Grand Savoir Faire

Cocktails at the Menzies Hotel Melbourne circa 1965, certainly reeked of Savoir Faire. Take a behemoth Victorian Hotel decorated to excess with all the trappings and grandeur that the era could offer (and that the building could endure), update it with a 60’s style bar and furniture, populate artily with models with cocktails and cigarettes in hand and voila! Instant chic and savoir faire.
Take the same models dressed in the best fashion that Australia could offer in 1965, this time in a stairwell, and again instant chic! I love how models were used to convey the sense of how hotels, airlines wished to portray their image. In this case even though the building and interiors were something of an anachronism, the image portrayed is one of casual modern elegance, something a potential guest could aspire to and even have the chance to rub shoulders with the rich and beautiful.

Built in 1867 in time for the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. Remodelled in the high Victorian 1880s to an unusual eclectic Second Empire ornamentation. Built in 6 months, the hotel was one of the worlds foremost and finest. Host to Alexander Graham Bell, Herbert Hoover, Dame Nellie Melba and General Douglas Macarthur. Sadly demolished in 1969 to make way for a modern office building.

Each city needs a grand hotel as such, and luckily Melbourne still has the Windsor!

Catwalk at 35,000

You all might think that when it comes to air travel that I am living in the past, and yes I admit it, I am. Before the advent of no frills airlines, cost cutting, larger planes, and stringent security measures, flying was indeed an event that one could look forward to and just reeked of savoir faire.

One of the things that we could indeed look forward to was to see how our lovely air hostesses were outfitted. Be it the latest styles from the couturiers and designers in Europe to costumes that reflected the local dress of the national flag carrier. The aisle of the airplane was a virtual catwalk, with daring designs pushing the drinks trolley with aplomb. Nowadays uniforms are bland, generic styles that might be built for comfort and ease but do they really create a lasting impression? Of course there are a few exceptions to the rule, one being Singapore Airlines, whose uniform has not changed since its inception.

If there was one thing that added to the prestige and image of an airline, was the fact that a leading fashion designer had designed their uniforms. Emilio Pucci for Braniff is a prime example. The designs were eye catching reminders of the corporate image of the airline that constantly reminded us we were flying Braniff.

Pucci was also busy on the other side of the world, down in Australia, designing uniforms for Qantas. Totally different than the Braniff line, the print used reflected the native flora of Australia, with even a bikini being made for idle sunning by the pool in an exotic location.

Pierre Balmain was busy in Asia designing the Singapore Airlines Uniform. In 1968, the former Malaysian Singapore Airlines called upon Balmain to design uniforms for their cabin crew, with just a minor tweak to the collar in 1974 they have been in continuous service ever since. Balmain based his design on the traditional Malay sarong-kebaya. Part of their continual allure is down to Balmain insisting that the uniforms were fully tailored (rather than off the peg), and to this day Singapore Airlines’ in-house tailors have a minimum of two fittings with each crew member and provide her with 4 new uniforms each year.

Another notable design by Balmain was for Trans World in the 1950’s.

Hardy Amies in the sixties designed a wonderful uniform for BEA which was full of understatement and un-mistakingly British. Amies was also commissioned by Pakistan International to outfit their cabin crew in the early 70’s and came up with a uniform (even though a bit dowdy) that worked within the brief he was given.

Pierre Cardin on the other hand came up with a space age tour de force for Olympic of Greece.

Other designs by Cardin included PIA and UTA of France

Christian Dior for SAS

United.

Bring back the fashion. the style and the savoir faire! While I am sipping my Gin, give me something to look at.

Eurovision - Savoir Faire (or not)

Ok, I am going to go a little off topic here, even though you have to admit the following have some sort of savoir faire. I am not sure where it is hiding, but it is there!

With all the hype about American Blah (oops meant to write Idol), no blog on a song contest can be without a mention of the song contest to end all song contests – Eurovision. Funny how Eurovision has not really become popular this side of the Atlantic, when the rest of the world is watching on tenterhooks to see who will take the prize this year.

A bit of background for those Eurovision virgins. The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Brodcasting Union and has been held every year since its inauguration in 1956. Each member country submits an artist and song in the contest and the decision is made by votes from the other countries. One of the more famous winners of the contest has been ABBA.

