Queen of Cashmere Daybook

May 21, 2010

This Brand Has Gone To The Dogs

Filed under: Destinations, Details, Personalization, Shopping, Various & Sundry — Tags: , — Queen of Cashmere @ 4:52 PM

On Tuesday, while strolling along the Rue St-Honoré in Paris, I came across Goyard.   The brand has maintained shops there for-absolutely-ever.  I remember them from my first forays into Parisian shopping.  I was about 14 at the time.  This was well before the Barney’s and Bergdorf fueled renaissance which brushed the dust off their stodgy image and raised the glam factor significantly.

 There are two Goyard shops.  You can see the main store in the reflection of the glass storefront of #352.

 Goyard Storefront

The sign on the facade of #352 lets you know it’s distinctive from the mothership across the street.

Goyard sign cropped

The entire first floor is dedicated to canine follies and indulgences — le chic du chien.   And you know how I feel about my petite follie, LouLou, ne c’est pas?

There were custom collars galore.  All bespoke and personalized according to the master’s taste and inclination.  

Personalized Dog Collars

 

There were doggy travel bowls made portable in Goyard signature cases.  Perfect for our Queen of Cashmere road trips.

Goyard Travel Bowls

There were custom dog carriers which in my universe is referred to as a  ”sneaky-bag”.  My current bag just isn’t cutting it.  LouLou and I have been discovered many a time and been thrown out of the very  best of places.   All Goyard dog carriers can be made to order and completely customzied which means the sneak-quotient can be upped considerably.  Embarrassing removals could  become a thing of the past.

Goyard interior

Below is Joseph who offered to make a harness to fit LouLou if I sent him one of hers for sizing.  He is extremely charming and accommodating.  Anything for LouLou that my heart might desire can be had. Goyard Joseph

Later, The Consort asked, ” How much was a harness?”  He hates it when I don’t ask the price of anything.  In his eyes, it’s my gravest failing.  I promised to work harder at reform in the future. 

 

 

February 4, 2010

Mad Love: Luscious Flowers and Monograms

Filed under: Details, Personalization, Shopping, Various & Sundry — Tags: , , — Queen of Cashmere @ 6:02 PM

jaysonhome_madlove_banner

Jayson Home and Garden in Chicago has a way with, well,  just about everything.

During the summer, the brick-paved, outdoor garden shop is an urban oasis of topiary and green lushness.  I never thought about cut flowers from Jayson Home until, like a breath of fresh air,  an e-mail blew into my inbox this morning.   Mad Love it proclaimed.  Yup.

Leave it to Jayson Home and Garden to add just a little extra something  to make their arrangements stand out.

How about a fragrant arrangement in a julep cup?   Bedside perfection.  And if one is good, a pair is better.

julep cup

Or a lush pastel bouquet gussied up with pink and green ribbon?  TrèsParisien, mes amours.

Ribbon Tied

Va-va-voom red always sets my heart racing.  How about you?  Red

 

Living only a few minutes from the shop, I popped by this afternoon and look what I found.  You know these monogram hors d’oeuvres  plates are right up my alley.  What better excuse is there to have a few friends over for cocktails?

MONGRAM PLATES 003

You can always shop online but be forewarned, the array of merchandise is so beguiling,  you will want everything you see.

October 28, 2009

Jaeger-LeCoultre and Precision Personalization

Filed under: Details, Personalization, Precious Things, Various & Sundry — Queen of Cashmere @ 8:38 AM

Monogram Pendant tear sheet crop

 The Swiss manufacturer of precious timepieces, Jaeger-LeCoultre created a watch in 1931 that is perennially popular for engraving and monogramming to this day.  The famous Reverso watch , with it’s swivellling cover,  is the perfect canvas for an artfully engraved personalization. 

The image at left was sent to me by Sandi Miller Burrows to illustrate the scale and precious detail in her spectacular diamond pendants.  In a tear sheet from a 2004 publication, the pendant is cozied up with a factory monogrammed Reverso watch.  

Once I started to search a bit for information about the personalized Reverso, my inquiries lead me to the only independent engraver that is sanctioned by this venereable watchmaker to adorn their timepieces.  J.C. Randell, is an master engraver so talented that he makes the Reverso watches literally sing.  Opera.  

