The Grand Tourist

Travelling for edification and pleasure, as a rite of passage for the British sons of the landed gentry, reached it's zenith in the 18th and 19th centuries.  While certainly an enjoyable year or two out of a young man's life, this trip was intended to bring about awareness of how life was lived in other lands and meant to broaden one's outlook thereby.

Acquisition of mementos of these travels would be expected as evidence of the worldliness and sophistication of the traveler.

Upon his return, the future Duke, Earl, industrial scion or wealthy firstborn son would set about creating a museum of sorts, displaying his treasures for his continued appreciation and that of his guests.

This room was referred to as a wunderkammer, German for room of wonders, or if displayed in vitrines, cabinets of curiosity.

What would you call three HOUSES filled with objects to the rafters from such travels? I would call that a museum.

Sir John Soane, as a grand tourist of the era, applied his intelligence and noble eye as well as his background as an architect to the task before him, and set about acquiring as many examples of ancient and modern artifacts as he could afford.

He acquired so many unique objects on his travels, and was so enamored of them, that he bought three adjoining houses in London, to expand his architectural practice and for the display of his treasures, and then spent the rest of his life arranging and displaying them for his own enjoyment.

His renowned museum is open to the public, inspiring thousands every year with its exquisite contents, authentic artifacts of a time and place.

The collecting of objects for decoration and enjoyment, reflecting an individuals taste and style, is obviously one of life's pleasures.

My weakness in this regard is plaster cameos, copies of Roman intaglios from thousands of years ago, and to scale architectural models.

Sir John's museum has thousands of cameos and Lord knows how many models, busts, paintings and antique Roman architectural fragments displayed in all of his rooms.

The preservation of these antiquities by a private individual, never mind their original acquisition, is remarkable.

An amazing and elegant feat for those times, or any time!

What is in your cabinet of curiosities?

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A Man for One Season

Christian Lacroix poufed his way to notoriety in the late 1980's with his exuberant and over the top confections.

His legacy is inextricably entwined with that time, fairly or not.

His use of pattern on pattern, an overscale costume aesthetic, and, for that era, unique color combinations, marked him not so much as a visionary, but more as a ring leader and agent provocateur of the "more is more" trend that encapsulated those times.

Beloved of the billionaires' wives of those heady days, the Susan Gutfreunds and Gayfried Steinbergs, who were breathlessly followed by Vogue and WWD, the backlash inevitably occurred, sweeping all before it, like a
tsunami of schadenfreude.  The early 90's had arrived, and the mighty, and their minions, fell.

Did Christian Lacroix get that memo?

Apparently not.

Lacroix never wavered. He designed his brand of haute couture until the end of 2010, hanging on, designing away, while minimalism took it's shot, and other established designers prospered in a constantly shifting retail environment.

His take on the trends?  Let them dress in silks and satins for day AND night while others wear Calvin Klein pantsuits! You know - business as usual.

Lacroix, in all his excess and creativity, foreshadowed later designers, forging a path for the McQueens, Gallianos, Theyskens et al, establishing himself as a courageous and insouciant visionary, a torch bearer for the artisanal.

I would call him the Diana Vreeland of the haute couture, in a category all his own.

An original - period.

He will be vindicated.  It's just a matter of time.

Herewith, some of his iconic designs.

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The Black and The White

Back in the early 90's, when minimalism became the mantra of every designer on the planet (except Christian Lacroix), as a backlash to the wacky excesses of the over -the- top 80's, the editor of Italian Vogue was featured in American Vogue with her wardrobe on display.

The photos of her walk-in closet told the whole story.

Were there acres of colorful couture and shelves loaded with Birkin bags and hundreds of pairs of expensive shoes?

Hardly!

On a top rack, for as far as the eye could see, were crisp, white long-sleeved shirts.

On the bottom rack, for as far as the eye could see, were black pants and long black skirts.

Period.

Shoes?  Black boots - laceup.

That was all she wore, every day, and per her, all she would ever need from that point forward.  She had moved on, in a big way.

Reverse excess as it were.  Not fewer clothes. No. Just no embellishment and no color. Otherwise, as would befit an editor with access to every designer in the world, she went for the new new thing and committed herself to
it.  She made the decision to keep it simple, but keep the luxury in her life, in fabrication and construction rather than obvious status signals. Black was the new black and so was white. And she had a ton of both.

In other words, a uniform, to wear every day, forever.

Until the next new thing. Every fashionista's dream: up to the minute and no limit in sight!

I was so jealous.

Since those heady and simple days twenty years ago, the entire industry has thankfully, and dramatically, moved on, incorporating minimalism, maximalism, high and low into what has now become generally available and accessible to anyone who cares to enter the fashion game.

You can now, theoretically, have it all too.

So choose your fashion to reflect your taste,

As the dictum now goes: "STYLE:  1.  KNOW WHO YOU ARE.  2.  DRESS ACCORDINGLY."

That's all you will ever need to know.

The resources available to you have never been greater.

Have fun and look amazing, editor or not!

It's a brand new day!

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