Saddle up with Chanel

I recently received an envelope full of newspaper and magazine clippings from my Aunt Mary Ellen in New Orleans. We fondly call these "Hank mail" after her father who was famous for sending correspondence filled with odds and ends to recipients around the world. Once you were on Hank's mailing list and he knew your interests, you received missives from him for life.

In ME's envelope was the above clipping, which gave me a laugh. Even for those of us who worship at the altar of fashion, what we consider good taste is often pushed beyond the limit. The above bag was shown at Chanel's once-a-year Metiers d'Art (also known as Pre-Fall 2014) which took place in Dallas last December. Karl Lagerfeld chose a Texas theme to honor Dallas and Neiman Marcus, the first place to enthusiastically accept Coco Chanel's comeback designs in 1957.

For context, it's good to know a little history here. In 1939 Chanel closed her salon when France declared war on Germany. Following the war, Chanel observed Dior's success with the "New Look" and felt the tiny waists and full skirts were not modern at all. She reopened her salon, but her designs were not a critical success. She soon developed the Chanel suit that we know of today: tweed fabric, braid trim, short boxy jacket and narrow skirt. America, especially the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus, accepted her modern suit with great enthusiasm. For Pre-Fall 2014, Lagerfeld went a little Texas-happy applying western motifs to everything.

ME and I chatted about this the other day and she had more to add: "It's not Chanel anymore. I'm old school. I'm glad he's kept Chanel going but I wish she was here. I'd love to hear what she would say. The bag looks like Texas and not Chanel.  I don't think you'll see it on the Rue St. Honore or Boulevard St. Germain.  A touch pricey I think, but maybe a horse comes with it. Quelle disappointment."

I stopped by the San Francisco Chanel boutique last week to see the handbag in person. There were about five or six variations of the "saddle" bag with lots of fringe and trim, beaded jewelry items with a Native American theme and a red, white and blue silk scarf with a large "Dallas" printed on it. The items didn't feel San Francisco at all, but the shoppers are tourists from other places in the world, where a western theme is probably considered exotic. But for locals, the Texas style is too close to home to take seriously.

For the Texas show, he directed a 24-minute video about this time in Chanel's life. Called The Return, it is great glamorous fun to watch. Lagerfeld has a million ideas and I'm hoping the next collection gives me the ol' Chanel coup de coeur.

Satiating the senses at Bergdorf's

Night before last on PBS, they showed Secrets of Selfridges, an hour-long history of the department store and the man who created it. This was right after Masterpiece Classic: The Paradise, taken from Emile Zola's The Ladies Paradise. Zola's book is the best of all and I highly recommend it. It seems like the historical significance of department stores is suddenly a popular topic.

It's fascinating to learn all the retail and marketing innovations that Harry Gordon Selfridge dreamed up and are still in practice to today. Such as it's fine to "just look", customer service comes first, placing cosmetics by the front door, having a toilet (before Selfridges, women who had to go while shopping, had to go home!) and having annual sales.

Watching both shows last night put me in mind of my first visit to Bergdorf Goodman, which was just a couple months ago. I've always heard and read about its elegance, its service and the highly curated selection of designer clothes. And I enjoyed the documentary, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's. And my Aunt Mary Ellen says that when she goes to New York, she always goes to the "three B's: Bergdorf's, Barneys and Bendels. My visit to the store exceeded all expectations. It was at the end of a long work day when a friend and I entered the beautiful doors to the richly decorated ground floor full of cases of beautiful jewelry. Trying to take it all in, I found myself in front of a display of two Verdura cuff bracelets, with Maltese crosses similar to the ones Duke Fulco Verdura designed for Chanel in the Thirties.

I was entranced, having seen photos and read the history, but never having seen one in person. I heard a voice behind me, "Care to test drive these today?" I was startled out of my sparkly reverie and laughed and before I knew it, the darling Joseph Riccio, Verdura Specialist (as he introduced himself) placed one of the cuffs on my wrist. I caught a glimpse of the price tag--$38,000! And then I tried on the other one, $50,000! I told Joseph it was a dream for me to try these on. He looked at me seriously and said, "That's what we do a Bergdorf's, we make dreams come true." And standing there in my jeans and T shirt wearing a bejewelled bracelet, I believed him.

But I had barely entered the store! I went from department to department, circling every floor finding the latest of the latest and the most gorgeous of the gorgeous. And everywhere the Bergdorf people could not have been nicer.

They were having a small show of original drawings by the terrific fashion illustrator Tony Viramontes. In the 80's, Tony's fierce, graphic style defined the times. Unfortunately he died much too young.

