Well Said

Lisa Scully, owner of the Locust Valley Bookstore, sent out this germane Mason Cooley quote.  When I log off and tune out the news, I’ve been reading. Movies are great, but by evening I need a screen break. My book club is meeting via Zoom next month and I’m determined to finish Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt. Ironically, we read A Gentleman in Moscow last month and the author, Amor Towles, came to our meeting.

Book recommendations are always welcome.

Fall Wish List

I turned off the news and stopped unpacking — a fashion break is in order.

There were lots of beautiful looks in the FW20 shows and I’ve put the items above on my wish list. The Valentino dress is a timeless piece, as is the Celine coat, which will be the perfect length on me (to my knee), and the camel headscarf at Marc Jacobs has my name on it.

Green at Miu Miu and Valentino — swoon.

New Digs

New office with a few of my old things — starting to feel like home. I’ve had the Swedish desk since our Fifth Avenue apartment and, even though it’s seen better days, I’m reluctant to have it refinished. Plenty of room for Mother’s white leather Mies van der Rohe chairs and stool, too. Now I can get back to work (and ignore the mountain of boxes to be unpacked).

Hope everyone is well.

xp

Homework

Left:Janklow home; Right:Aerin Lauder’s home

Working from home has its pros and cons. It is certainly easy and economical, but it requires dedicating a space to be an office that still looks good in your home. A Gracie or de Gournay wallpaper would be gorgeous in a small space.

Here are the mistakes I make working at home:

I get up at 5am and start working. A better plan would be to exercise, shower, and eat breakfast first. I am dressed before the deliveries come in, which I learned the hard way…

I work all the time and have to remind myself that it’s okay to log off.

Grazing as I pass through the kitchen is a big problem.

Beige is Tops, cont.

It was 70º yesterday and I was kicking myself for having packed my shorts. The Saint Laurent pair above or Agolde‘s are my preferred length for SS20. Paired with a beige henley, sneakers, and Ray-Bans is my kind of chic.

Beige is Tops

Beige can be tricky, but these three are good on me. The Anna Quan ribbed top and Toteme shirt run large, the Handvaerk polo is true to size and not as pink.

Arms Length

Marc Jacobs showed opera-length gloves, as did Valentino (above left and below) and Givenchy (above right). I wore white to a winter ball, and just pulled out a brown-almost-black pair that were tucked way in the back of my closet — this is such an elegant trend.

Early Bird

Years ago, I would attend trunkshows at Bergdorfs and Barneys to secure the items I wanted for the next season. Thanks to Moda Operandi, pre-ordering is still alive and well  — I love knowing that I will get the runway item that caught my eye without having to track it down months later. I posted (here & here) on the Tom Ford skirt and Khaite belt just moments after they were shown, and have already secured my size in each.

What Goes Around…

The hobo popped up on a few runways and I’m sure glad I kept all of these. Don’t overpurge, everything comes back in fashion. And if you bought well the first time around, it will look just as good the second. #oldceline

Celine

Hedi Slimane put on quite a lengthy show for the Celine FW20 collection and, at one point, I had to remind myself that it was Celine and not Saint Laurent. No, Kate Moss was not under the floppy hat and peasant blouse redux. Reworked references aside, as always, there were a lot of beautifully tailored clothes in the 100 something looks. The top left is a ringer for my beloved Slimane for SL grey coat and no one does a duffel quite as well at Hedi. A matching tunic and pant gets me very time.