Savoir Faire Intervention

Who says that being a dictator leaves you devoid of any sort of Savoir Faire? There is no reason that because you might have a despotic disposition and your hands tainted with pain, suffering and corruption that you cannot do it in style.

Take Kim Jong Il of North Korea, for all his shortcomings as a leader you can’t deny that he looks smashing in his vintage Courreges sunnies. (Yes, it is confirmed they are Courreges).

Whether these were old stock lying around a Pyongyang Department Store or whether Kim got them from his favourite vintage consignment store I am not too sure, however it is a step in the right direction. All we need to have now is a Savoir Faire intervention and get rid of those strange coloured, shapeless suits he keeps wearing. Maybe he should go with the white suit that Gadaffi is advocating this summer? More in tune with the sunnies don’t you think?

Who would you like to see have a Savoir Faire Intervention?

Martine Savoir Faire

What Savoir Faire wouldn't do for these two chairs from Paul Poiret's Martine?

Vertes Faire!

While I am on a Schiaparelli roll here (bear with me, Savoir Faires), I am constantly inspired by Marcel Vertes who did most of the advertising copy for Schiaparelli Perfumes in the 40’s and 50’s.

In Vertes Schiaparelli recognised the talent and the means to convey the image of her perfumes that would create the most impact. The drawings are fresh, simple and just plain fun. Each ad usually features the Schiaparelli perfume in question, as either a living entity or something that the young lady in question cannot do without. The drawings are by no means politically correct for this current day and age. It really helped that Schiaparelli’s perfume bottles took on the forms of the top half or bottom of a woman’s torso or other everyday objects, such as pipes, candles and wine bottles.

Naked women abounded in the ads which must have been quite shocking for the day, even in the drawn form, prominently displayed in magazines.

Two of my favourites are the ones below, with the bottle of Shocking doubling for a young sailor’s current object of affection. They are full of sexual innuendo, however unlike today’s adds are not using sex to sell.

Again in the ad below the bottle is the object of this young man’s affection as he plies her with champagne.

Numerous times it is inferred that a bottle of Schiaparelli perfume is all that one needs to survive, whether being marooned on a beach or leaving home with your swag.

It wasn’t all sex and innuendo as we have below an incredibly chic young woman wearing her naval inspired beret holding a bottle of Salut.

Men (whether you were Santa or a playboy) always got the girls (all tongue in cheek of course), with the help of the bottle of perfume.

Adds for Snuff celebrated the Masculinity in all its glory, especially for the American male, who was not used to scenting oneself.

I have been collecting these ads for years and have framed quite a few and they are hanging in my hallway. They always gather some comment from friends and visitors alike.