The store was celebrating the publication of a new book of his work, Bold, Beautiful and Damned. Which of course I happily purchased, and the salesman graciously shipped it to me so I wouldn't have to carry it. All the famous Bergdorf windows were decorated with Tony's art.

Joseph, my Verdura Specialist, recommended that we go to the 7th floor to have a drink at the BG Restaurant and bar. We found the perfect table for two poised right in front of a window with a view of Central Park. My friend and I ordered the Warm Crab Dip to share and a glass of bubbly. The waiter also brought us a dish of BG Bar Nuts. It was all so delicious and rich that I asked the waiter for the recipes. He took my email address and said they would get back to me. The next day I had an email from Julieta Benavides, the restaurant manager. She was delighted that I enjoyed my visit to Bergdorfs and attached the recipes. She even said I should look her up next time I'm there!

Here are the recipes:

BG Warm Crab Dip

• Make a béchamel: Melt 8 oz. butter, Add 16 oz. all-purpose flour, Whisk in 4 cups milk until thick and creamy. (note: doesn't that seem like too much flour?)
• Add jumbo lump crabmeat and salt and pepper to taste.
• Top with panko breadcrumbs and bake in oven.
• Garnish with chives and serve with toast points. 

BG Bar Nuts

• Mixed nuts (no peanuts), 3 large cans
• Rosemary, chopped, 1 bunch
• Butter, 1/2 lb. 
• Cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. 
• Kosher salt, 1 cup
• Spanish paprika, 1/2 cup
• Sugar, 1/2 cup

Place nuts on a sheet tray and bake in oven for 5 minutes at 350. Transfer nuts to large bowl and combine with rest of ingredients until fully incorporated. Spread on cool sheet tray and let set. 

At Bergdorf Goodman, from the first floor to the seventh floor, all the senses are satiated!

Holiday Sparkles on Union Square

Paul Smith. I like the tree!

Last Friday after work I did a little lap around Union Square with my camera to see what I could capture of the holiday window displays. It was a chilly, clear evening making the most of the twinkling lights. The sidewalks were bustling with groups of out-of-town shoppers loaded with shopping bags. Some of the stores went for the flash and shine and others took a more subdued approach.  

Saks: Dolce & Gabbana 

Saks: Lily Samii and Yigal Azrouel

Saks: Fendi

Neiman Marcus: Oscar de la Renta

Neiman Marcus: dress, Tom Ford

The small casement windows at Tiffany's are beautiful glimpses into a miniature world. The tree is only about a foot tall and those are bejeweled bangle bracelets leaning against the stairs.

Another dollhouse setting at Tiffany's. It's hard to see, but on the steps under the tiny Tiffany's box is a diamond-encrusted key pendant. 

A minimal and arty Hermes. 

A blast of color at Kate Spade.

Barneys and Disney created a runway fantasy cartoon that plays in one their windows featuring fashion insiders and celebs. If you have five minutes, take a look at the video. It's silly and fun. 

Fire Burn, and Cauldron Bubble: Chanel in Scotland

Just when I was despairing that perhaps Chanel had left fantasy and romance behind, my fashion friend Karen sent me a link to this video for the Paris-Edimbourg 2012/13 Metiers d'Art Show, which took place two days ago. Lagerfeld has staged this extravagant event every year for the last ten years. This year the show took place at the 15th Century Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots.

But what does Chanel have to do with Scotland? From 1924 to 1931 Coco Chanel had a love affair with The Duke of Westminster and Coco took up hunting, fishing and wearing the Duke's Scottish wool and tweed clothing and then adapted them into her designs, along with the Fair Isle knits.  For the last twenty-five years, Chanel has produced their knits at Barrie Knitwear of Hawick, saving the nearly ninety-year-old factory from closing.

The video is about fourteen minutes long, but it's worth watching the drama of bonfires blazing, snow falling and a moody, cold castle setting right out of Macbeth. It's another world and another time, but Lagerfeld richly layers the models with beautiful wool, lace, leather, Chanel chains, bags, shoes and jewelry making it all very new and very desirable.

Man Ray vs. Brad Pitt

I'm sure that by now, you've seen the newest ad campaign for Chanel No. 5 featuring Brad Pitt. It premiered about a month ago and parodies have been rife. If you haven't seen, or would like to see it again,  take a look at the thirty-second spot, I'd love to know what you think. My initial reaction was "This is odd, really odd." And then I tried to be open-minded to the "new creative." The point of advertising is to get your attention and having a man tout a woman's perfume is different, and having that man be Brad Pitt definitely gets attention. But I'm sticking with my original impression; the campaign is not compelling and it's confusing. Several people I spoke with thought Chanel was introducing a new men's fragrance. 

