Thanksgiving Hostess

For those of you who plan on entertaining this Thanksgiving, why not take a page from eras gone by and dress to coordinate with your Thanksgiving table? I ran across the two images below in a book from 1956 titled, Coat's and Clark's Hostess Book. In true Betty Draper style, it was de riguer in the 1950s to coordinate one's outfit (which usually included an apron) to one's table linens.

Coat's and Clark's Hostess Book 1956

Coat's and Clark's Hostess Book, 1956

In the 1960s/1970s the hostess dress came into fashion. Usually it was a maxi dress that coordinated or matched one's table linens and sometimes even one's china. In the photo below, the lady's dress also matches the curtains in the room!

The image below is an advertisement for a paper hostess dress with matching paper table linens, plates, place mats, cups, and even wrapping paper.

 

Diane von Furstenberg may be trying to bring this trend back with her recently launched tableware collection. 

Diane von Furstenberg 1970s

Below, is a photo from the November 2010 issue of House Beautiful.  It's Furstenberg's take on decorating a table for Thanksgiving. It uses pieces from her tableware collection which includes plates, glasses, place mats, coasters, trays, table linens, serving pieces and more. It would be so fab to host a Thanksgiving dinner in that room while wearing a coordinating DVF maxi wrap dress! Happy Thanksgiving!

Loulou de la Falaise

 I was sad to learn this weekend about the death of a true original - Loulou de la Falaise. She was the muse and longtime friend of Yves Saint Laurent. He referred to her as his "little miracle" and was very influenced by her eclectic, bohemian style.  De la Falaise did not like being called a muse. She said, "I used to get very irritated by that term. For me, a muse is someone who looks glamourous but is quite passive, whereas I was very hard-working. I worked from 9 am to sometimes 9 pm, or even 2 am.  I certainly wasn't passive."

Betty Calroux, Yves Saint Laurent, Loulou de la Falaise 1969 London

De la Falaise met Saint Laurent in Paris in 1968 and by 1972 she was working for his company as a jewelry designer. She continued to work there for three decades. She adored designing pieces with brightly colored stones, crosses, hearts, and huge enameled flowers. She once said, "Accessories have an important role in our stressful lives. If you're going out to dinner and you haven't had the time to go home and change, you can take off your jacket and put on some jewelry."

Loulou de la Falaise at her wedding in 1977. Wearing YSL turban.

In 1977, Saint Laurent hosted an Arabian fantasy of a wedding for the marriage of de la Falaise to Thadee Klossowski de Rola. Saint Laurent designed de la Falaise's wedding ensemble seen in the photo above.

After Saint Laurent retired in 2002, de la Falaise started her own jewelry and clothing line. 

Spooky Lace

Gloria Swanson 1924

I love this photo of Gloria Swanson taken by Edward Steichen in 1924. There is something so elegant yet mysterious and almost spooky about it. Jason Wu was clearly channeling this version of Gloria for his Fall 2011 Runway.

Jason Wu Fall 2011

In fact, lace was all over the runways for Fall 2011. And who can blame the designers. When done right,

lace is elegant, classic, beautiful, sexy and adds that touch of mystery - that je ne sais quoi that Steichen is so adept at capturing in his portrait of Gloria Swanson. So tonight consider donning some black lace in place of a costume in order to swath yourself in Halloween mystery.

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011

Lanvin Fall 2011

Gearing Up For Halloween!

 Love Audrey in her kitten mask! But most of all I am obsessed with her orange Hubert de Givenchy coat!