London Savoir Faire

I first came across Oscar Milo in London a couple of years ago. We were in search of Paul Smith outlet shop in Avery Row. We found Paul Smith and were infinitely disappointed, however right across the street, was a complete gem. Oscar Milo!

This was a store with a difference. Along with great clothing for both men and women, they had a small selection of furniture and household items. The clothes were wonderful. While sticking to the classics of English tailoring and design, each piece had a quirky detail that set it apart from everything else. Button holes were outlined with stitching in vibrant colours that contrasted with the fabric. The cut of each item had a bit of an edge to it, and the fabrics were wonderful.

Something that did catch my eye was the knitwear. I know that one shudders when you here of bulky knits, as they can appear very cumbersome. However with the actual lines of the piece they were not. I bought a wonderful cream bulky knit cardigan, that when put on fits the torso like a glove. It is the texture of the knit that stands out.

They have a few pieces of furniture that are wonderful. The driftwood cabinet below would be equally at home in town or in the country!

So if you find yourself in Avery Row or in Brushfield Street London, Drop in for some Savoir faire!

OSCAR MILO 19 Avery Row, London in '94. or 47 Brushfield Street, London

Evening Savoir Faire

Ok, so you all know that I am a creature of habit and what I eat my breakfast off, so here is another habit I have, and that is my evening cup of tea. It is a nice little pleasure and here is one of my favourites to drink it out of. Of course tea selection does vary from a robust orange pekoe to maybe a tisane, depending on my mood.

Lomonosov china - often considered Russia's finest china (if there was any contest). The china factory was founded in 1744 by decree of Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, and named for Russia's famous 18th century academic scientist and writer, Mikhail Lomonosov. Using alabaster porcelain technology, the china is whiter than usual, delicate and translucent, so translucent that you can almost see through it, not to mention the lovely tonality of the ring, when you tap the side of the cup with your finger. .

I start the morning with a bang in Acapulco courtesy of Villeroy and Boch and end the day in Russia, courtesy of Lomonosov!

Some Friday Savoir Faire.

If we were heading off to Atlanta for the weekend in 1958, and we wanted to do it with some savoir faire, The Cabana Motel in Atlanta would be just the place. Opened in 1958 by Jay Sarno who went onto bigger things by opening Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in 1966.

Unfortunately torn down in 2002 after having seen better days, we can only dream of descending that staircase into that fabulous lobby!

Savoir Faire 2001

Since it is the 40th anniversary of man’s landing on the moon, it is apt that a mention of it is made on Savoir Faire. Before man had actually landed on the moon Stanley Kubrick had built a whole community on the moon, in “2001 A Space Odyssey”. Instead of the International Space Station we had a Hilton Hotel, serviced regularly by Pan Am rocket, and video phones were a part of everyday life. The most surprising part of all this is, that Kubrick had hired the Queen’s dressmaker Hardy Amies to dress us all in this groundbreaking science fiction movie.

An odd choice and many wondered whether Hardy was up to it, but design he did and the costumes are wonderful! Sir Hardy shook up his traditional image when he created the futuristic costumes which today are instantly recognisable. When costuming the movie there were several challenges involved. One scene had direct political undertones as this was the height of the cold war. When the American’s meet the Russians in the lobby of the Hilton Space Station, Amies made the Russians wardrobe appear as drab and shapeless as possible (which must have killed him) to comment on the social aspects of communism in Eastern Europe in the late 60’s.

Amies’ costumes blend in perfectly with the set decoration of the movie to create an overall concept of what we could expect of the future. Who can forget Kier Dullea in that wonderful spacesuit that has so much more panache and style than the current versions by NASA?

Pan Am’s hostesses in those wonderful almost cat like suits that were not only designed for practicality and comfort but looked good as well.

So to celebrate our landing on the moon and Sir Hardy’s birthday last week, we salute you Mr. Amies, for stepping out of your comfort zone with some savoir faire.

* Suggested reading Sir Hardy’s autobiography “Still Here”.

Breakfast Savoir Faire

Ok, I admit it! I am a creature of habit, and there are some things I do everyday, and having breakfast is one of them. Nutritionalists tell us it is the most important meal of the day and I am up there with them on that.

