The New York Botanical Garden’s 2023 Orchid Show Takes You On An Immersive Journey To Bring Calm And Delight.

What you didn’t know you didn’t know about orchids.

• The orchid is one of the largest families of flowering plants.

• Orchids are grown all over the globe, with the exception of Antarctica.

• The orchid species are both very rare and very plentiful. 

• The most cultivated flower in the world is the orchid.

• The orchid was considered so sexually suggestive that it was attributed to causing fits of fainting among women in the Victoria age. Consequentially, they were kept out of the home. 

• The New York Botanical Garden has one of the largest collections of orchids in any garden anywhere in the world.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the New York Botanical Garden’s floral spectacle, The Orchid Show. It’s the harbinger of spring, an opportunity to cast off coats and walk through the Conservatory's tropical gardens replete with orchids of every size, shape, and color dripping off trees, creeping over rocks, and basking in shadow and light. 

Landscape Artist Lily Kwong is the guest artist, and she brings both her Chinese heritage and chic design sensibilities to the project. Aptly called The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage. Ms. Kwong wants us to relish in the meditative quality of the installation and experience some self-discovery of our own. She explains, “Everyone has someone connected to the earth.” The hope is that this show encourages you “To look at the ancient wisdom of your own bloodlines” and consider how plant life speaks to you through them. 

Lily is the first woman, and woman of color, to design the Orchid show at the Garden, and I felt its femininity. It didn’t have the brashness of previous shows. There are meditative moments–little spots of color that beg you to stop and breathe. At the same time, the exhibit has a real WOW factor. 

Upon entering the spectacular Palm Dome, there is a big rock formation in a waveform that Lily recreated from landscape scroll paintings passed down to her family from her grandparents. As a second-generation Shanghai immigrant, these paintings took on a mythical aspect during Lily’s childhood, a homeland of dreams. And that mysticism is one of many inspirations for her design. Chinese landscape and garden principles provide the bones of the installation. It is zen indeed. 

The Rainforest Gallery depicts how Orchids are grown in the wild. You’ll discover the vanilla bean, which comes from the seed pod of the Vanilla Planifolia orchid (another fun fact). 

Continue to the spectacle in the final pavilion, and you are invited to walk through the 6-8 foot rock formations, some with waterfalls, literally getting massaged by color, light, sound, and smell. The senses are intoxicated! And the orchids? Well, they are beyond glorious. 

Finally, a peaceful walk through medicinal orchid specimens, which speaks to the healing force of nature, gives the eyes a bit of a rest. A lovely way to wind down your visit and breath some more. 

Named ELLE DECOR’s A-List, and Forbes 30 Under 30 (Art & Style), Lily’s has definitely gotten the attention of style-seekers. Her Los Angeles-based practice began in 2017, and she’s been involved in several notable public art projects since then, including The Highline, New York; Taipei Night Market, Taiwan: Bal Habor Shops, Florida. 

Acclaimed composer Gary Gunn, who collaborated with Lily on the soundscape of the exhibition, deserves a bow for bringing a yogic sound to the show that is an accompaniment, not a distraction. It’s perfect. 

Jennifer Bernstein, Chief Executive Officer of The Garden, says that “One of our major goals here at the beloved green space in the Bronx is to inspire visitors and learners of all ages to appreciate, respect, and care for nature. This exhibition gives us an opportunity to showcase orchids, which are among the most celebrated and most beguiling of our unparalleled living plant collections, and to educate the public about NYBG’s plant research and conservation work, and it is our pleasure to be able to partner with Lily Kwong in that endeavor this time.”

The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage will likely bring thousands to NYBG, as the Orchid Show does each year. Visitors will definitely leave this year’s show feeling calmer, more joyful, and more reflective than when they came. Capture that feeling by going. It runs through April 23rd, 2023. 

The Glen House Hotel In New Hampshire’s White Mountains: Eco-Friendly And Dog-Friendly

“Fun–Real fun–Healthy exercise for red-blooded folks and pleasant companionship,” says a 1937 Snow Train brochure about Mt. Washington Valley, NH. 

Still True Today! 

Taking in the view from The Glen House Hotel, Great Glen Trails, and the Presidential Range

The Snow Train took Bostonians to Mt. Washington Valley from 1932 to 1956. So, New Hampshire winter sports are nothing new to northern New Englanders, but it often isn’t on the shortlist for metro New Yorkers. Why, because it’s a bit far, about six hours from New York City, and maybe it is not as tony as city folk would like. Then again, that is the appeal!

Mt. Washington Valley is well worth the effort to get there, no matter what state you’re from. Here are a few ideas about how to make it a great winter getaway, combining old-school winter tourism activities with a new place to stay. 

The (new) Glen House Hotel

Check-In!

Stay at The Glen House. This 68 room green hotel was completed in 2018 and is the 5th iteration of the hotel on this property, the first opened in 1852. Today’s Glen House heats and cools itself through its own geothermal system. The elevators regenerate energy when the car is moving down, returning power to the building to use in other places. Architects strived to make every other aspect of the hotel eco-friendly as well. 

Paws on the ground.

