Salon du Dessin

 

Yesterday, thanks to ADHD I ended up at the wrong venue for Eternal Mucha. 

Never mind. A bowl of soupe d’oignon & start over.

What I wore & Chanel Letter

My sister sent me more old family pics from Philadelphia in a manila envelope. They are a record of what I wore over the years. Here, in matching pinafores and ruffled bonnets with pom poms, Mom home-made. An early choke-hold shot.

My dad & me squinting in a flouncy sundress. My dad used to take me to Saturday morning finger painting classes at The Philadelphia Museum of Art. After class I’d wander on my own from room to historic room in wonderment till he picked me up. It was a terrific grounding in art history 🎨 

The picture on the right in our backyard. I remember my father scolding me to, ”Stop posing!” I posed anyway. *Note rickrack & lace ruffled hem = mom-made creation.

This looks like the final mom-made dress before adolescent ‘rebellion’ set in. So many ribbons 🎀 I don’t look happy.

As an Ado I went monochromatic. A rebellion to my mother’s dissatisfaction. I‘ve stayed that way, keeping to a range of neutrals on the dark side. Hello black.I still don’t wear prints except the occasional scarf.  Odd how life-long clothing tastes are formed at 12. What do you prefer? Prints or solids?

A caftan from my Moroccan period - solid colors. Didn’t everyone go to Morocco at one time or another?

Stripes entered my life in a big way when I worked on 7th Avenue in fashion and discovered Sonia Rykiel. *Note stripped socks.

I Loved Sonia Rykiel & Agnes b. I still have 5 stripe T-shirts in my closet and several striped scarves. You can never go wrong wearing classic stripes in Paris. Is that why I moved to France 🇫🇷 home of stripes/rayure?

En famille on the Atlantic City boardwalk. Note our matching outfits, Mom-made. I’m sure mother made her own matching head-to-toe outfit. We were her living dolls she loved to dress up until we wouldn’t let her.

I played the ‘cover’ as my mother browsed elegant fashion boutiques in Hotel Chelfont Haddon Hall (just like La Samaritaine). Except back in the day you had to doll up to enter. Forget jeans 👖  I would quietly wait outside the dressing room, while mom tried on and examined inner seams and structure of couture dresses. Such dreams of grandeur. When she’d finished her research, we’d waft out casually, (buying nothing) as though we shopped there everyday.

Here dressed to the nines in matching black-watch plaid suits with matching beanies plus a distinctive added feather. Ready to go faux/pretend shopping. Every stitch sewn by my mother. My mom was a fashion plate.

Quelle surprise Mom. I did finally go to fashion design school as you wished. I worked in fashion 7 years on Seventh Avenue, before moving on to shoe design, medical illustration, food artist, wine art and finally sending out illustrated letters💌 around the world🌏 from Paris. Bonjour Moscow! 

I think my mom would love ❤️ the Chanel letters I just put up on etsy. I hope you do too ☺️ Is it any wonder I’m mad about Bear 🐻 He’s monochromatic and wears a striped T-shirt. Well that’s enough about little ole moi

             💋☺️🐻Have a Bon Dimanche PBers🐻☺️💋

Paris Ritz Auction

I went early to visit the Ritz Auction at Artcuriel.

The RITZ PARIS AUCTION preview was over 2 weeks ago at ARTCURIAL, Rond Point, Champs-Elysées. I thought there would be long lines. Instead it was me & TV crews.

They were still setting up 17 display rooms.

The rooms were designed and sketched by decorator, Vincent Darré. He's standing in La Suite Windsor.

Utterly gorgeous. You can’t see the Windsor's little brown suede dog bed for sale.

The Scott Fitzgerald suite.

Back in the studio I started painting from hundreds of photos.

Et voila.

Le Salon Proust. Someone walked by and strummed the harp

I took so many pictures of the Ritz 'Marthe' pattern china (they changed the color from green to blue with the new renovation). Its available in their hotel boutique. I thought I would be painting this.

I was enthralled with Ritz chaises 🪑 

There were many, many chairs to paint.

How did the auction go? 

It was a grand success.

Almost 9 million dollars earned.

7 times the estimation. 

13,000 visiters during the 4-day viewing. 

5 days of sales. 

3,500 lots of 10,000 objects dispursed. 

100% sold. 

60% sold to foreigners in 53 countries. 

50% sold through the internet. 

The natural light in the Artcurial is simply gorgeous. You feel you’re wafting through the old Ritz.

Visit Artcuriel’s auctions. Outstanding.

An archival picture of Mademoiselle Coco Chanel's suite.

Vincent Darré's version her bedroom with her ❤️ red lacquer Chinoiserie.

They didn’t mind me sitting in one of Chanel's chairs 🪑 and drawing ✍️ 

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Bonne Weekend!