So what china do I eat my breakfast off? Villeroy and Boch’s Acapulco! This is definitely a breakfast service. I wouldn’t serve dinner on it as I think food would get lost in the patterned dinner plate, but for breakfast it is perfect.

The Acapulco pattern was inspired by colourful Mexican styled prints, with the birds and flowers originally used (to great success) by the company in 1977. This was so indicative of the 70’s and I think would have been quite at home even in the 1960’s. I love the bright colours and the stylised plant and bird motifs used, and they are a great start to any day. The overall shape is one of paired down simplicity, which allows bowls and cups to be stacked on top of each other as cylinders, saving on storage place in your cupboards.

Of course with changing times and tastes the pattern fell out of favour and Villeroy and Boch re issued it in the early 90’s with the colours somewhat muted which was not a success. They have since changed the shape completely and enlarged the patterns. My only comment on this is “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it”

So start eating breakfast and do it with some savoir faire on your favourite china!

Eccentric Savoir Faire

I was reading the An Aesthete’s Life the other day and a name cropped up which I was familiar with and had done a bit of research several years ago on the woman behind the name. What prompted me was I was reading Mary Stewart’s “The Gabriel Hounds” and one of the main characters was a modern day version (1960’s modern) of Lady Hester Stanhope. I re-read the book again earlier this year and just filed away Lady Hester in my subconscious only for her to reappear last week.

To say that Lady Hester had her ups and downs is a bit of an understatement. She started life in1776 as the favourite daughter of Lord Charles, 3rd Earl of Stanhope. Impoverished and orphaned at the age of 27, after her father gave away his fortune, she then became official hostess of William Pitt her uncle the Prime Minister of England. After being jilted three times in love she fled England at the age of 33, never to return.

She showed an initial sense for travel and savoir faire when still a child she was curious about France, she climbed into an empty boat on the English Channel and started rowing east, only to travel about 6 yards before being caught.

While travelling to Cairo in 1810, her ship was wrecked on the island of Rhodes, where without clothing; Lady Hester had to borrow Turkish Costume and thus began her favoured mode of attire, of dressing like a Turkish male. She continued to travel through the Middle East inspiring awe where ever she went. She saw herself as “Queen of the Desert” and thus lived appropriately to this status. By now Lady Hester had begun to believe she had a destiny. She claimed to have heard omens from various sources, from fortune-tellers to prophets, and that her destiny was to become the bride of a new messiah.

After her constant wanderings she finally settled near Sidon, a town on the Mediterranean coast in what is now Lebanon, about halfway between Tyre and Beirut. Here she built for herself a palatial palace Her residence, known by the villagers as Dahr El Sitt, was on the top of one of the hills surrounding the village.

In her new setting, she wielded an almost absolute authority over the surrounding districts. Her control over the natives was enough to cause Ibrahim Pasha, when about to invade Syria in 1832, to seek her neutrality, and this supremacy was maintained by her commanding character and by the belief that she possessed the gift of divination.

In her lonely Joun residence, a house "hemmed in by arid mountains", and with the troubles of a household of some thirty servants only waiting for her death to plunder the house, Lady Hester Stanhope's strength slowly wasted away, and she died there in 1839. The disappointments of her life, and the necessity of controlling her servants as well as the chiefs who surrounded Joun, had made her haughty and bad-tempered. She became a recluse and her servants began to take off with her possessions because she could not pay them. She would not receive visitors until dark and then would only let them see her hands and face. She wore a turban over her shaven head. After her death, the British consul arrived from Beirut to settle her affairs and found her quarters full of junk.

More Savoir Faire on the Lips

I remember as a child playing with a little brass pig that my mother had given me. This little pig was full of surprises. Not only was it a great plaything, but a highly decorative and functional item as well. For a small boy it was not only enough that you could play with it as an object, but it had moveable parts as well.


Pull the head off and you were confronted with a long brass tube. In the pig’s other life it was lipstick holder!


My mother had received it from a gentleman admirer in the 1950’s after one of his recent trips to Paris. I am not sure who had made it as the only markings are Paris-Depose, however it just oozes of surrealistic undertones and savoir faire. I am sure a few eyebrows were raised when my mother would pull this out of her purse to touch up her lips in a powder room somewhere. I still have this little pig and I still love it.

Truly an article de-luxe, that carries with it a lot of panache and savoir faire!