So you should feel plenty good about your footprint staying at The Glen house.  But nothing compares to the feel-good vibes of paw prints on property. Dogs are allowed and welcome at The Glen House! Even if you don’t have a pooch, seeing them in the lobby and out on the trails makes you smile. 

Voted the most beautiful bar in New Hampshire

I’ll have a cocktail with that view. 

The WOW factor of The Glen House is the bar named “The Most Beautiful Bar in New Hampshire” by Architectural Digest. The floor to rooftop windows looking out on the Presidential Range, place you and your spirit in the heart of Mt. Washington Valley. 

Over the river and through the woods on Great Glen groomed trails.

Gliding, wheeling, walking through a winter wonderland. 

Nordic masters race at Great Glen Trails

Just beyond the outdoor fire pit is Great Glen Trails. Here, there are 45 Kilometers of groomed trails for cross country skiers and snowshoers to tree bathe and meadow gaze. There are also plenty of backcountry trails for fat bikers, ambitious Nordic skiers, and snowshoe runners who want to cover miles. 

Fat biking fun on Great Glen Trails

Going from trees to tundra on Mt. Washington.  

Another way to explore Mt. Washington that doesn’t require feet on the ground is the Mt. Washington SnowCoach, right next door to The Glen House. This is a 9 passenger van with enormous conveyor belt wheels, seemingly built for arctic explorers or moon landings. 

On a clear day at the top of Mt. Washington, you can see New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York (maybe even Canada)!

It takes winter guests up Mt. Washington’s historic Auto Road, about 4,200 feet, on this 6,288-foot mountain, which is the highest peak in the Northeast. Wear goggles. You will want them when you get out at the turn-around point. This mountain has the highest surface wind speed ever observed and recorded by man. 

The new Glen House captures nostalgia from former Glen Houses and the famed Auto Road

White Mountain tourists have been enjoying family-owned Auto Road since 1906. The Glen House pays homage to it in their lobby with a 30-foot long sepia-toned photo mural of a summer auto race taken in 1954 up Mt. Washinton, with a woman behind the wheel! 

Eastern slopes that impress.

Downhill carving! Photo courtesy of WiseguyCreative

There’s plenty of downhill skiing in the Valley, standouts are Attitach and Wildcat, both under the Peak Resorts umbrella recently purchased by Vail Resorts. Locals are hopeful that the influx of Vail capital will result in some infrastructure improvement. Some are worried that the native laid-back local attitude might give way to too much building and commercialization. 

Ski Attitash, views included.

Authors Testimonial: Admittedly, I’m a bit of a western ski snob. I haven’t skied New Hampshire, and that was reason enough for me to go. On my first run down Attitach’s Upper Saco trail, when we stopped for the group to catch up, I thought, oh, there’s probably just this bit, and then we’re down. But “this bit” kept going... and going. Actually, it was five runs linked together. Attitach, which means “blueberry” in the Abenaki Native American language, skis really well. It’s a classic New England mountain with excellent (long) trails. One to enjoy for several days. 

A special for skiing. 

Happily, a two-night stay at the Glen House comes with a 2-day lift ticket to Wildcat Mountain and/or Attitash. Combine that with hoofing or gliding about on the Great Glen Trails, and you’ve rounded out a pretty great outdoorsy weekend! 

Good vibes at Wildcat Tavern

For the love of a fashionable ski parka and a handsome guitar player.

But sometimes skiing isn’t all about the mountain. To dig deep into ski culture, you need a great folk-country bar and (for me) a skiwear shop to score some chic-slope fashion. 

Get a little bit country at Wildcat Tavern. If you’re there on a Tuesday night, you’ve arrived on Hoot Night, a name that doesn’t do justice to the quality guitar picking and singing you’re going to hear. The music, coupled with the ski-country decor, hearty eats, and IPAs, make for a fun night of companionship (or a chance meeting) in the romantic town of Jackson NH.  

Spruce Hurricane is a mountain chic women's boutique, fashion-forward enough to be at home in Aspen, Deer Valley, or Whistler. But native to Mt. Washington Valley Amber Dalton established Spruce Hurricane in North Conway Village 22 years ago. 

It was an unexpected delight to find skiwear designer M. Miller, and leather goods Brighton in this cool little shop. Fabulous Italian fur boots and Minnetonka moccasins add to the collection, as well as a bunch of other “fashion meets the wilderness” finds. Amber’s mom was 50% Native American, and you can feel a spark of that in the things she buys for the store. 

Eastern skiing just as it should be. 

Mt. Washington Valley is just what you might expect from an eastern winter sports destination with nothing to prove. The town of Jackson and North Conway Village are so picturesque they could be the location for a Hallmark movie. 

The Valley’s geographic interest with Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range is reason enough to visit any time of year. However, considerable ski mountains (some part National Forestry), valleys replete with winter nostalgia, fun bars, restaurants, and shops...make it a great ski destination, and worth a few extra hours in the car, for this New Yorker! 

This story was originally posted on GoNOMAD here.

India for the Newbie - Published first on Everett Potter Travel Report, January 16, 2016

Me, mid elephant, in India.

