Sacrificial Savoir Faire

It is wonderful to see these innovative and interesting pieces design in men’s jewellery.

Basically limited to the usual chains, bracelets, rings and cufflinks, it seems that where men are concerned designers sometimes forget that we also like the allure of gold.

Now that gold prices are reaching all-time highs, maybe it is time to invest in a few of these conceptual statement pieces from Bevel in New York.

I am calling this Sacrifice before the fall, as the broody-boyish model is befitting of a sacrifice adorned in this somewhat macabre jewellery.

The line features ornate head pieces and necklaces that recall animal spines, and earrings that look like some wild breed of gilded insect crawling up your ear. As fine and delicate as the vertebrae of a sparrow, these shapes are melded and merged into what could possibly be occult ceremonial jewels.

We won’t be seeing these on the street I am sure, however as museum art they are fabulous!

Paris in New York

Now isn’t this just one incredibly stylish and fantastic home in New York. Herve Pierre creative director of Caroline Herrera although being a thoroughly modern man, has created within a New York a thoroughly Parisian and French home with an utterly romantic eighteenth-century sensibility.

Having once being the head of haute couture at Pierre Balmain at the tender age of 24, he has lived in New York for the last 15 years and he has created an environment which would combat any Parisian’s sense of homesickness. “I am in New York during business hours,” Pierre explains, “but at home I need to be in Paris” and this sums it up perfectly!

The home is is filled with unusual accessories, hat boxes stacked haphazardly, sculptures, and works of art. (tip: to achieve the look you can buy Schiaparelli hatboxes on ebay quite reasonably)

The coffee table is currently buried under pile upon pile of fashion and design hardcover books and magazines, rather than stowed away on shelves or in amoirs. Also a wonderful afternoon tray awaits.

I am a lover of perfume and perfume bottles in particular and love seeing those huge old dummy perfume bottles in stores and always lusted after them. I used to have a friend who had several and filled them with spirits such as gin etc, for the coolest cocktail tray you ever did see. Well, Mr. Pierre, must share my love as his bathroom contains a few wonderful examples.

Drapery is used with maximum effect for theatricality on beds, windows and any other area that can support it.

The apartment is positively overflowing with beautiful details, such as a curtain tieback made from a Balmain glove. It is the little details that count!

I must say I do like his philosophy, if you cannot go to Paris, bring Paris to you!

Green With Envy

Emeralds have been favored by many of the world’s most notorious and richest women, from Cleopatra to Catherine the Great and Elizabeth Taylor.

If you are not green with envy, maybe these will stir your emotions as they did Ms. Taylor’s.

Commissioned from Bulgari in 1962 Elizabeth Taylor’s emerald and diamond necklace with detachable pendant-brooch is one of the finest modern day examples around.

She first received the pendant from her fiancé Richard Burton as an engagement gift and then later he gave her the necklace for their wedding.

Taylor was given a choice between two spectacular emerald necklaces. "I tried on the huge one, then the smaller one, the huge one, then the smaller one. By this time we had been joined by Bob, a dear friend and Richard's dresser for years. Richard asked him which he preferred. Bob couldn't decide either. I tried them on one more time and said, 'Richard, I think I like the smaller one.' Bob said, 'Mr. B., you can hardly get girls like that no more!

The piece became one of the actress’ favorite jewels, wearing it on numerous significant occasions.

Richard Burton could be seen visiting the famed jeweler in Rome during the filming of “Cleopatra.” He joked that the only word Taylor knew in Italian was Bulgari.

Another exquisite emerald for which Taylor is famed is the emerald and diamond cluster engagement ring which she received from Richard Burton.

Other Taylor emeralds include the earrings and the brooch below.

Are you green with envy yet?

Think Within the Square

What sets you apart as a man of savoir faire and style? Where would Gary Cooper and Bogart be without that one small detail to their wardrobes that you too can adopt?

A pocket square’s subtle presence speaks volumes about a man and makes a powerful statement about your personal style. Whether they are plain white linen, bold checks or the finest of silks, these modest additions come in an endless variety of colours, fabrics and patterns, which can add just the right amount of panache to you and your outfit.

