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.

Chic Savoir Faire

When we think of fashion and haute couture in the 1930’s right through to the 1950’s usually only the big names such as Schiaparelli, Vionnet, Chanel and Patou come to mind. Most of these names live on in some form or another, with the rumours of a re launch of Schiaparelli on the horizon; these big names are coming more familiar to the main rank and file.

A name that should be more prominent than what is, is that of Molyneux. Edward Molyneux is the Givenchy of the 1930’s. After training with Lucile (Lady Duff Gordon) in London, he opened in Paris in 1919. From that period right up until WWII his house was the epitome of elegance, sophistication and refinement. He dressed European Royalty, the aristocracy, actress’ such as Greta Garbo, Gertrude Lawrence, and the wife of Somerset Maugham, Syrie, who was one of the leading interior decorators of her day.

He himself was a living advertisement for the style that he created – an idle, slim, elegant style that was always on the edge of dissipation. Along with Vionnet he became a master at creating incredibly fluid bias cut evening dresses that are timeless in their appeal. He banned all superfluous decoration on clothes and invariably worked in black, blue, beige or blue. An avid art collector he assembled an extensive Impressionist collection, of Picassos, Monet and at least 17 Renoirs.

Pierre Balmain was one of Molyneux’s earlier apprentices who went on to write in his autobiography that Molyneux’s was “a temple of subdued elegance… where the world’s best women wore the inimitable two-pieces and tailored suits with pleated skirts, bearing the label of Molyneux”

Unfortunately he retired in 1950 leaving his fashion house in the hands of designer Jacques Griffe. Luckily he did return in 1964 to open Studio Molyneux which was high end prêt a porter collection, which continued right through until 1977. Quite a few of the designs during this period were used by Vogue patterns, where you could run up your own piece of Parisian chic, and the little dresses from this period are chic! Still wearable today extremely elegant and simple.

So girls, break out the Bernina, find an old Molyneux pattern and be chic this summer!

Savoir Faire in New York

I see that even smoking could have been stylish when perched atop Rockerfeller Plaza in New York at night coutesy of BOAC. Works even better if you have been drawn by a graphic artist who can capture the moment.

Sling Time In Singapore

As a lot of you already know, I am a gin man, with gin and tonic being a favourite drink along with the recently discovered gin based Negroni. If the Negroni was the drink of la dolce vita, the Gin Sling (or Singapore Sling) was the drink of the era of colonialism while sitting at the Long Bar in Raffles. I remember my first Singapore Sling at the oh so terribly adult age of 16, sitting down for cocktails before dinner on the roof of the Singapore Hilton around the swimming pool with the lights of Singapore spread out below. I felt so grown up and sophisticated, thinking that this was one of the most divine things I had ever drunk.

The original Singapore Sling was created sometime between 1910 and 1915 in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, that fabled outpost of the Empire in Singapore. Even today a trip to Singapore must include a visit to Raffles. Again I remember, this time when I was around 14, and not alowed to partake so to speak, my parents sitting down in Palm Court of Raffles having a Singapore Sling. The guest list of Raffles reads like a who’s who of famous people, with Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling crossing its famous lobby. Set in tropical gardens, the hotel was a British oasis in an all too unfamiliar Asian world.

Unfortunately the original recipe was lost in the 1920,s however here is what I consider the best.
1 1/2 ounce gin
1/2 ounce Cherry Herring
1/4 ounce Cointreau

1/4 ounce Benedictine

4 ounce pineapple juice

1/2 ounce lime juice

1/3 ounce grenadine

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Garnish: Cherry and slice of pineapple
Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled Collins glass.

So, now you don’t have to trek all the way to Raffles to have one ( however I urge you to), you can create one at home, sit underneath or next to the potted palm on the terrace or patio, and think of England!

PS. Fly Singapore Airlines where the drink is available free in all classes, even in Row55!

Marquesa Luisa Casati

I was at the Art Gallery of Ontario the other day, and had forgotten that they possessed a portrait of the fabled Marquesa Luisa Casati, by Augustus John.

At the beginning of the twentieth century right through until the late 1930’s, she was one of the most recognizable and exotic creatures in European society. Like a whirling dervish she rushed headlong into society, inspiring and maybe even frightening all of whom she came into contact with, whether it be couturiers such as Schiaparelli, authors like Proust or artists like Augustus John.

Maybe it was her appearance that left all she encountered quivering in her wake? Tall and thin, with an almost deathlike pallor to her skin, which was topped off with the reddest hair that anyone had ever seen. Large green eyes that bewitched were crowned with immense false eyelashes and the thickest lines of kohl ever seen since Cleopatra. It was even said that she added belladonna to these so that they glittered like emeralds, so that they were even more enticing.

Asked to dine with her and you could have been seated next to a bizarre wax mannequin, said to contain the ashes of a past love, while you were waited upon by nude servants only attired in gold leaf. Animals were an accessory to be worn and paraded around like the panthers and cheetahs she parade around Paris on diamond studded leads, or the live snakes she wore as jewellery.

Like Madame Rubinstein, she is perhaps one of the most artistically represented women of the twentieth century. Painted by artists such as August John, Kees Van Dongen and countless others. If you were a photographer you also didn’t escape her clutches, as Man Ray and Cecil Beaton found out! Today she still inspires the same groups of people sh e did in her lifetime. John Galliano for Dior devoted a whole collection to her.

Unfortunately with all this excess she went from being one of the richest women in Europe to dying in relative obscurity and poverty in London in 1957. It was even said that right up to the end she was sometimes spotted rummaging through garbage bins in search of feathers for her hair.

Calling All Gentlemen!

Gentleman, here are two fragrances that epitomize the art of being a gentleman, something that seems to be lost in this modern day and age. Wear both of these and seriously strangers will stop you in the street and ask you what you are wearing. However there is some good and bad news. Try and find a bottle of Yardley Gentleman eau de toilette and you might as well start searching for the Holy Grail while you are at it. Givenchy Gentleman on the other hand while readily available is a shadow of its original self originally launched in 1975.

Yardley Gentleman is one of the finest, most under-rated fragrances around. It has been unfairly maligned and is not for everyone. However if you can try it you will have an almost religious experience Apply lightly, maybe two spritzes administered as a mist from almost arms-length. It is just slightly "old world" reflecting the charm of Yardley which has been in business for over 300 years. It is a wonderful mixture of Grapefruit, Cinnamon, Bergamot, Cloves, Cederwood, Sandalwood and Vetiver.

This is a hidden classic, blatantly British, not worn by many others, that is going to be loved by those in close proximity to you, and strangers alike.
Givenchy Gentleman is timeless, determined, sophisticated and will be an instant hit with your adoring public. People will stop you with this one and ask “What are you wearing?” Like a true gentleman you will tell them. However if you don’t like patchouli stay away!

It is very complex with notes of Tarragon, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Vetiver, Russian Leather and Civet. Don’t be put off as to the civet content, as this it what makes it so wonderful. Did I say complex? This is one of the most interesting fragrances around, and there is always something in it which you can never put your finger on.
Who says being a Gentleman is passé? Wear these two and you will be one!