Story & photos by Cathie Arquilla

My son asked, “So, how was India?” I knew I had about two minutes to describe my trip, he was wolfing down Cheerios, about to be late for school.  “It was a hot mess,” I said. Explaining further, it’s super busy and chaotic.  Everyone is going and coming and doing a million different things in the span of fifty feet.  No one seems to follow the rules, you’ll see trucks going down the wrong side of the highway.  There doesn’t seem to be any zoning laws. It’s perfectly okay to paint your house bright orange, jerry-rig your electrical, and set up a shop (or home) on a street meridian. BUT there is something incredibly freeing about the whole place.  The constant honking usually isn’t angry.  It’s just a shout-out.  Hey, I’m here, on your left, passing you now, hi there, here I come.  Contrary to the, get the F out of my way MF, rage you can get and (sometimes) give here at home.

Underneath and on top of the mess, there is great beauty and creativity. It’s magical, happy and sad at the same time.  Occasionally, I felt sensory overload. I would have to shut my eyes for a minute because I was seeing, smelling and hearing too much all at once. For that reason, it’s nice to have a quiet place to rest your head at the end of the day.  And hospitality is just one of the things “Incredible India” does best.  It’s not officious, rather it’s genuine and caring– ‘I really want to help you, it’s not just my job.’

We stayed at the Taj brand hotels with the exception of ITC Rajputana in Jaipur.  My sister and I were doing a typical “first-timer” tour of India, The Golden Triangle– Delhi, Agra, Jaipur.  Our add on was Lucknow, the capitol city of Utter Pradesh in the northeast.

British Residency in Lucknow

Lucknow: Untouristed and Unsettling

Known as the Nawabi City, Lucknow is steeped in history, rich with culture and architecture of the Nawab era. If you are interested in the Indian Mutiny of 1857, it’s a rich place to explore, especially for an Anglophile. There are very few tourists and you’re free to roam the monuments at your own peril (tourism without regard to law suits). I did get an unsettling feeling of… was it anger, disapproval, or just a weird sense of fascination from some of the men?

I was looking for a silver jewelry box and my guide took me into a few small shops on a main commerce street in Old Town. I took off my shoes as instructed, but there was no welcome or smile from the proprietor, on the contrary, it was more like, what is SHE doing here?  Also, while visiting the British Residency, the ruins of a large British township that was under siege during the Mutiny, we were openly learned at. I asked our guide, “Do they hate us? Or is it socially acceptable for men to stare?”  He said it’s because we’re white, “They think you’re British and in this area, the British are not well liked.” Obviously there isn’t a factual answer, it’s a feeling, something you can’t exactly Google.

Vivanta by Taj

Vivanta by Taj – Gomit Nagar – Lucknow

What turns this whole story on it’s head was the very nice welcome and hospitality we received at the the Vivanta Gomti Nagar Lucknow, the Taj’s number two brand, followed by the Gateway and the Ginger hotels.

I met Sales Managers Alpana Singh and S. Shabahat Husain for tea and they told me that the hotel was rather new (15 years), and built in the colonial style of the British Residency, with influences of French and Mughal (Nowabi) architecture. They explained that while they would like Lucknow to attract more tourism, right now their clientele is mostly there to conduct business and the Vivanta Lucknow caters to that customer. Ms. Singh, who started working for the hotel one year before it opened, said the hotels biggest asset was being part of the Taj brand.  Immediately, consumers know to expect excellence from the brand and that is what ultimately drives sales.

To best describe the excellent service we received, I have to tell a quick story about Swati, an on-duty service manager, I got to know.

My sister had purchased a sari from a popup store in the hotel with the idea that she would wear it at a gala the following night. The custom blouse that goes with the sari would not be completed in time, but she could wear a gold t-shirt instead.  The next day we got back to the hotel with an hour to get ready for the gala and Bonnie, my sister, said she couldn’t wear the sari because she didn’t have a matching petticoat.  This is a drawstring underskirt, that you tuck one end of the sari in to.  I’m a fashion stylist and I wasn’t going to let Bonnie leave the hotel in nothing else but that sari!

I called Swati.  I told her not only did we need the petticoat, but she had to come back to put the sari on because I didn’t know how to do it.  She said she needed the sari to match the fabric of the petticoat and that once she had it in hand, she would bring it to the room and put the sari on Bonnie.  With 45 minutes left, I had my doubts about pulling the sari mission off (honestly, I wouldn’t have bet a rupee on it).  It’s India, just thinking of the traffic and craziness outside, I felt defeated. Not only did Swati arrive in time to put the sari on, but the petticoat was the absolute perfect match to the sari fabric. Swati, duty manager and valet too.

Oudhyana Restaurant, Taj Vivanta

Oudhyana Restaurant – Nowab Splendor, The Taj Stamp

I’m sure there is amazing, adventurous, eating in local markets and city restaurants in India, but Anthony Bourdain I am not. Taking advice from my sister and friends who have been to India, I stuck mostly to hotel dining.  Yes, I wanted to be more authentic in my food choices, but like forgoing train travel, I didn’t want to take chances with the timing of our trip, being sequestered sick in bed or stuck on a train, was not an option.  However the Taj Hotels offer such fantastic dining, there is no compromising to be done.