For the last couple of decades men around the world have hardly given the breast pocket on their suits or sports jackets any attention at all. To the modern man it has always an extra place to store sunglasses or business cards and some men have just never even bothered to undo the stitching in the pocket when they have purchased a new suit.

However, men are once again rediscovering the art of sporting a pocket square.

The origin of the pocket square goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Wealthy Greeks carried around perfumed handkerchiefs as early as 500 B.C. English and French noblemen carried perfumed and embroidered handkerchiefs in order to cover their noses from the stench of the streets and other people.

In the early 1900′s, a dapper gentleman would never leave the house without a pocket square tucked neatly into his suit’s breast pocket. Yet by the latter half of that century, the pocket square began to go the way of the hat. No it is nice to see younger men adopting this as an integral part of their wardrobes.

When wearing a pocket square, remember that it must add just the right amount of contrast but should not be so bold as to clash. From suits to sport jackets, they are a stylish accessory.

Practically anything is the go, however don’t go too matchy matchy as it looks as if you are trying too hard.

Those Friendly Finns!

Needless to say, on our recent jaunt around the Baltic, we just could not get over how friendly the Finns were!

Except for the girl at Marimekko who told me to stop taking photos (Ok, so I didn't ask permission, when I should have).

Helsinki was one of our favourite cities!

Have a friendly weekend all!

Savoir Faire with Stella

Beer has never been one of those products that one usually associates with Savoir Faire, except when it comes to Stella Artois! The Belgian beer maker has consistently come up with memorable marketing campaigns that promote their product as one full of Savoir Faire.

One of the more memorable and stylish print campaigns of this year are the 60’s inspired ads that take us to the jet set lifestyle of the French Riviera of the 60’s.

Initially, when I first saw these I had a hard time deciding whether they were actual vintage ads from the 60’s or a newer incarnation of vintage ads, updated for a 21st Century audience. Why do they look so authentic?

It is because they are! They are illustrated by paperback and movie poster illustrator Robert McGinnis. McGinnis' portfolio is seemingly endless and includes cover art for all of the Bond books and pin up art that has come to represent an iconic 60s and 70s aesthetic. McGinnis was persuaded to come out of retirement to do this campaign.

The ads (true to form) feature a Bond-like character and his slinky female companion enjoying the good life in what appears to be St. Tropez. However uncharacteristic of the Bond we know, our hero is drinking a beer!

I have always admired the graphic stylized content of 60’s style drawn advertisements and these do not disappoint!

Rebel on the Row

While the women of the swinging sixties in London were decked head to toe in Biba, the men were wearing Tommy Nutter.

Nutter was the avant-garde Saville Row Tailor (who originally started off studying plumbing and architecture), who in the sixties single-handily reconciled the centuries old traditions of Saville Row tailoring with the so-called “peacock revolution” sweeping men’s fashion at the time. Nutter and the men he dressed were the new dandies of the twentieth century.

His initial business took London and the preconceived notions of how men should dress by storm. Tommy Nutter produced lively, contemporary tailoring whose roots were deeply embedded in the craftsmanship and knowledge of Saville Row. He designed for the Hardy Amies range, and then for the man himself. His clients included his investors, plus Sir Roy Strong, Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger and Elton John.

Nutter’s clients apart from the rich and famous also included the aspiring dandies from London’s East End who aspired to nothing more than owning a suit from Tommy Nutter.

Nutter also applied his craft to dressing female icons of swinging London society at the time, including Cilla Black, a close friend, and Bianca Jagger, who was much photographed at the time in a white dinner jacket with white satin facings. Nutter also made a red velvet suit for Twiggy which became a celebrated and much-copied look when she was photographed wearing it in the early Seventies.

In 1971 he was elected to the Best-Dressed List in the United States, along with the Earl of Snowdon and Hardy Amies. At the time, American Menswear magazine said of Nutter that he was 'tradition spiced with daring'.

'He never got things wrong about clothes,' said the restaurateur and bookshop-owner Stuart Grimshaw, who was a client of Tommy Nutter's from the late Sixties. 'He really knew what he was talking about. One would go in and say, 'What do I wear to go on safari in Kenya?' and Tommy would make one an absolutely correct safari suit, a proper one with all the pockets in exactly the right place’