Queen of Cashmere Daybook

November 2, 2009

Champagne Brunch and a Doggy Bag

Today is my BFF’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Sara Dah-ling!  I adore you.  Your friendship is precious and ever enlightening.

Yesterday, we fêted Sara at a lovely Sunday brunch at Fred’s.  For those not familiar, Fred’s is the penthouse restaurant atop Barney’s here in Chicago.  It was the first beautiful afternoon after seemingly endless weeks of rain and everyone was out in force.

Fred's

 

In the window seat, I spied Alessandra Branca looking very chic in a Toscana shearling vest and drapey jersey skirt.  She was giving kisses to the cutest baby I have ever seen.  On her way out, I congratulated her on the launch of her new book  New Classic Interiors.  I’m going by her offices today to have my copy signed before she heads to D.C. which is the next stop on her book tour.

Let me just say, that the first person who conceived of putting a restaurant and bar atop a department store was an unparalleled marketing genius.  After plentiful champagne, I shopped my way home.  I’ll be paying that card off for quite some time.

I have been on a quest for a new handbag for absolutely ages.  So, on my way out of Barney’s and after beaucoup coupes des champagne, I  found the perfect purse.  And even now, after the champagne haze has cleared, I still really love it.  Unlike the red lipstick I got talked into which is definitely getting returned.

The bag, made by Nina Ricci and deemed the Brilliant Bowler (by Olivier Thyskens not by me), is embellished with a classic laurel wreath that has been butched up with whip stitching that makes it modern and a bit edgy.  A solid and sturdy everyday purse, it should stand up to anything that I can put it through. 

Nina Ricci brilliant bowler

 The biggest selling point however was it’s flat bottom and zippered top.  I have pretty specific requirements that my bag must fit all the essentials that I take with me when I am out and about.  This bag met them. 

It’s a perfect LouLou bag, don’t you think?

LouLou

September 10, 2009

Rock n’ Roll Baronial

The other day, as I stared at images of Roger Federer’s foray in to the world of logos, the referees’ jackets beckoned to me from the background.  It was a high form of unintended irony, for sure.

I have been smitten with the English cricket or schoolboy jacket for as long as I can remember (heaven knows, I’m a pushover for anything with a good English accent), and I’m not alone in loving the look.  Coco did her version circa 1925.  Inspired, no doubt, during the time she spent in England while having her scandalous affair with the Duke of Westminster. 

However, the most recent resurgence of the cricket jacket kicked off when Nicolas Ghesquihère riffed on the style for Balenciaga’s 2007 Fall RTW collection.  The moment I saw his collection for Balenciaga, I fell deliriously and rapturously in love.  My heart still beats fast every time I see these images. 

 Balenciaga jacketBalenciaga jacket 3Balenciaga jacket 4 

I even love this posh-Brit look when translated to home decor.  A few years back, one of my Queen of Cashmere customers invited me into her home and Elizabeth’s living room stopped me dead in my tracks.  I walked in and it literally took my breath away. 

The style of her home, dubbed “Rock n’ Roll Baronial”, was so right up my alley that it has haunted me for years.   So as I write my post on English schoolboy jackets, I can’t possibly post about the jackets without showing you that room. 

 Branca for Queen of Cashmere

 

Incredibly, this home is located on the 14th floor of a 1920’s apartment building in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast.  The Chesterfield sofas have been punched up with sun-drenched, yellow velvet and the ottoman, upholstered in an exotic animal print, is a modern echo of the English Empire’s thrill of the hunt.  The whole effect is modern, posh-Brit perfection!

Alessandra Branca, the genius behind this design, has a website where I could spend days.  Take a look at her wonderful interiors and her fantastic offerings.  Branca   Alessandra is a big fan of monogrammed luxury so, hopefully, I’ll be bringing you a more about Branca soon!

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