WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD LIFE
RUBIN SINGER’S ASYMMETRIC STYLING
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AU NATUREL
À LA ARTIST CATHERINE LATSON
LIFE IS A HIGHWAY A LUXE SOLUTION FOR WANDERLUST
SILVERY TOUCH
CHRISTOFLE HAS IT
FAMILIAR FACES RETURN TO HELM NEIMAN, SAKS ARMED, BUT NOT DANGEROUS, AT THE FRICK CHIC CHOICES
SEPTEMBER 2014 | WAGMAG.COM
POWER SUITS
Imagine the possiblities
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sept 2014
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IRON MEN
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THE JOY OF SAKS
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HE DONE THEM WRONG
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CAT ON A HOT STONE STOOP
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TAKE TWO
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A VEDDY STYLISH DAY TRIP
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AU NATUREL
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SILVER ICON
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PAST IS PRESENT (AGAIN)
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DESIGN POWER
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THE ART OF SABRAGE AND MANAGING A BRAND
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ALL BLOOMIE’S
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TECH WITH A FASHION TWIST
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CLOTHES HELP MAKE THIS MAN
Ready-to-wear Fall 1984, from “Yves Saint Laurent” by Roxanne Lowit. ©Roxanne Lowit. Courtesy of Roxanne Lowit.
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sept
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90 | WATCH We’re out and about
96 | WIT We wonder: What style suits you best?
Cover photograph by John Rizzo.
OOPS In August WAG, we got into some trouble with people’s names. On page 42, that’s Dr. Mark A. Vitale, whom we misidentified. And in Ronni’s story on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s new book, page 45, there’s a reference to Yvonne van Cort, whose name was misspelled. Apologies to Van Cort and Vitale.
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waggers
ANTHONY CARBONI
ROBIN COSTELLO
NIKKI DAVIDSON
RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN
JANE DOVE
PATRICIA ESPINOSA
BILL FALLON
MARK LUNGARIELLO
DOUG PAULDING
JOHN RIZZO
BOB ROZYCKI
HEATHER SALERNO
ERIKA SCHWARTZ
MARY SHUSTACK
AUDREY TOPPING
NEW WAGGERS LEIF SKODNICK is a reporter for Westfair Communications and a contributor to WAG magazine. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School, Leif enjoys sailing, golf, reading, cooking, and is an avid New York Yankees fan. He lives in Rye with his fiancée, who is a boating enthusiast.
BRUCE PINKER is a foot and ankle surgeon with offices in Pomona and White Plains. He is a member of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and the American Professional Wound Care Association. Pinker is an expert in corporate health and wellness, working with many corporations throughout the tristate area. For more, visit drd-lucs.com.
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DANIELLE K. RENDA is the research director at Westfair Communications Inc. She graduated from Quinnipac University (QU) with her B.A. in journalism and recently completed her M.S. in interactive communications, also at QU. Danielle is passionate about writing and web advancement. She lives in Buchanan.
