Town & Country articles from August 2008

Town & Country archives from August 2008

Three wise men.(August 2008 EDITOR'S LETTER)(Leonard Bernstein, Ronny Jaques and Philip Herrera)(In memoriam)
August 1, 2008... LEONARD BERNSTEIN The brilliant composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein would have been ninety years old this month, and it is a cause for celebration. It is also an opportunity to consider his protean contributions to music. The overture he...

A delicate balance.(READER MAIL)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... I feel terrible about what Erik Kolbell and his family went through ["The Best of Intentions," "Social Graces," May]. However, I feel sorry for him and his acquaintances not because of what he had to endure but because of his self-centered...

We stand corrected.(READER MAIL)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... I believe that Marissa Mayer was incorrectly identified as "Melissa" Mayer in your May issue [San Francisco Ballet, "Parties"]. Currently serving as vice president of Search Products & User Experience at Google, Ms. Mayer was the first female...

Seeing stars.(READER MAIL)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I have to comment on celebrity look-alikes James Clyde Dougherty and Elizabeth Biedenharn Cutler, whose wedding picture was in your May issue [and is reprinted here]. They look so much like Tom Hanks and Diane Lane...

Salvatore Ferragamo.(PARTIES: Shanghai)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The Occasion: International luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo celebrated its eightieth anniversary in Shanghai, the city that captivated the company's founder during his travels through Asia in the 1950s. The...

Remaking a mansion.(ON THE TOWN)
August 1, 2008... The success of any makeover depends on its ability to preserve the best and update the rest. At Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek's restaurant, long shepherded by Dean Fearing and now looked after by chef John Tesar, the wrappings are off a...

Proof positive.(ON THE TOWN)(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With a twenty-three-foot-long bar made of pewter handcrafted in France, flat-screen monitors displaying pieces from the National Portrait Gallery's collection (on a continuous loop) and a selection of antique Chinese...

A new home for news.(ON THE TOWN)(Newseum)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The history of news gathering (and all of its attendant issues, from muckraking to censorship, yellow journalism to libel) has finally been deemed worthy of a world-class museum, the just-opened NEWSEUM, on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington,...

An urban garden.(ON THE TOWN)(Clifton Nurseries)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... CLIFTON NURSERIES, a popular gardening center in London, brings calm to fashionable Little Venice, just north of London's Notting Hill. Founded in 1851, this 1.5-acre oasis has belonged to Lord Jacob Rothschild since the 1970s and attracts...

Lady of the manor.(ON THE TOWN)(Davinia Wang)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Style setter Davinia Wang has plucked her favorite shoes and accessories off the runways of Paris and brought them to EDON MANOR, a new Tribeca salon named for her family's estate near Oxford, England. Hong...

A taste of the city.(ON THE TOWN)(gelateria Grom in New York City)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If the mere mention of flavors such as zabaglione, torroncino, fragola and cocco makes you long for the gelato shops of Italy, satisfaction maybe close at hand. When Italian entrepreneurs Federico Grom and Guido...

The tutor diaries.(ON THE TOWN)(Schooled)(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... After reading SCHOOLED (Hyperion; $23.95), any parent of a seventh grader at a New York City private school might want to pack up the family and move to North Dakota. I sure would. Anisha Lakhani's novel is about a young woman who begins her...

On the trail of summer.(IN THE COUNTRY)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Swahili word safari translates as "journey," and August is the right time to embark on one--whether it's along a local bird-watching trail or across the Serengeti Plain. Here are some of the goods to wear and take. The Lady N Boot from...

The well-fed songbird.(IN THE COUNTRY)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Songbirds bring a certain elan to the garden, and an appropriate way to keep inviting them in is to treat them to their favorite feed. Cole's Wild Bird Products, a family-run business in Kennesaw, Georgia, has...

Humming along.(IN THE COUNTRY)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Saying that Clos LaChance's wines are for the birds is anything but an insult. Bill and Brenda Murphy, owners of the San Martin, California-based winery, made the hummingbird their symbol back in the 1990s and have...

The birdman of America.(IN THE COUNTRY)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Naturalist, artist and environmentalist Roger Tory Peterson would have turned 100 on August 28. Author of A Field Guide to the Birds, first published in 1934, and later the editor of the Peterson Field Guide series,...