Vivanta Gomti Nagar Lucknow has a one-of-a-kind restaurant called Oudhyana.  The dining room was like being in a Tiffany jewelry box.  Despite the fact that I was wearing a sequined gold skirt with a gold silk charmeuse top and jeweled sandals, I felt under dressed.  In this dining room you should bathe yourself in silk and jewels and finery from head to toe!

If ever you need to indulge a Nowab fantasy, this is the place to do it. The cuisine type is Awadhi, a northern India cuisine specific to Lucknow, but similar to Central Asia and the Middle East. Think slow fire stews, kebabs, korma–a big spread of small plates set before Nowabi princes during the Moghal era. Sous Chef Harish Chand Sharma makes this fantasy come to your table. A small selection of dishes worth remembering and mentioning here include: mustard fish, mutton kabab, and a vermicelli dessert.

Old Town, Delhi

The Golden Triangle – A Typical Itinerary for Atypical India 

Delhi

If you find yourself in Delhi, and anyone on a Rajistan Golden Triangle tour will, make sure you hire a bike rickshaw and take a ride through Old Delhi, this slice of India gave me a sense of place like no other. The rickshaw driver who weighed at least 35 pounds less than me (okay I’m 145) was managing with a bike chain that kept quitting on him. So he ran half the time. My sister was next to me (I’m not going to tell her weight). The driver was undaunted!

Our guide Pushkar, a young man with fashionably saggy pants, took us through the spice market and to a Sikh temple where we also toured the adjoining kitchen.  The kitchen had wok-like pots big enough for three four-year-olds. The ladies, patting, balling, and tossing dough seemed as chatty and comfortable as any feminine DIY gossip group the world over. They were getting ready to feed 100 plus, free of charge.

I asked Pushkar what he wanted to do after being a tour guide.  He said his plan was to retire at 35 and open an ashram in his home village up north, a lofty aspiration and rather different form western 20 somethings!

The stand out meal in Delhi was at the Taj Mahal New Delhi (The Taj Mansingh). Surprisingly, it was Chinese food.  Dining at the House of Ming felt like being in a James Bond movie.  One of those scenes where he is somewhere in the world being totally handsome, smart, international, glamorous and well fed.  The House of Ming prides itself on being a favorite of Delhi’s elite and while I didn’t recognize any Bollywood film stars, I bet they were there! Celebs aside, it was a tantalizing meal with tastes twisting and turning in my mouth – hot counteracted by sweet, soft in opposition to crunchy.  Order the lotus stems tossed in seasonal honey and dried red chilis. I’m not sure you can get them anywhere else.

Me at the Baby Taj.

Agra

Home to the Taj Mahal, Agra is probably one of the most touristed spots in central Asia. My neighbor Surendra Shah gave me some excellent advice before my trip.  He said to see the “Baby Taj” before visiting the Taj Mahal. Did we follow said advice, no, our schedule was turned around so we visited I’timad-ud-Daula (the Baby Taj) after seeing the Taj Mahal, but at sunset, and it was precious in comparison, like hearing flutes instead of drums.  Like the Taj Mahal, I’timad-ud-Daula is a tomb.  It is a precursor to the Taj, the first Mughal monument to use white marble and inlay. I’m not a Moghal scholar, but to me the architecture and inlay work was every bit as artistically jaw dropping as the Taj.

Moonlight Garden

The other bit of advice from Mr. Shah was to see the Taj Mahal from the Mehtab Bagh (Moonlight Garden) before visiting.  This advice we did follow and it was a perfect build up to seeing the Taj Mahal the next morning at sunrise. Mehtab Bagh is situated along the Yamuna River just opposite the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort.  It was the last Mughal-built gardens along the Yamuna and was said to be the chosen site of a black marble mausoleum (identical to the Taj Mahal) that Mughal Shah Jahan wanted to build for himself.  However, in typical Mughal dynastic fashion, excellent fodder for a dramatic TV mini-series, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb and the black Taj was never to be.

Peshawri restaurant at ITC Mughal, was our favorite meal in Agra. Riffing again on a movie reference, here I thought of Omar Sharif in Laurence of Arabia. Picture an exotic caravan tent set from a 50s MGM movie, except without the tent, the walls with their jagged tiles say cave more than ten, add lots of orange, green and red cushions and rugs, beaded screens, low lights, no dancers but a serious yet friendly waitstaff with oversized turbans… and you’re there. The food is inspired by the North-West Frontier Province, which encompasses parts of Afghanistan and Northwest pre-independence India. It’s a tradition of clay ovens and tandoor, it’s not saucy. We had some huge prawns fire cooked on a yard long skewer, a sword really.  The method for marinating the prawns was to use a big butter drenched rag (or cheese cloth?) and squeezed it over the prawns. Delicious.

Fatehpur Sikri

On the Way to Jaipur

The lower left point on the Golden Triangle tour is the city of Jaipur home to the stupendous Amber Fort, but there are two stops on your way there from Agra that should be made.  They are Fatehpur Sikri and the Chand Baori step wall in Abhaneri.