Sometimes we see the great, the good and the riduclous, however this is pure entertainment. There is no drawn out torturous procedure, like Idol, which relies on votes from the general public (God bless their little cotton sox), who generally seem to vote for who is cute and not on singing ability. While America is sitting down on their sofas, with a bowl of ice cream watching a sing off between two contestants, the rest of the world is hosting Eurovision parties, drinking champagne, watching a sing off between the best and sometimes the worst that Europe has to offer and hoping that their favourite wins.

Some of this year’s entries are below. Mind you I haven’t labeled them so as to protect the guilty, however savoir faire in some form or another is there! As you can see contestants dont just rely on musical ability to make an impression. Maybe American Idol could take a few pointers?

Top Twelve Men's Fragrances with Savoir Faire

Why just limit one's self to a top 10 when as a gentleman you can have a top TWELVE! Here is a list of my top twelve men's fragrances. Unfortunately not all available, but you can at least find one or two of these, that will give you the edge!

Listed in no particular order as I will let you be the judge!

Snuff by Schiaparelli

Vetiver by Guerlain
Signoricci 2 by Nina Ricci

Gentleman by Yardley

Monsieur Lanvin by Lanvin

Monsier Balmain by Pierre Balmain

Ho Hang by Balenciaga

Habit Rouge by Guerlain

Gentleman by Givenchy

Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior

4711

Vetiver by Carven

Savoir Faire from Hardy Amies

I doesnt get any better than this!

Bespoke from Hardy Amies, London

On the Way Down Under with Savoir Faire

In a previous post on the SS. France I mentioned the two British Liners, Oriana and Canberra. Although all three ships were born of the same era and respectively were the flagships of their respective companies, the two British Liners were vastly different from the France. The France was primarily constructed for the luxury North Atlantic trade, while the Oriana and Canberra were built for the immigrant trade down under. With this in mind the interior decoration of the British Liners differed vastly from that of the France. Similarly the France displayed the best the French could offer and was a ship of state, while the British Liners displayed the best of British design in the early sixties. First I will explore the Oriana.

The Oriana entered service in 1961 for the Orient line on the down under Australian service. While not as streamlined as her eventual running mate she was still an attractive ship. Her interiors were strikingly modern taking on an almost clinical effect with the large use of plastics, Formica, glass and natural woods mixed in for good measure. This must have come as a rude shock to the wealthy Australians returning to the mother country for an extended vacation, who were more used to the chintzy kitsch of other liners doing the same run. If the wealthy passengers were in for a shock then the majority of immigrants travelling in Tourist Class must have had a coronary attack! The interiors were probably unlike anything they had ever seen before.

The interiors were light and breezy full of light and space. Artistic decoration seemed to be added as an afterthought to these spaces as there is very little of it. The designers relied on the form and line of the furniture to create comfortable spaces that would become home for the 6 weeks of the voyage.

Even though stark and incredibly practical the interiors were a tour de force in modern design. Everything was stripped down to its bare minimum as can be seen in the picture of the ship’s Tourist Class Stern Gallery. The room has a soft industrial edge to it which makes a beautiful space that perfectly suits the passenger’s needs.

The designers were not afraid to use colour, and the colours that they used were bold and striking which suited the form of the furniture beautifully.

The ship was primarily an outdoor ship with large lidos and swimming pools to suit the warmer climates which she would be travelling in. Windows could be opened allowing fresh sea breezes in.

I would think that if you were a young child, exposed to the wonderful wooden forms in the children’s play room for 6 weeks, that you would automatically grow up to appreciate form and function.

I just love the top of this bar here. A rather stained glass effect in what could have been a strip of bland formica.

With the Oriana good design and practicality was not a right, but available to all, whether returning squatter or new immigrant. You too while travelling on assisted passage to a new life in Australia, had some savoir faire.

The Other Bond

For TJB at Stirred, Straight Up, with a Twist. Especially for you. If Mr Lazenby went on to make his 2nd Bond movie this is what we might have been in store for!

In the first few minutes of OHMSS, after a fight on the beach, Mr Lazenby aka MR Bond, uttered the line "This never happened to the other fellow" a reference to Sean Connery in the previous Bond movies.