Your own private Africa.(IN THE COUNTRY)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Five years ago, when former bond trader Tee Faircloth took over the Kenya-based safari operation of Frank Maurice "Bunny" Allen, his goal was to revive the glory of the early-20th-century African safari. Allen was one of the last of the great...

Rolling on the river.(IN THE COUNTRY)(Folbot's kayak Edisto model)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kayaking is about the solo experience of piloting your own boat through waters that are often unreachable by other means. But the tranquillity that goes with such paddling is often compromised by the hassle of...

Phoebe Eaton.(FASHION & STYLE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OCCUPATION: Manhattan-based cultural and political journalist, frequently published in New York magazine. FAVORITE PERK: Getting "instant entree to every closed world event--a seat in the front row of history." STYLE...

The top ten for fall.(FASHION & STYLE: Trends)
August 1, 2008... Balance is the key to this year's fall fashions as the superluxurious meets the quietly austere. Cover a sexy one-shoulder sheath with a dark-gray military-style coat, for instance, or pair a soft silk-chiffon blouse with a sharply tailored...

Special delivery.(FASHION & STYLE)
August 1, 2008... Take note: messenger bags by top designers were the latest trend on the fall runways, and their long straps make them easy-to-carry favorites among busy women of all ages. Clockwise from top left: RALPH LAUREN COLLECTION suede bag ($2,495)....

Her Hermes.(FASHION & STYLE: Men)(Interview)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VERONIQUE NICHANIAN, director of menswear at Hermes, has been asked the same question for years: why has she spent her career designing men's--and not women's--clothes? "After graduating from L'Ecole de la Chambre...

Cutting-edge elegance.(JEWELRY)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Who knew that something so delicate could be so dazzling? Designers are turning fragile diamond slivers into gorgeous pieces with a raw, organic look. Clockwise from top left: ECLAT JEWELS pendant ($24,000),...

Classic combo.(JEWELRY)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Meet the little black dresses of neck wear: gold links or beads paired with black stones like onyx and jade or a wood like ebony. They go with everything! Clockwise from far left: DI MODOLO black-onyx Triadra...

Time out: stop and take a look at the latest in watch design for men and women.(WATCHES)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ROLEX Imagine plunging 12,800 feet below sea level and tracking every minute--which the new unisex Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deepsea ($8,975) will allow you to do. Specially equipped to resist extreme...

Five for summer: these bright, uplifting scents are sheer enough for sultry days.(BEAUTY & HEALTH)
August 1, 2008... Sea spray tempers the sweet floral notes of BOBBI BROWN Beach ($55) in a fragrance evocative of waves crashing along sandy shores, bobbibrown cosmetics.com. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] MICHAEL KORS Island Capri ($60), a citrusy medley of...

Balancing act.(BEAUTY & HEALTH)(Erborian)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Think of your skin as a seesaw: an imbalance in the production of enzymes or oil can lead to dryness, acne, even wrinkles. Korean brand Erborian ($22-$75) restores equilibrium by using curative botanicals and herbs in all its moisturizers and...

The nutritious endive.(BEAUTY & HEALTH)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Though its white and pale-green leaves suggest otherwise (generally, the deeper the color, the more healthful the vegetable), the endive is chock-full of vitamins and minerals. One raw head provides the following...

A caramel tan.(BEAUTY & HEALTH)
August 1, 2008... The scent of Clarins's Delicious Self Tanning Cream ($40) is a welcome relief from the chemical odor we've come to expect of self-tanners with DHA. Pure cocoa and peach lend a confectionary scent to the formula, and aloe vera acts as a...

Rev up cells.(BEAUTY & HEALTH)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Even if you adhere to a daily regimen, your skin still needs an occasional tune-up, especially as the weather changes and cell turnover slows. Kanebo's latest Sensai Cellular Performance product, Recovery Concentrate...

1. Let your body breathe.(BEAUTY & HEALTH: Must-Dos for August)
August 1, 2008... In addition to including shea and mango butters as moisturizers, NATURA BISSE Oxygen Body Cream ($80) revitalizes skin with hydrogen peroxide, which your body's enzymes can break down into oxygen, neimanmarcus.com. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

2. Get squeaky-clean.(BEAUTY & HEALTH: Must-Dos for August)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CLINIQUE Acne Solutions Cleansing Bar for Face and Body ($12.50) washes away pore-clogging sweat and dirt; it's indispensable after a summer sport or a hot-weather workout. clinique.com. Photographs by Lara...