Instead of sexy, Brad looks squirmy and uncomfortable, one dimensional. He's more listless than passionate. The ad is black and white, with an overall grungy gray feel. Brad is standing in the corner of a gray room wearing a wrinkled shirt with the tail hanging out and his hands defensively in his pockets. So instead of me feeling intrigued, captivated and drawn in to the world of Chanel No. 5, I feel distanced. And I'm an easy mark. For the last thirty years I've always had a bottle or two of Chanel perfume, and I still get giddy over a new one.

I can imagine the ad agency was told to attract a younger audience, that Chanel No. 5 is no longer your grandmother's perfume. That's the problem with a classic: it's wonderful to be so recognizable and the Chanel No. 5 scent, bottle and name comprises one of the most iconic brands in the world. But how do you market to a new audience without compromising what makes it great? How do you stay true to the brand but tell the story in a new way? Millions and billions are spent consulting with brand experts to answer this question. But at minimum, you keep it interesting. Looking up, down, left and right, Brad delivers this soliloquy:

"It's not a journey. Every journey ends, be we go on. The world turns and we turn with it. Plans disappear and dreams take over. But wherever I go, there you are, my luck, my fate, my fortune. Chanel No. 5. Inevitable." 

Ho hum. Brad, is that a cliche in your pocket or are you just bored to see me?

A L'Heure de l'observatoire: Les amoureaux, painting by Man Ray, 1932-1934

About the same time that this campaign premiered, Matt and I went to the Legion of Honor to the Man Ray | Lee Miller: Partners in Surrealism exhibit. Now there's a story of modern passion, romance, glamour, artfulness and rich, fascinating lives, all the qualities I associate with Chanel No. 5.  Man Ray was a chick magnet. The more I read about him, the more girlfriends I discover he had, from Paris to Los Angeles. And they all seemed to happily pose nude for his camera or paintbrush. Lee Miller was his love from 1929 to 1932 when they lived together in Paris. She left him and he was devastated. Man Ray did the above painting of Lee Miller's lips and wrote these words, wrought with passion:

"It is seven o'clock in the morning, before the hunger of the imagination is satisfied. The sun has not yet decided to rise or set -- but your mouth comes. It becomes two bodies separated by a horizon, slim, undulating, like the earth and the sky, like you and me and so like all microscopic objects, invisible to the eye. Lips of the sun, you draw me endlessly nearer, and in this instant before awakening, when I cast loose from my body -- I am weightless -- I meet you in the even light and empty space, and, my only reality, kiss you with all that is left of me: my own lips."

I read those words in a crowded museum on a Sunday afternoon and Man Ray's love and longing swept me up and carried me away to a world of romance. If you're going to use a man to sell perfume, give me one that leaves me wanting more! In this instance, a dead Man Ray has more life than a live Brad Pitt. 

Window Licking

I did a little window shopping today on Union Square, or "window licking", the english translation of the vivid french expression -- "la faire de lecher la vitrine".  I probably can't afford what I see or even if I could, I'm not sure I would want to spend the multi-thousands to own it. But that's what's so democratic about shop windows, it's free to look, get inspiration and study the trends in colors, styles and textures.

Chanel today with a retro feel. Still true to black and white, the quilted bag, the camelia and the saucy boater hat. Very Mademoiselle Chanel and very Deauville.

Something about these Chanel mannequins looks oddly old-fashioned. Maybe it's the realistic heads with long hair and the make-up. All the other shop windows had abstracted heads, or no heads at all. 

Hermes always has artful windows. 

This time the theme is folded paper origami horses and geometric shapes. 

Colorful classic Hermes enamel bracelets.

Hermes dressage saddle on an amazing paper horse.

A simple black Hermes shift looks elegant with beautiful accessories and a hit of color. 

Prada is showing florals and pastel colors with a hint of grey to make them more complex and interesting. Miuccia Prada described her Spring 2012 collection as "Sweetness".

Nice mix of blues and a surprising green shoe. 

The Marc Jacobs window on Maiden Lane. Pitch fork?

Now that he has our attention...the Marc Jacobs' window has a county fair theme, complete with a full-size cow. And they're having a good ol' timey contest. Guess the number of blue mints in the giant milk bottle and win a $10,000 gift certificate to the store. Winner to be announced March 3rd*!

*(The results, 74,352 mints. Correctly guessed by "a guy who works down the street". I was only off by 25,000).