Design Diary: Tommy Hilfiger’s NYC Apartment

Harper’s Bazaar shot Tommy Hilfiger, his wife Dee and baby Sebastian at the family’s newly re-furbished duplex at The Plaza. They purchased it in 2008, and tried to sell it last year – for a mere $50 million – but now seem thrilled with the space, which the designer describes as”old-world atmosphere complementing the old-world Plaza.”

The condo, perched on the 18th and 19th floors, replaces Hilfiger’s Greenwich mansion, which he sold recently for $20 million. He still has his Mustique getaway and they’ve also purchased a smaller weekend retreat in another Connecticut suburb. After all, all the other kids (he has 4, she has 2) are either grown or at boarding school. Hilfiger describes this palace-like apartment as “cozy.”

The decor incorporates 20-plus Warhols, a Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Harry Benson photographs of Truman Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball, which took place at The Plaza, and counted Babe Paley, Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra as guests. There’s also the original New York Times sign in the study, furniture that once belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and a crystal sailing-ship chandelier in the nursery.  It’s all so very grandiose.

Photos by Douglas Friedman

[tweetmeme source=”StyleCarrot” only_single=false]

1 Comment

Filed under . REGULAR FEATURES, Design Diary, Rooms

ARTmonday: Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois

French-American artist Louise Bourgeois died on May 31st at age 98. Her work is haunting, eerily beautiful, brave, fragile, fierce, sexually explicit and autobiographical.

Arch of Hysteria, 1993 – polished bronze              Cell (Glass, spheres and hands) 1990-1993

Janis Fleuri, 1968 – bronze

Untitled, Guggenheim, 2004.

Untitled, 1996                                              Cell vii, 1998

Spider Couple, 2003

Number Seventy-Two (The No March), 1972                      Untitled (Germinal), 1967-95


Do you love me? Do you love me?       Cumul I, 1969 – white marble on wood

Precious liquids, 1992
Cedar, iron, water, glass, alabaster, fabric, embroidered cushions, clothing

Personages, 1940s carvings from wood found on streets of Manhattan

The Cold of Anxiety, 2001                                            FemmeCouteau, 1982

Quarantania I, 1947-1953              The Woven Child,2002 -fabric, wood, glass, steel


Top: Femme Maison, 1947 – La Reparation – (unidentified)
Bottom: (unidentified) –  Je t’aime (detail), 2005


Maman

More on Louise Bourgeois:

New York Times, May 31, 2010

PBS art:21 (includes videos)

Centre Pompidou Exhibition Itinerary 2008

[tweetmeme source=”StyleCarrot” only_single=false]

3 Comments

Filed under . REGULAR FEATURES, Art, Art Monday

Site Spotlight: BookSwim

How would you feel about a Netflix for books? Sure, you could just go to the library to borrow them, but that would require so much energy. There’s always the bookstore, with plenty of comfy chairs and snacks, but really, who has the time?  I’m guessing that was the reasoning behind the creation of BookSwim, a book rental service that provides free shipping both ways complete with handy (and heavy-duty) envelope.

The publicist sent me a note about BookSwim and activated a free three-month account so I could try it. I didn’t find tons of design titles (though really, aren’t those the kinds of books you want to own anyway?), but I did find plenty of up-to-date beach reads (the fluffy pink books you don’t really want to populate your shelves), as well as a number of tempting kids books.

I created a pool, prioritized and yes, the books came to my door. Love that. Read them, popped them back into the envelope and shipped them off. Easy.

Not sure if I’ll renew my membership, but I might.

[tweetmeme source=”StyleCarrot” only_single=false]

1 Comment

Filed under Shopping

Deal Alert: Nordstrom’s Pre-Season Sale

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Friday, July 16  –  Sunday, August 1

In-store and Online

Great chance to get the key pieces for your fall look early and at a discount.   Merch is on sale for two weeks and then marked back up to regular price.

Brands include Rag & Bone, Trina Turk, Kooba, True Religion, Alice + Olivia, Elizabeth and James, Burberry, Chloé, Tory Burch, Vince, and others.

[tweetmeme source=”StyleCarrot” only_single=false]

Leave a comment

Filed under Fashion

Shop Alert: Newbury Street Update

I was back in town last week. Here are the changes I noticed on Newbury:

Le Tigre is open. Since when did they become relevant again?

Judi Rotenberg Gallery is closed. It’s too bad; they had some great work.

And right downstairs, Shu Uemura has shuttered too. Probably because they were so rude. [NOTE: A reader was offended by this comment, so I’ll clarify.] I found the service at this boutique to be unprofessional and unresponsive each time I stopped by or contacted them. By contrast, the service at MAC (112 Newbury Street) is always impeccable. PS – I use products from both lines and love them.

3 Comments

Filed under Shopping