Fatehpur Sikri is an imperial palace city built by Mughal emperor Akbar. Visiting the complex gives you a frame of reference for the whole Mughal dynasty and it especially emphasizes the splendor and brilliance of Akbar’s court.  If I had to choose to run away with any one Mughal emperor, it would be Akbar!  His ability to assimilate different cultural influences and religions in the architecture of Fatehpur Sikri is unparalleled. His courts became the center of arts, literature and learning and he championed an Indo-Persian culture, which thrived on religious acceptance. There is so much history and lore to garnish from this magnificent palace city that you should be very particular about your guide and read up on Akbar The Great before you go!

Hindu Goddess, at Chand Baori Stepwell

Steps, steps and more steps.

Maybe it’s because Bonnie and I were the only ones there, but The Chand Baori Stepwell did feel mystical. A local guide took us around the top most part of the well describing the Hindi gods and goddess on various stone pieces lying about.  Looking down into the giant hole that is the well, one could get vertigo. The name “stepwell” both describes how it works and what it is.  You step down stairs to get to the water accumulated at the bottom. Women were most often associated with the wells, because they collected water while offering prayers. The Chand Baori stepwell has something like observation rooms overlooking the well with ornate architectural details now in semi-ruin. Being there, you could almost hear the laugher, gossip and chatter of the women seeking water and refuge on a hot summer day.

Note: The Golden Triangle sites are a lot about the Islamic Mughal Dynasty of the 16th century. The Chand Baori stepwell was built between 800 and 900AD and it is Hindu, dedicated to Hashat Mata, the Goddess of Joy and Happiness.

Amber Fort

Jaipur 

In Jaipur there are several requisite tourism sites, but the one that was stand out for us and most any visitor, is Amber Fort. I knew we would be riding a “Amber Fort Elephant” up the access road to the fort, a rather hokey way to get there (not to mentioned probably unsanctioned by animal rights activists) but I couldn’t wait to get on that elephant!  I had a big agenda to recreate the picture of my fashion idols Lee Radziwill and Jackie Kennedy on an elephant in India, sans the white gloves, and I did it!

Amber Fort also known as Amber Palace has a layered history with many medieval structures destroyed or replaced, but today the palace complex of the Rajput Maharajas still stands.  Like India itself it is enigmatic. So dramatic in form, grace and intricacy, one doesn’t know where to look first.

Glimpse a reflexion of yourself in Shesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), your face is cut into bits, your image is reflected a million times over, it is both disconcerting and awe-inspiring.

Disconcerting and awe-inspiring. That is the hot mess that is India.

Sari Tale, Thank you Swati - Lucknow, India

While in Lucknow, India with my sister this this past October, I stayed at the Vivante Hotel, the Taj’s number two brand, after The Taj and followed by the Gateway and the Ginger hotels. The Vivante Lucknow is only 12 years old and built to look like the British Colonial Residency. To best describe the excellent service we received there, let me tell you a quick story about Swati, an on-duty service manager we got to know.  

Me and Ruschika Modi

My sister Bonnie had purchased a sari from designer Ruschika Modi, who had a popup store in the hotel, with the idea that she would wear it to a gala the following night. Amazingly, Bonnie was able to make up her mind pretty quick about which sari to get. Check out the pictures, the array of beautiful hand woven Benares silks just freaked me out!

The next day we got back to the hotel with an hour to get ready for the gala and Bonnie said she couldn’t wear the sari because she didn’t have a matching petticoat.  This is the drawstring underskirt, necessary because you have to wrap and accordion tuck the sari fabric into it. No way was I going to let Bonnie go to this gala not in Ruschika’s sari. I called Swati. 

I told Swati not only did we need a petticoat, but also she had to come back to put the sari on because I didn’t know how to do it.  She said she needed the sari to match the fabric of the petticoat and that once she had it in hand, she would bring both back to the room.  With 45 minutes left, I had my doubts that we would pull the sari mission off. It’s India, the traffic and craziness outside the hotel can only be described as a colorful hot mess. Not only did Swati arrive in time to put the sari on, but the petticoat was the absolute perfect match to the sari fabric.

Swati, we loved you then and still do!

Fall 14 Skins–Leather and Suede

I'm seeing lots of texture out there.  I love leather, suede, fur, fluff, puff–all that shape and texture, the stuff that says, "Go on, pet me."  It's wildly seductive and often practical. I've put together a short list of "softies" from the Carlisle / Per Se collections that capture the trend.

View fullsize

Meet Our White Label

Portobello Suede Jacket

$1,395

Check out this Cognac suede number below. It has a detachable peplum that give you two jackets in one. It's peach-fuzz soft and the color is different, sort of a light oxblood.

Hello Cognac

$1,295

Black, quilted, leather, belted trench. A forever "spy chic" piece. 

Oracle (for the bond girl in you)

$1,495

Fluffy! A circle of the softest rex rabbit (sheared) fur to 

wrap and wrap and wrap around your neck.  Cozy!

Infinity $395

There's a lot of good stuff in this magazine!

I was psyched when editor Carolyn Worthington of Healthy Aging magazine asked my to write the spring fashion feature for her magazine.  It would feature the Carlisle, Per Se and Per Se White Label collections that I work with every day.  These clothes marry well with my favorite theme, travel + style. It's fashion easy to love. The biggest problem my clients are having this season? Deciding what not to buy.