RICHARD ELIAS, DMD, MD, is an oral surgeon at Mamaroneck Oral Surgery. He earned his D.M.D degree from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School. He is welltrained in the full scope of the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery, from insertion of dental implants to facial reconstruction to the employment of endoscopic techniques for the treatment of various traumatic injuries. For more, call 914-8730045 or visit mamaroneckoralsurgery.com
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EDITOR'S LETTER GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
FOR WEEKS, IT HAUNTED ME – a floral silk evening gown by Isabel Sanchis in the window of Idra Alta Moda, new to The Westchester in White Plains. Strapless. A Baroque bow in the front. Pink cascading to purple. So I visited the store, intent on featuring the gown in WAG’s Chic Choices. Why not try it on?, Candy Wilmot, the store’s smart stylist, suggested. So on went the gown, complemented by a dyed black fox scarf. And there I was, transformed into a figure out of Sargent. Such is the power of that dress, the power of dressing. In this our annual fashion issue, we’ve decided to explore how power suits clothing – and individuals. It’s not a new idea. The Frick Collection celebrates the 400th anniversary of El Greco’s death with a show that considers how armor made the 16th century man. Today’s man is still clad in armor – Under Armour, as you’ll see in Leif Skodnick’s piece on Barnum Financial Group managing director Paul Blanco – a man who knows his way around a French cuff. The suit and tie is still the go-to outfit for men like Blanco and new Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich GM Jeff O’Geary, along with White Plains Mayor Thomas M. Roach and Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich GM Lou Liodori. (See Wit.) But for John Howland, the tie-less president and CEO of First Bank of Greenwich, the dress code has loosened up. Elsewhere, it’s always been looser for men – or maybe just different. When he has to wear a suit, cover guy Rubin Singer wears one of his own design. Otherwise it’s a uniform of black V-neck T-shirt and black jeans. He doesn’t want to think about dressing himself so he can spend more time on his divine creations for us ladies. And we do indeed have a lot more options than the guys. The 100% Bloomingdale’s campaign – 1,000 items by 100 designers, all exclusive to Bloomie’s – is mainly women’s wear (though not all, as Danielle Renda illustrates in her tech fashion story). Neiman Marcus’ trends are best exemplified in an array of offerings for women, as you’ll see in the piece accompanying our profile of new GM Julie Gaynor. When we met, she was wearing a bouclé jacket, slim black skirt and black pumps. For Bob’s photos, she donned a summery print dress – and looked just as lovely. It’s fascinating to compare the trajectories of Gaynor’s and O’Geary’s careers at NM and Saks respectively. Both took to retail as teens. Both became GMs of their stores after previous tenures there.
Floral silk evening gown by Isabel Sanchis, $5,450; dyed black fox scarf, $195. Styling and photograph by Candy Wilmot. All courtesy Idra Alta Moda.
But most important, both bring a warm, personal touch to retail. They prove that power best suits those who know how to put others first. Fall always means change and so it is at WAG as we welcome several new and guest Waggers. Besides Leif and Danielle, Moderne Barn sommelier Matt Christoff weighs in on fall wine trends; Dr. Bruce Pinker, on making shoes that offer fashionable comfort; Cami and Marc Weinstein, on their trip to stylish Barcelona; and Dr. Richard Elias on preserving kids’ teeth from sports injuries. They join mainstays like Mark, who delves into Christofle’s gleaming silver ware; Heather, who engages the engaging “Talk Stoop” hostess Cat Greenleaf; Dr. Erika, whose new book, “The Intimacy Solution,” is about to hit stores; Audrey, who reopens the case of the Chinese jade burial suit; and Mary, whose subjects include artist Catherine Latson, creator of fashion-inspired art, like her fern dress. My mind, however, keeps drifting back to that evening gown at Idra Alta Moda. You’ll have to buy it, Candy Wilmot suggested. Is it too early to send my list to the guy in the red suit? Georgette Gouveia is the author of the new novel “Water Music,” the first in her series, “The Games Men Play.” Read her blog at thegamesmenplay.com.
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IRON MEN THE FRICK CONSIDERS THE VAGARIES OF ARTISTIC FASHION BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
IT IS NO SMALL IRONY THAT JUST AT THE MOMENT WHEN ARMOR APPEARED TO OUTLIVE ITS USEFULNESS IN THE 16TH CENTURY – SWORDS HAVING GIVEN WAY TO MUSKETS – IT TOOK ON A NEW URGENCY. “…paradoxically, the loss of its utilitarian function served only to enhance its prestige and symbolism,” writes curator Jeongho Park in the catalog for The Frick Collection’s new “Men in Armor: El Greco and Pulzone Face to Face” (through Oct. 26). “First, armor was a symbol of masculinity and military valor. The crustaceous costume gives the wearer a silhouette that conforms to the ideal masculine body.” Call it 16th-century shapewear. But this is one irony in a show that is a fascinating quartet of portraits, spotlighting not only Jacopo Boncompagni, castellano of Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo and head of the papal forces, and his captain Vincenzo Anastagi but the men who captured them respectively – premier society painter Scipione Pulzone and Roman newbie El Greco. We asked Ian Wardropper – director of The Frick and a Mamaroneck resident – to weigh in on the inspiration for the show and what it tells us about the fashion of art:
Why do a show about “Men in Armor”? How did this exhibit come about? “This is the 400th anniversary of El Greco’s death, so we wanted to do a small show featuring the artist. Later in the fall we will hang our three El Grecos together to coordinate with an exhibition at The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art), bringing together other paintings by the artist in New York. “The Frick for over 10 years has had a program funded by (The Andrew W.) Mellon Foundation and now named the Anne Poulet Fellows, which brings top graduate students here to finish their dissertations,
Scipione Pulzone’s “Jacopo Boncompagni” (1574), oil on canvas, private collection. Courtesy Jean-Luc Baroni Ltd.