3. Cover up corners.(BEAUTY & HEALTH: Must-Dos for August)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Navigate those hard-to-reach spots around your eyes and nose with KASHUK TOOLS' Blending Sponge ($9.99), designed by celebrity makeup artist Sonia Kashuk. target.com. Photographs by Lara Robby/Studio D

4. Treat skin Italian-style.(BEAUTY & HEALTH: Must-Dos for August)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ACQUA DI PARMA'S new skin-care line, Blu Mediterraneo Italian Resort ($60-$71), nourishes your complexion with vitamins, proteins and lipids derived from the Mediterranean coast's hearty vegetation, neimanmarcus.com....

5. Pour on the Pellegrino.(BEAUTY & HEALTH: Must-Dos for August)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After a swim in the ocean, rinse your hair right away with sparkling water, says Beverly Hills stylist and salon owner Stuart Gavert. It quickly removes salt, which can discolor tresses when it dries in the sun....

The storyteller: Louise Bourgeois shares her eloquent, unflinchingly personal vision in a retrospective at New York's Guggenheim Museum.(ARTS & CULTURE)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The coiled rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City makes a fitting location for its current retrospective, "LOUISE BOURGEOIS" (through September 28), in which the spiral recurs as motif and metaphor...

The T&C bookshelf.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Seeking a summer hostess gift? Have we got a book for you! Actually, four new books are joining the list of titles from T&C or members of our staff. The Art of Gratitude (Hearst Books; $12.95) is our how-to on...

It started with tie-dye.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Spaced Out)(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Almost fifty years ago, some of the planet-saving ideas we now hold dear--recycling, alternative sources of energy, prefab building--were just getting off the ground as part of the innovative, often radical time...

Colorful life.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Lulu)(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Like a Popsicle in August, Lulu (Ammo Books; $100), a collection of collages by Lulu de Kwiatkowski, drips with color and the promise of sweet good times ahead. It's a refreshing insight into the world of de...

Chicago's newest look.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Richard H. Driehaus Museum)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Samuel Mayo Nickerson, a Chicago banker, spared no expense in the 1880s when he built a Neo-Renaissance, buff-colored sandstone mansion on a downtown corner lot. His architects, Burling and Whitehouse, created an...

August must-sees.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... * In "Sand: Memory, Meaning and Metaphor," the ubiquitous granules transcend the beach to become the stuff of artistic inspiration at the Parrish Art Museum, in Southampton, New York, through September 14. parrishart.org. * They're worth a...

A warm-up for Fallingwater.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For architecturally minded travelers, a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff, an estate perched seventy feet above Lake Erie, just outside Buffalo, offers a tantalizing glimpse of two masterpieces in the distance:...

A summer playlist.(ARTS & CULTURE)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Warm sand, a cool twilight breeze, lobsters steaming... and the right music to catch the afterglow of a perfect summer's day. The following CDs will distill the moment; just download, shuffle, play. Repeat Ayo, Joyful (Interscope; $9.98)....

A guide for the gifted guest: ensure a repeat invitation by arriving with a present fine-tuned to the occasion.(DESIGN TRENDS)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A DINNER PARTY AERO indigo cotton table linens ($15-$80), 212-966-4700. A DAY BY THE POOL MEPRA glass pitcher with ice holder ($195), at H Groome, Southampton, NY, 631-204-0491; hgroomeonline.com. ...

Meet top shopper Nicholas Manville, head of Bergdorf Goodman's Decorative Home Department.(DESIGN TRENDS)(Interview)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What are your favorite hunting grounds for gifts? In New York it's de Vera [1 Crosby Street, in SoHo], for the art of an incredible mix in a dramatic space. I also love Stern Graveur in Paris [47 Passage des...

Growing up green: while the kids are playing outside, transform their rooms into eco-friendly zones with long life spans.(DESIGN TRENDS)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JAN KATH'S hand-knotted, vegetable-dyed wool Butterfly carpet for Tai Ping; to the trade, 212-979-2233. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] S. RUSSELL GROVES'S Slash table in sustainably harvested walnut with Iow-VOC *...