I spoke to the artist at length about his art, his passion for engraving, his philosophy and even his dog Lola.  He guided me through an extensive tour of his website which is simply packed with amazing examples of his work. 

skull&boneslargeJ.C.’s customers range from movie star heart-throbs (who I swore I would never name) to Nobel Prize winners.  The work they commission him to do tells a story of their lives, their successes  and their passions.   Yes, J.C. does engrave classic three letter monograms but the most interesting personalizations are more unique. 

When asked how long it takes him to complete his engraving, J.C. told me that he doesn’t measure the process in hours but in weeks.  The work is done under a microscope and is finished engraving so fine that it feels almost smooth to the touch.  To understand this, he suggested that I run my fingers over the presidential portrait on a crisp new dollar bill.  I did.  Incredible!  

Ladies-Jaeger-LeCoultre-OrnateA- with flowers-large

September 27, 2009

Modern Monogram Marries Fine Jewelry. Exquisite Offspring Result.

Since seeing the movie Julie & Julia, I have been obsessed with two things — monogram diamond jewelry and making Boeuf Bourguignon.   Yesterday, the weather felt a little Fall-like so I made the stew.

Now, about that diamond jewelry.

Meryl Streep wore a monogram pin in the movie that definitely caught my eye.  One of my favorite blogs, Privilege,  covered the subject when the movie first came out.   I have borrowed the Privilege image and suggest that you visit The High WASP’s blog and read the post.Meryl Streep as Julia Childs 

Not long ago, I spoke to Ann Roth, the Academy Award winning costume designer who transformed Meryl Streep into Julia Child.  The pin was commissioned for the movie using  Julia Child’s initials and was inspired by one in Ms. Roth’s personal collection.  She  was unsure if Mrs. Child had actually owned a monogram pin of her own — though we agreed it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination.  Ms. Roth, a dynamic octogenarian,  was definitely amused to think  that anyone found monogram jewelry newsworthy as it was look from a bygone era and one she remembered well.

 Ms. Roth, diamond  monogram jewelry is indeed alive and kicking in this millennium.   

 Monogram Pendants

Sandi Miller Burrows and Peggy Pickman Reiner, are two New York based jewelry designers who create the most exquisite monogram pendants I have ever seen.  Working with each customer, they render hand sketches until the design is perfect. Executed in US workrooms and using precious metals and the finest gemstones, they have supplied custom peices to Harry Winston.  

This custom jewelry is without equal in the monogram realm.  The PP monogram pendant, above right, makes the Tiffany keys look downright humble.  These pendants, strung on diamonds by the yard, black rubber straps or multiple chains,  represent bespoke monogram luxe in it’s finest and most modern incarnation. 

 I’m sure I will be bringing you much more about this jewelry.  The  complete line (monogram and otherwise) is to die for.  I can’t wait to show  you the monogram cuff links Sandi made for her husband out of black diamonds.

September 21, 2009

Adoration: Cire Trudon Candles

Cire Trudon

Forget the mundane and everything you have previously encountered in the home fragrance arena.  Cire Trudon,  is a scented candle line so artistic, steeped in history and utterly unique that there can be no comparison to anything else.  Its emergence onto the global luxury market in the last year is due to the re-branding genius of Ramdane Touhame, a renegade fashion designer turned candle maker.

Personally, I can’t get enough of Roi Soliel.  Clean and elegant this scent was created to evoke the memory of Versailles’ Hall of  Mirrors on a sunny day – waxed wooden floors warmed with sunshine and a light green scent  suggesting formal gardens just outside the open windows.   In the wide range of candles that make up the collection,  this scent is destined to become their signature and an elegant classic.

Versailles. hall. of mirrors

Versailles Hall of Mirrors

 As a counterpoint to some of the elegantly charming aromas, there are some really offbeat but intellectually intriguing scents.  Odeur de Lune, was imagined from the components NASA found on the moon’s surface.   It’s dark, gothic, otherworldly and somewhat dangerous.  In it I smelled resin and camphor.  This is not a candle for the faint-of-heart and, while I liked it, it elicited visceral responses from several friends.   This candle will just have to be burned when I am alone and in a state of  chic-but-broody-darkness. 

Cire Truson Barney's

The line, sold at Barneys, is offered under individual clear glass cloches.   The ritual of selecting a frangrance by lifting and smelling the scent captured in the cloche is as lovely as the line itself. 

Cire Trudon, purveyor of high quality wax products to kings, courts,  churches and couturiers since 1643.    Cire Trudon at Barneys New York

 

 

Powered by WordPress