Back in the day when millionaires had yachts that were worthy of being called yachts, an invitation to cruise the Mediterranean on one was snapped up without a second thought. Nowadays the mega yachts are just examples technological excess, to see who can build the biggest and the fastest with the most amount of boy toys installed.
The yacht by which all others were judged back in the 50’s and the 60’s was the “Christina”, Onassis’ mega yacht named after his daughter. Onassis a man who had as about as much savoir faire as a mollusc on a hot rock, outdid himself when it came to the “Christina”!
One of the chicest places to be in the 50’s and 60’s thanks to Tina, Onassis’ first wife, a week cruising the Mediterranean was pure heaven, albeit with a bit of intrigue and drama.
Winston Churchill was a regular, Liz Taylor made several appearances, Maria Callas first started her affair with main man himself, and Jacquie O also laid the seeds for her future marriage on the yacht.
By today’s standard’s she is small and outdated, however her salons were hung with priceless works of art, and her dining room decorated with panels painted by Vertes. The aft main deck had an outdoor pool with a mosaic floor that rose at the push of a button to form a dance floor and the barstools in the bar were upholstered in very soft, fine leather made from the foreskin of a minke whale.
His first wife, shipping heiress Tina Livanos, said, “The yacht is his real passion. He is like a housewife fussing over it, constantly looking to see that everything is impeccable.” Impeccable indeed—a crew member once explained, “You could smash up a $20,000 speedboat into pieces and not a word would be said, but spit on the Christina’s deck, and you were out of a job.
Now available for hire at around $45,000 per day, you too can indulge. Just don’t forget to invite me!
There is a lot to be said for Liberté, égalité, fraternité as without it where would we be?
Ok, so I am not sure how much savoir faire is associated with the below functions, however they do seem like kind of fun!
*Above Eddi Haskell
One’s Rolls or Hispano-Suiza always had a mascot and if you did not like the one provided by the company you could always add your own.
Some of the most beautiful come from Lalique that master glass maker extraordinaire. The designs encompassed everything from gods and goddesses, to animals and stylised comets. One could pick from the Lalique catalogue and have it mounted on your bonnet. This was also a way of adding your own stamp on said Hispano, for a bit of cachet. Often the Lalique Mascots once mounted had a small light attached underneath so that they were illuminated at night. It must have been something so see perched at the end of the long bonnets at the time this fabulous piece of illuminated glass at night.
Highly sought after by collectors now, these speak of a bygone era full of savoir faire!
One of the chicest places to be in the 50’s and 60’s thanks to Tina, Onassis’ first wife, a week cruising the Mediterranean was pure heaven, albeit with a bit of intrigue and drama.
By today’s standard’s she is small and outdated, however her salons were hung with priceless works of art, and her dining room decorated with panels painted by Vertes. The aft main deck had an outdoor pool with a mosaic floor that rose at the push of a button to form a dance floor and the barstools in the bar were upholstered in very soft, fine leather made from the foreskin of a minke whale.
His first wife, shipping heiress Tina Livanos, said, “The yacht is his real passion. He is like a housewife fussing over it, constantly looking to see that everything is impeccable.” Impeccable indeed—a crew member once explained, “You could smash up a $20,000 speedboat into pieces and not a word would be said, but spit on the Christina’s deck, and you were out of a job.
Fabulous boat necks competed with plunging V-necklines, while cutaway panels exposed a glimpse of bare skin or a tiny panel of gold lame.
The collection was incredibly cohesive without a mish mash of styles fabrics and colours parading down the runway. These are clothes you can imagine real women in, going to work or a swish evening of cocktails and dinner.
"Really, my only inspiration is the world outside me, the women who surround me," said Jarrar, "I tried to create a sort of ideal wardrobe with all the elements women now need."
The below jewellery is just great for a bit of casual savoir faire, and is very very reasonably priced.
I also love blue and white (anything really) and the little box from Peru caught my eye. There is a matching tray which again is perfect for outdoor entertaining.