Holistic highlands.(TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK)(Old Edwards Inn and Spa)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... NORTH CAROLINA Upon entering the antiques-filled lobby, one can hardly imagine that the Old Edwards Inn and Spa, in Highlands, North Carolina, was originally a boardinghouse back in 1878. Today gleaming walls paneled in reclaimed oak complement...

Hollywood's star bar.(TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK)(S Bar)(Nightclub review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOS ANGELES Comebacks are an art form in Tinseltown, and the corner of Hollywood and Vine--once the feted home of the Palace Theater--is no exception. Late last year this once-run-down intersection debuted its sequel...

Italy unveiled.(TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK)(Italian Hideaways)(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For those who feel they have been there and done that in Italy, finding the next, less obvious Italian destination is now just a book away. In Italian Hideaways (Rizzoli; $45), Town & Country associate editor Meg...

Gorillas in the midst.(TRAVELLER'S NOTEBOOK)(Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... RWANDA With the opening of the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, in Rwanda, last year, visiting the country's approximately 380 mountain gorillas is finally an overnight option. Located just two miles from the primates' home, in the verdant Volcanoes...

Pop art.(TRAVELLER'S NOTEBOOK)
August 1, 2008... Whether you're jetting off to Cap Ferrat or planning a simple weekend getaway, Hermes has the ultimate travel accessory: the Silky Pop Bag ($960). Fashioned from the brand's iconic scarves, these carryalls zip down to wallet size or expand into...

Terminally chic.(TRAVELLER'S NOTEBOOK)
August 1, 2008... LONDON Granted, there was a time when the actual traveling part of a trip was enjoyable, rather than endurable, but those days, like monogrammed steamer trunks, seemed lost to an era more romantic than ours--that is, until now. Thanks to the...

Overexposed! Must necklines and waistlines plunge so perilously every time the mercury rises?(SOCIAL GRACES)
August 1, 2008... "Waiter! There's a breast in my soup!" No, I didn't actually say this. But as my dinner companion reached for the salt, a lesser mortal might have. The woman was--how best to put this? En deshabille? Suddenly, I knew more about her than I...

Simply stunning! Supermodel and arts patron Stephanie Seymour showcases seven fall trends and shares some of her fashion secrets.
August 1, 2008... "A LOW-CUT DRESS can be very sexy," says Stephanie Seymour, "but a little obvious, too." It's a startling statement when uttered by a model who gained stardom as one of the faces (and figures) of Victoria's Secret. But as Seymour herself...

Life with father: conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein would have turned ninety this month. The event is celebrated in music throughout New York City--and here, in a reminiscence from his elder daughter.
August 1, 2008... When we were little and shared a room, my brother, Alexander, and I used to drift off to sleep at right angles to each other, listening to the steady waves of laughter, piano playing and singing emanating from our parents and all their witty,...

A natural fit: a house in the Hamptons and its spirited young owners are completely in sync.(Nick and Sole Marittimi Riley)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] LIKE A PROUD PARENT, Sole Marittimi Riley carries around an array of flattering photographs of a love object on her iPhone. They're taken to best advantage: early in the morning; in the summer sun; with a riffling...

Portraits by an artist: the photography of Ronny Jaques finally gets the attention it deserves in a new book called Stolen Moments.
August 1, 2008... IN THE PANTHEON of famous magazine photographers of the midcentury, Ronny Jaques may not be the first who leaps to mind. More likely, Richard Avedon, Lillian Bassman, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Philippe Halsman and Horst would be the ones readers of...

In his prime: for designer Dennis Basso, the more the merrier--in business, friendship and entertaining style.
August 1, 2008... "I've set this dining table so often, I could do it blindfolded," Dennis Basso jokes on a spring evening. True, it's just another party, one of the hundreds (and hundreds) of dinners he's hosted since launching his eponymous fashion-design...

Weddings.
August 1, 2008... Ms. Mari-Claudia Jimenez, in Carolina Herrera, and Mr. Steven Coffey Key Biscayne, Florida [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mr. and Mrs. John Todd Carlson (Ashley Michelle Fisher, in Romona Keveza) Paradise Valley, Arizona [ILLUSTRATION...

Horoscopes.
August 1, 2008... August [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Leo July 23-August 23 August is going to be quite a wild ride, but do try to avoid going to extremes. With two eclipses affecting your birth sign, you'll be far too inclined to overdramatize when...