What I didn't anticipate was how much I was going to enjoy the rest of the magazine once it was published.  First, Sheryl Crow is on the cover.  I'm a fan.  Then there's an article on castles including the one in Downton Abby. I'm a ridiculous fan.  There's an article about a couple who reinvented themselves, horsey style.  Plus lots of food, wine and recipes and, oh, something on tai chi...

Check out Healthy Aging here.

The Pattern Maker

When designing or crafting is a group effort, there always seems to be the unsung hero.  A behind the scenes guy that only the relevant few know about. I found myself awe struck by the pattern makers at the Carlisle design facility.  They quietly cipher a design, engineer it, coax it, manage it.  The end game is a garment that actually works on your body.  It fits, bends, moves and stretches. Repeats in the fabric are managed, pattern pieces are laid out keeping economy, fit and beauty in mind… Most pattern makers have a design back story of their own.  They come from a family of tailors or they obsessively made doll clothes as a child.

Here's a video of the Carlisle / Per Se pattern makers at work.

Creating Per Se

I recently toured the Carlisle/Per Se design and production offices in New York City.  Obviously, I'm committed to the brand.  I wear the clothes. I sell the clothes. I believe in the quality. I love the design. Now, I love the clothes all the more! I fully understand and appreciate what it takes to create the collections. Besides that, it's just really cool to be able to wear the clothes of a designer you've met and gotten to know!

Here's a few video clips and some pictures of Susan Klope, the designer of Per Se. You get a feel for how she works and her level of passion for all things that make up a garment; lace, weaves, yarns and buttons.  Look carefully, several of the background pieces will end up on next winter's Per Se runway!

Tuesday Night I Saw Puglia, Italy on West 16th Street

The lead singer raps about tomato sauce, 

wine, 

parmigiano, olive oil.

The band gives him a funky base sound to dish out his rhymes.

They’re on stage at the

Highline Ballroom

in Manhattan and behind them is a movie 

featuring food saturated with color.

Food that slops, pours, spills, splits and dances on the big screen.

What is he poetic about?

Puglia, a region in Italy that is the heel of their boot, sexier that a

Louboutin

pump, beloved for its olives, full-bodied red wine and coastal beauty.

This is how

Latitude

and

ENIT

(The Italian Government Tourist Board) spread the word about Puglia.  They have my attention!  I’m awed when the machismo lead singer moves from microphone to table to make pasta from scratch.  He starts with eggs and flour, rolls the dough several times through a pasta machine, boils it and tosses it with vegetables and some sort of light sauce, also made from scratch,

in less than five minutes!!!

If this is what Puglia is on West 16th Street, it must be

amazing

in Italy! 

Thanks you Latitude and ENIT for a very creative teaser to this region, I’d like to pack my bags right now and head to Puglia for the real thing! 

Christina Binkley's Reporting On the Comeback of the Power Suit

I'm a Binkley fan.  I read her fashion column in the WSJ whenever I can and I'm usually both informed and impressed.  She can write about fashion without sounding vapid or snobbish, not easy. In her article The Leaner, Meaner Power Suit she give a great little crash course on the history of the power suit for women and peppers the article with some good statistics as well.  Apparently some 3.9 billion women's suit will be purchased this year, their market share up 27%.

Ahead of the trend, Carlisle / per se has been doing some great suiting for the last several seasons that is "powerful" and provocative, for a woman who is, well... a woman.  Clients are usually scared of being matchy, matchy, so I've been breaking suits up, but lately I'm feeling like this is less of an issue.  Executive women are actually gravitating towards the whole suit.  Finally!

Go Get Arty

Fuel

Gallery hop NoHo, lower east side–After fuel at La Colombe walk down Mott street to Broom Street and view the Esther Rosa installation at S Artspace Gallery.       Ms. Rosa has done a series of calming abstract paintings that are layered, organic in feeling and materials and decorator friendly, in that they'll work in most any room.  I'm sure that's not the reason to buy art (and most artists would sniff at me for saying so), but it's always something that comes to my mind, "Can I live with this? Will it work in my living room? Will I always love it?"  

Rosa's large sculpture made entirely from coffee filters, all dyed to varying degrees using coffee, and of several different sizes, is weird, wonderful and completely unexpected!  This was what I wanted my friends to see.  I think it is a daring piece to host and bodes well for creative happenings we can anticipate from this gallery.    

Gallery owners Elizabeth Rosso and Catherine Testorf make the art, the space, the experience that much more inviting with their enthusiasm for this particular artists and the others they have, and will be showing.  

Side note: At another gallery (un-named here) we practically had to use a cattle prod to get the gal to tell us about what we were seeing...

Walk east to Woodward Art and check out "DETAIL."  It's no surprise that I loved Susan Breen's  little cut-out painter's palette dresses, charming.  In fact, it seemed this show had a little something for each of us to relate to and appreciate and want!

Question: When did Orchard Street become gallery land? I bought my first business suit there from a Hasid who knew about fit and sensible style.  In the late 80s I cut the skirt too short, but the slim jacket, a woven tweed, looks like one from Ralph Lauren's fall collection. Ha!     

  

Friday at the MET

I think the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC) would be on my top ten list of places I like to be. It's an art feast and I am eating it up! Often, especially on cold, winter (even though it's March) days, I want to ditch New York and go back to Cali. But a half day looking at what mere humans are able to create, is incredibly satisfying, inspiring and uplifting.  I leave the MET saying, I love New York and I'm not even in a Woody Allen film.   

