Savoir Faire Intervention

Who says that being a dictator leaves you devoid of any sort of Savoir Faire? There is no reason that because you might have a despotic disposition and your hands tainted with pain, suffering and corruption that you cannot do it in style.

Take Kim Jong Il of North Korea, for all his shortcomings as a leader you can’t deny that he looks smashing in his vintage Courreges sunnies. (Yes, it is confirmed they are Courreges).

Whether these were old stock lying around a Pyongyang Department Store or whether Kim got them from his favourite vintage consignment store I am not too sure, however it is a step in the right direction. All we need to have now is a Savoir Faire intervention and get rid of those strange coloured, shapeless suits he keeps wearing. Maybe he should go with the white suit that Gadaffi is advocating this summer? More in tune with the sunnies don’t you think?

Who would you like to see have a Savoir Faire Intervention?

Martine Savoir Faire

What Savoir Faire wouldn't do for these two chairs from Paul Poiret's Martine?

Vertes Faire!

While I am on a Schiaparelli roll here (bear with me, Savoir Faires), I am constantly inspired by Marcel Vertes who did most of the advertising copy for Schiaparelli Perfumes in the 40’s and 50’s.

In Vertes Schiaparelli recognised the talent and the means to convey the image of her perfumes that would create the most impact. The drawings are fresh, simple and just plain fun. Each ad usually features the Schiaparelli perfume in question, as either a living entity or something that the young lady in question cannot do without. The drawings are by no means politically correct for this current day and age. It really helped that Schiaparelli’s perfume bottles took on the forms of the top half or bottom of a woman’s torso or other everyday objects, such as pipes, candles and wine bottles.

Naked women abounded in the ads which must have been quite shocking for the day, even in the drawn form, prominently displayed in magazines.

Two of my favourites are the ones below, with the bottle of Shocking doubling for a young sailor’s current object of affection. They are full of sexual innuendo, however unlike today’s adds are not using sex to sell.

Again in the ad below the bottle is the object of this young man’s affection as he plies her with champagne.

Numerous times it is inferred that a bottle of Schiaparelli perfume is all that one needs to survive, whether being marooned on a beach or leaving home with your swag.

It wasn’t all sex and innuendo as we have below an incredibly chic young woman wearing her naval inspired beret holding a bottle of Salut.

Men (whether you were Santa or a playboy) always got the girls (all tongue in cheek of course), with the help of the bottle of perfume.

Adds for Snuff celebrated the Masculinity in all its glory, especially for the American male, who was not used to scenting oneself.

I have been collecting these ads for years and have framed quite a few and they are hanging in my hallway. They always gather some comment from friends and visitors alike.

Sandal Faire!

With summer in full swing, sandals are the way to go for a look full of savoir faire. I detest flip flops, even at the beach and that biggest of all fashion no no’s, sandals and socks! No matter what you might see on the runways of Europe it just is not a good look!

Here are a few of my favourites for this summer, with the Kurt Geiger being my favourites!

Kurt Geiger

Burberry

Prada

Schiaparelli Savoir Faire

You could always tell a woman who was dressed by Schiaparelli. Her clients were women who were assured of themselves and ever so confident. If you wanted people to talk you wore Schiaparelli. The originality of her couture translated well into the period before the World War II. The depression had ended and people were optimistic about the future and thus willing to undertake a few risks when dressing.

Of course there were strong surrealistic undertones at Schiaparelli however I believe a good many of her ideas were just pure fantasy. If you couldn’t afford Schiaparelli with a few clever innovations and the right accessories, you could give the appearance that you did. Even after the couture salons closed in the early 50’s accessories were still being produced, which could give you the Schiaparelli edge.

Newspaper printed silk was used for dresses and scarves, and who but Schiaparelli would make sure that the articles represented were about herself!

Buttons were never conventional, every shape and figure from acrobats, butterflies and stars cascaded down jackets and coats.

Flies and cockroaches adorned plexi-glass jewellery.

Golden pine cones hung from a velvet collar around your neck.

Perfumes and cosmetics were lavish in their presentations and tongue in cheek humour.

Love the powder compact designed by Dali in the shape of a telephone dial, just the thing to put in your purse shaped like a bucket.

We are all aware of the famous shoe hat which was surrealistic however shoes in the 60’s were more conventional. No matter what the style they still oozed glamour.

Eye glasses also played a part in the Schiaparelli look, going from fantastic frames with exaggerated eyelashes attached to highly decorated frames in the 50’s.

Continuing the theme of incorporating body parts on accessories, the below gloves with fingernails (in Shocking Pink) of course created a furore.

And to top it all off the stunning cuff below, is enough to make all swoon in admiration.

Up, Up and Away with TWA and Savoir Faire

In the 60’s if the Jet-set wanted to travel anywhere they usually did it with TWA or Pan Am. No other airlines did more for modern day jet travel than these two.

TWA had hired illustrator David Klein to produce a series of posters highlighting their many exotic locations around the world. These posters were emblematic and quintessential to the 1960’s jet-age. Bright colours mixed with sometimes almost abstract images portrayed travel as exciting and fun.

Even cargo didn’t go unnoticed, and whatever you needed shipped whether it be horse, shoes or film, it was all done in style with TWA.

The posters have become iconic and MOMA has included the New York poster below in its permanent collection.

Off the Cuff

I am just loving these vintage cufflinks from Courreges! The silver with the red and blue enamel stripes create just the right amount of impact, especially with a white or a baby blue shirt.