 |
|
|
| |
Dean Christopher and Pilar Hubbard
|
|
Coco Chanel used to say that elegance meant being equally beautiful on the inside and the outside. The Chanel jacket, an icon of luxury, is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. To prove this point, Pilar Hubbard, manager of the Chanel Boutique at Highland Park Village, hosted an event entitled The Secrets of the Chanel Jacket. A select few were invited to drink champagne and hear Mary Adair Macaire, Director of Global Marketing, talk about the history and construction of the world's most sophisticated jacket.
Dean Christopher, Chanel's image management consultant, transformed the boutique into a costume history salon that featured pieces from the archives dating back to 1916.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
The first Chanel jackets were made of fluid, malleable jersey prior to the 1920's. In an age when women wore corsets and clothing was made of stiff materials, Gabrielle Chanel demanded that her jacket be comfortable and easy to wear. In 1954 Chanel began rendering the jacket in tweed, her favorite fabric, without sacrificing any of its previous comfort. Pockets and sleeves had to be designed so that movement wasn't hindered. All Chanel jackets are lined in silk and have a chain sewn into the lining - a detail that gives the jacket its impeccable silhouette.
Chanel is the only couture house to ‘weight’ its jackets in this way. Learning the secrets of the Chanel jacket and the workmanship that goes into them really made me feel better about paying the $4,000 price tag.
|
|
Chanel Exhibition |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ken Downing and Michael Faircloth |
|
If you ask Ken Downing, Neiman Marcus' Fashion Director to be your presenter for an award, you are in for an interesting experience, so the best thing to do is relax, have a couple of cocktails and enjoy the ride. The Fashion Group International's Rising Star Awards was held at the Hotel Palomar on November 9th and Ken graciously agreed to present me with the Inspiration Award. He was the first person to speak and really set the tone for the evening with a hysterical version of the football cheer B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E. BE AGGRESSIVE. (Who, moi? Aggressive?) You had to be there, but trust me it was funny. Emcee Michael Faircloth and Ken must not have called each other before they got dressed for the evening because they both turned up looking chic in matching gold lamé jackets. My friend Myra Walker, director of the Texas Fashion Collection, received the much-deserved award for Fashion Innovation. Other award recipients were JD Miller, Pat Parsi, Georgiana Estfania, Kristen DeRochha, and Joanne Snodgrass. John Irvin and Jan Showers received the Career Achievement Award.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
I am definitely not what you would call a domestic goddess, but I have a really nice kitchen, so I thought it would be a good idea to go the Mansion on Turtle Creek to meet Food Network's Nigella Lawson and check out her most recent cookbook, Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food Fast. The event was co-chaired by Joyce Goss and Robin Ladik and 100% of the proceeds benefited The Family Place. We all listened with rapt attention as Nigella shared words of food wisdom with us. For example, she emphasized the fact that the most important thing about food is that it creates an opportunity to be with the people you love and you shouldn't obsess about getting everything just perfect. She once had a cake crack down the middle so she simply covered it with powdered sugar and berries and it looked beautiful. Nigella has photographic food memory like I have photographic clothes memory- she remembers everything about a meal. Most people take photos of their kids when they go on trips - Nigella takes pictures of the food. Well, I left inspired with book in hand and am determined to whip up her Chicken Schnitzel with Bacon and White Wine - one of these days.
|
|
Robin Ladik, Nigella Lawson and Joyce Goss |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Hal Rubenstein and Brian Bolke |
|
Forty Five Ten is the one of the chicest stores on the planet and owners, Brian Bolke and Shelly Musselman always bring in the most interesting people on the planet to meet and greet their a' la mode clientele. Style guru and InStyle fashion director Hal Rubenstein made a special appearance in conjunction with trunk shows featuring the spring fashions of Alberta Ferretti and contemporary Italian jewelry from Pomellato. Naomi Aberly, Muffin Lemak, Joyce Goss, Angie Barrett and Jenny Mullen enjoyed a nice lunch of tomato basil soup, panini and salad and pistachio lemon tart in the T-Room while Hal waxed philosophical on how women should stop picking out their men's clothing and make them get out there and learn the process for themselves. While the results could be temporarily disastrous, he firmly believes that men are capable of making good fashion decisions given enough time and practice. Fortunately for me, my husband is one of the few innately stylish men in Dallas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