James Tissot, The Shop Girl

Today I saw Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity.  The name alone tells you why I wanted to go!  It was a fabulous collection of mostly full body portraits by celebrated impressionist. Many of the painting were from the d'Orsay, so it felt like a museum visit in Paris. 

There was mention that the impressionists were enamored of their own era. Thereby paining, what we would call today, lifestyle pictures, paintings rich in detail and expression of everyday life. A curious thought. Am I enamored of the era I'm living in?  Perhaps I am, yes and no... 

Tissot's works were my favorite.  Surprising, because he was the least impressionistic. 

A silly take away; I need more stripes in my wardrobe! 

  

My girlfriend and I followed up our pretend Paris visit with paninis and Champaign at Sant Ambroeus.  I had an answer to my earlier musing... Yes, at this place, I am enamored with my own era!  The impressionists would have captured a buzzing, delicious, sophisticated, fashionable moment in my very own time!   

Where I Went 2012

Editor and friend Max Hartshorn of GoNOMAD asked me to submit to his Where We Went in 2012 article.  Here's what I came up with: 

I love to pack!  The anticipation of going somewhere and packing just the right thing makes me feel like I've aced an exam!  As a fashion stylist, I've made a whole profession out of counseling  people on just what to wear for any occasion at home or abroad.  When I travel, I'm reporting on the fashion scene and finding ways to absorb stylish ideas to use in my styling work with clients.  

As for styling work, I'm a stylist at the by-appointment Carlisle/Per Se Showroom in Greenwich CT. and I travel there almost daily. Just 40 minutes from Grand Central (NYC), Greenwich is considered one of the toniest towns in America!  Visit the Bruce Museum, the shoe department at Saks–fab, window-shopping up and down the Avenue, and of course the Ralph Lauren mansion store.  I like Morello or Terra for lunch or drinks or sometimes I'll grab a sandwich and just sit and watch the Sound (Long Island). 

Oxbow Public Market

Another cool place, on the opposite coast, to be seen and check out the scene is Napa.  My article "Take 5 in Napa" for Travelgirl Magazine described a fall girlfriend getaway sans car.  Take the Wine Train up the valley and fulfill your Agatha Christie dreams or visit the Oxbow Public Market where cool meets country. While most visitors to Napa are elbowing to get a reservation at The French Laundry, we opted for Cuvée Napa the atmosphere and clientele made for excellent style watching and the food and wine pairings were extraordinary. 

No winter is complete with out buckling up boots, ski boots!  I have a printed/laminated list of everything one needs to wear and bring skiing. If I didn't like clothes so much, I'm not sure I would love the sport!  We skied local this year.  Jiminy Peak and Butternut ski resorts in the Berkshires made enough snow to satisfy visitors while mother nature occasionally chipped in.  The fashion scene on these hills is well, non existent... My new Montclair ski jacket needs a trip to the Alps!  

Early summer in Portland Maine is all about–light houses, adirondack chairs, lobster... This stylist put on full lobsterman gear and boarded a lobster fishing boat to catch those gnarly creatures and catch them, she did!  Lunch was my lobster catch dockside.  Next was a stone massage at The Inn by the Sea's spa.  This classic, contemporary Inn is Maine at it's best.  Wear sweeping linens, straw hat and espadrilles.  You'll feel like you belong in a Winslow Homer painting!  What's more you can visit Homer's Studio while in Portland.  Follow that up with a food and wine tour of this unexpectedly hip New England town. 

Estrella Spa at the Viceroy Palm Springs

Palm Springs is HOT in August!  Skimpy summer frocks, a must!  The town is tourist free and there are off-season deals to be found.  The Viceroy Hotel makes for feeling fabulous.  It's ultra chic, goove-a-licious–everything the Rat Pack had in mind when they made this town their playground.  Make sure to visit the "design district" and stop by Flow Modern Design store.  If hiking is your thing, the desert makes for interesting vistas and a fizzy cocktail post hike is deserving and appreciated!  My choice? A margarita of course!

Tango, Narni, Italy

Smack in the middle of Umbria, which is smack in the middle of Italy, is a small medieval town called Narni.  Narni hosts the Narnia Arts Academy, a cultural/artistic festival in July.  One unexpected offering in the "Culture and Leisure" program at the festival is Tango Dancing.  Ladies, imagine tango dancing with a handsome Italian in tight pants.  What's more, he's teaching you how to do it, no experience required.  But perhaps food turns you on more.  If so, you can take regional cooking classes at the festival as well.  Classes are held in local restaurants and medieval taverna.

The Culture and Leisure programs has offerings for one or two weeks and includes excursions to Rome, Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto and more. Every manor of accommodations are available and at prices way below "big city stays" for that time of year.

This medieval hill town is pumping with music, dance and art during the festival (actually, most of the year).  Stroll from one side of Narni to the other in about 10 minutes, do it at night, under the glow of street lanterns, with your real (or pretend) tango partner!

Side note:  Narnia is the Latin name for Narni and it is from this city that C.S. Lewis took inspiration for his book "Chronicles of Narnia," which has nothing to do with tango.

