Holiday Vibes
Deck the halls with all kinds of balls, movie magic, and other festive musings...
Streaming of a White Christmas
I am a sucker for holiday movies, both classic and new, good, bad, and indifferent. (And most of them, let’s face it, fall into the last category.) But the flood of new ones continues, so I am clearly not alone in my weakness. This year there’s even one starring the wonderful Michelle Pfeiffer. In Oh.What.Fun. on Amazon Prime, she plays, of all things, a Texas homemaker who’s obsessive about celebrating the holidays and dreams of appearing on a daytime TV show. Pfeffier is still radiant, and the rest of the cast is strong, but the movie, while it has a few amusing moments, is pretty much a mess. Netflix’s holiday offering, A Merry Little Ex-Mas, stars another charming actress, Alicia Silverstone, in an overly sweet morass of misunderstandings and mishaps. My favorite recent holiday film, by far, is last year’s Nutcrackers, on Hulu. The plot is standard—a hard-charging urban executive, Ben Stiller, must head to the countryside where his life is transformed. But director David Gordon Green, better known for horror movies, brings a fresh approach to the material. The kids are wonderful, the soundtrack is lively, and there is even some terrific choreography. Don’t be surprised if you shed a tear. And isn’t that in the spirit of the season? MB
Mood Boredom
A fellow guest at a recent holiday luncheon on the Upper East Side was grumbling about the current trend among party hosts and wedding planners to send mood boards along with invitations, to ensure guests are appropriately dressed, on trend, or synced with the event theme. Supposedly the Kardashians do it, so does Lauren Sanchez, and many bridezillas. A five-day destination wedding could involve as many as ten mood boards—made on apps like Pinterest—depending on the social schedule. A recent wedding suggested a blue theme, another demanded long, flowing dresses. When it comes to style, people still like to be told what to wear. Or do they? KB
Throwing a Curve
Can we finally call a moratorium on the curved white sofa? Half of the photos above were snapped at the prestigious Salon of Art and Design at the Park Avenue Armory this fall. The other half are taken from recent real estate listings. Does it matter? What is clear is that the curved sofa, once a radical innovation by designers Jean Royère and Vladimir Kagan, has become a cliché, a bland signifier of good taste. This highly impractical (white!) yet ubiquitous piece has devolved into an all-too-easy way to indicate modernity and cool, without really having to work at it. Which is why it has become such a favorite of real estate stagers. But let’s do better. Basta! MB
Iconic Style For Sale
Tis the season for fashion icon collections to go on the block. First up is Mathilde and Friends in Paris, a Christie’s Paris sale on January 26th of cherished objects and iconic outfits from the trés chic apartment and wardrobe of Dior VIP maven Mathilde Favier. Also from the Dior “family,” comes the estate of the late Doris Brynner which will be sold at Sotheby’s in Paris on January 27th. Before being named head of Dior Home in 1997, Brynner worked for Pierre Cardin and traveled in European high society circles. She was also great friends with Audrey Hepburn and Liz Taylor. Items of interest in the sale include two brooches gifted to her from Hepburn and Taylor. On February 10th the estate of former Vogue editor Grace Mirabella goes on sale at Auctions at Showplace in Astoria, NY. Lots of fashion memorabilia including a Horst photo of Coco Chanel, a Fendi fur coat, and artwork by former Condé Nast editorial director Alexander Liberman are in the offing for fans of 1970s and ‘80s Vogue. KB
A Cut Above
When my neighbor, the former fashion stylist Charmaine Burden told me she was starting a New York City-based on-demand tailoring service called Hello Tailor that would make house calls for alterations, I told her she was insane. Now I’m a devoted client and wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else to have clothes altered. In addition to basic requests such as hemming or taking in pants and fitting jackets, Charmaine and her team of master tailors can recut, refit, and basically reimagine any item of clothing. Appointments are booked online, the tailor comes to you, and all work is hand delivered in chic reusable packaging within days. And the price is right. KB
Ballers
Since time immemorial, men have been focused on the size of their members. But in the past few years, their focus seems to have shifted a little lower. Social media is full of ads for specialty razors and depilatory creams that promise to make men smooth and hairless down there without nicks and cuts. Plastic surgeons are offering implants to make men’s testicles bigger and/or Botox to smooth the skin. There was even a billboard high over Chelsea this summer offering those services. Jock straps are once again popular in the gay community, witness the re-branding of Bike Athletics, which designed the first one, into a gay lifestyle brand. And niche labels, aware that men’s underwear is a more than $8 billion industry in the US alone, are offering versions with specialty pouches and innovative engineering that promise comfort and greater visibility. One brand even asks for a rough estimate of your size—a couple of eggs, a baseball, or a grapefruit?—to provide that perfect fit. Now the ball game has gone mainstream, with one brand doing a bit of guerrilla marketing of its BallPark Pouch on the streets of NYC—right next to Gwyneth, no less. MB
The Big Bake-off
Here are three clear favorites in our survey of the best panettone. Whichever one you choose, we hope you have a marvelous holiday.
Christmas in Connecticut
Agreed! Going to try Hello Tailor - great suggestion.