expense. But refurbishing a multiple century-old chateau classifies in an entirely different realm. As charming as it may seem to reside in such historic quarters, let's face it - it may be the closest you'll ever get to "Princess" status - it take A LOT of dedication, love, and patience to make it happen.

It is such a joy to watch the family embark on this adventurous journey. As they make their way through all the challenges, they capture the most gorgeous moments - absolutely breathtaking scenes. I find their pictures help put not only their adventure, and the inevitable hardships that have come along with it, in perspective - but much of our own day-to-day routine as well. Life is full of beautiful moments and it just takes stepping away from the worry, the hustle and bustle, the cynicism, and the impossible, to look instead at the wonders right in front of us!

Life truly, is a wonderful adventure.

(via)

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Friday, February 21, 2014

the umbrella shop

While flipping through the New York Times Style Magazine during the holidays, I discovered the prestigious Umbrella Shop. I was charmed almost to the point that spending $350 on rain-gear seemed reasonable. I mean, a taffeta umbrella?? It's like a cocktail attire to dress-up the most miserable days. It sounds just marvelous.

Read the magazine's recap below and explore the company website to umbrella shop!

"For those who think an umbrella is just a piece of future detritus to be picked up outside a subway, abused and then sent to its grave in a trash bin, Michel Heurtault begs to differ. The pieces in his bespoke umbrella and parasol atelier in the Viaduc des Arts are like jewelry and are made to last. Entry level models, starting at about $350, are hand-stitched out of waterproof silk taffeta, each seam backed up with an additional strip of fabric for total impermeability. The range of handles includes vintage Bakelite, antique carved ivory, cocobolo, and lacquered wood. One model, made from black and white silk panels, tops a Macassar ebony trumpet handle with a sterling silver medallion studded with black diamonds. Heurtault goes all-out on parasols, and his handiwork will soon shade the milky skin of Mia Wasikowska in an adaptation of "Madame Bovary."

Each piece is as much a pleasure to hold as to behold."

Visit the site