 

Hands Turned On

I'm sure you can relate to being lost in a foreign country and having trouble deciding if you’re excited, or terrified! There is a perfect T-shirt out there that shows and says just what to do–breath!  Hands Turned On has fitted Ts that say things like “Excitement Without Breath is Fear, “ “Ten Seconds To Center” and “Practice Extreme Gratitude.” These soft cotton tops come in sherbet colors and have handprints on them, which display where to put your own hands to practice self healing (or self calming) techniques. The shirts come with a nifty hangtag that guides you in performing energy healing/breathing practices that are unique to each shirt.

Renowned energy medicine healer Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson wanted to launch a product that would give customers easy access to the use of energy medicine anywhere! The shirts allow the wearer to jump into a healing practice without going to a workshop, class, healer or clinician. Besides that, they look cool, travel well, feel good on and spread a great message. The shirts are available online at the company’s website, www.handsturnedon.com.

Summer in the Showroom

Hi There,

I thought I'd show you some terrific dresses from Carlisle / per se's summer collection.  This season my clients will receive $200 off on a purchase of three or more pieces.  I'm always interested in having groups of women up to the showroom to see what kind of spectacular service we provide and to taste how much fun shopping privately with friends can be. If you'd like to collaborate on a small event, please get in touch with me–wine, mimosas, appetizers and fashion–could be fun!

Now for some dresses–easy, breezy–one piece + jewelry = your done, dressed and fab!

Wrap it up!

Sassy!

Grrr!

A Little Audry

My Favorite!

Can you hear the drum beat?!

Swish!

Easter Parade!

My Fair Gent

A few weeks ago I roped my friend LB (you don't really have to rope her though, she's up for almost anything) into to seeing an exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York.  I knew I would enjoy the exhibit, Cecil Beaton, the New York Years, but I didn't know what to expect from the museum.  It's a beautiful landmark building undergoing an $85 million expansion on 103rd street, a gem.  The Beaton exhibit is big enough to spend time at each photo and illustration, reading about the fabulous life of this accomplished, photographer/designer, but not too big that you just can't take it all in.

I think most of us know that Beaton was the designer behind the costumes in both the movie and stage version of My Fair Lady.  He started his career in fashion photography for all the big New York mags, chronicling the most popular designers of the 30s, Mainbocher, Schiaparelli.  His shots were very theatrical and staged, a technique that is actually getting more popular today.  Beaton then turned his focus toward design; interiors, costumes, sets.  He lived in and redesigned suites at posh New York City hotels, including the Pierre and the Sherry Netherland.

This exhibit flew in the face of all those well meaning career advisors that encourage creative people to pick just one thing, and do only that, and that is what I liked about it best!   Now through February 20th.

Circle Back to the Real Stuff

The results of Liz Tailor’s estate sale were staggering.  I went to the preview exhibit and was stunned by the massive quantity of things one person could acquire over the course of a lifetime–purely for adornment. Rooms and floors of stuff, stuff, stuff! Former husbands and friends seemed to interpret Liz’s taste differently.  Jackson’s gifts were slightly ridiculous, Todd’s, fairy princess, Burton, serious duchess, and Liz’s own designs were oversized and exotic, like she raided an Egyptian tomb.  

I bet scores of designers are getting out their jewel colored pencils as an ode to Liz.  I’m already reaching for more serious, smaller jewelry, the real stuff, not that I have much!  But I predict that’s a trend waiting to happen.  Hopefully we won’t see jewel studded bolero jackets on the runway for fall 12, but I wouldn’t be surprised, perhaps minus the shoulder pads and riot of colors. As for caftans, bring them on!  Then you can eat your fill of guacamole and margaritas and still look poolside chic. Oh but wait, Liz did get sort of fat… but you can always fit into jewelry…

See the World on Broome Street

East Broome Street in NYC was our quick world tour as my friend Brigitte and I took in Swiss artist Regis Colombo’s exciting imagery at sohotel – Art Space Gallery.  Each work is dedicated to a city captured in a collage of nuance both subtle and bold. Entitled “Transparencies” Colombo works his magic with camera and mouse crafting layer upon layer of images that dance together in vibrant color and black and white. Now through December 18^th the show is mounted in a raw, yet inviting street space of the sohotel.

A perfect compliment to the show is a drink next door at Bar Coffee, The Randolph at Broome.  Here, layer upon layer of booze and bitters make a tasty, colorful work of art you can drink! 

La Dolce Vita at Eataly

If you’re looking for sweets, Italian sweets, sweet living, then and now… Go to Eataly, NYC.  There, you’ll find the sweet life, “La Dolce Vita” in every direction. Eataly is the perfect stage to play out almost any Italian fantasy, especially with regard to food and wine, but it also celebrates La Dolce Vita–love, life, energy, joy. It hums.  Be sure to look up.  Hanging from bars suspended from the ceiling is this wonderful exhibition curated by Marco Panella.  Stars at play and work in Italy during this glamorous decade are on display in a captivating black and white pictorial.  Toast to the likes of Tyrone Power, Mamie Van Doren and, no surprise, Sophia Loren.

Don't miss it.