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learn curatorial work and do an exhibition. This is the latest show in the series, which has brought us ‘Piero della Francesca in America,’ among others.”
By the time El Greco painted “Vincenzo Anastagi” and Scipione Pulzone painted Anastagi’s military commander in “Jacopo Boncompagni,” armor was actually on the wane. So why was it important for men of a certain stature to be portrayed in armor? “In the 16th century, firearms made armor less useful as a protective device, but it continued to have ceremonial and status importance, particularly in portraits.” The two portraits –Boncompagni in his decorative, ceremonial armor and Anastagi in his plain, functional breastplate – offer contrasting observations on the men’s rank. But what do they say about the two artists as well? “Boncampagni is shown wearing parade armor, while Anastagi is in battle gear. This implies that the first is of higher rank, while the latter was a working soldier (albeit, a captain). This was in fact the case. In the Boncompagni portrait, Pulzone is carefully flattering his sitter by showing him in lavish and expensive armor. On an artistic level, Pulzone is more literal-minded, depicting every detail and somewhat distracting from the portrait of the face, while El Greco is more interested in impressions like the glint off the breastplate, which
allows the pose and face to communicate the man’s personality.”
Boncompagni’s breastplate is embellished with images of the god Mars, St. Michael and the Battle of Lepanto. Was it important for the iconography to reinforce masculine themes? “Certainly, masculinity is reinforced by these decorations. Perhaps more importantly, they remind the viewer of Boncampagni’s intellect (he knew ancient literature and art), religiosity and battle record.” An irony here is that Pulzone was the premier portrait painter of his day, while El Greco was trying to make a name for himself. Yet today, everyone knows El Greco and Pulzone is a case of “Scipione Who?” What does your exhibit say about the vagaries of artistic fashion and fame? “Pulzone was a very good painter and this exhibition gives him a little credit by showing his influence on the formation of El Greco. But yes, Boncampagni hired the most famous painter of the day to ensure his immortality, while Anastagi hired the then little-known El Greco. Tastes change, and El Greco is recognized today as one of the greatest painters of all time. Hiring a society portraitist is the safe best. Hiring a brilliant artist (if you can recognize the talent!) is the more challenging approach with possibly more lasting results.” For more visit frick.org.
El Greco’s “Vincenzo Anastagi” (circa 1575), oil on canvas, The Frick Collection.
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HE DONE THEM WRONG OR THE CASE OF THE JADE CEREMONIAL SUIT SCAM BY AUDREY RONNING TOPPING
O
F ALL THE POWER SUITS IN THE WORLD, THE CHINESE JADE CEREMONIAL BURIAL SUIT IS ARGUABLY THE MOST POWERFUL SUIT. Made of square jade tiles sewn together with gold or silver wire, the ancient suits, popular with Han Dynasty emperors, were top-of the line burial suits and astronomically expensive. These revered ancient artifacts are not generally available today, but in 2011 an inscrutable entrepreneur, Xie Genrong (pronounced perhaps fittingly “she gone wrong”), bought a bunch of these jade tiles on the open market and constructed two burial suits sewn together with plastic fishing line. Xie was alleged to have used these homemade suits as collateral for illegally obtaining some 700 million RMB (about $113,678,000 today) in loans from the China Construction Bank. Only the emperors and wealthy aristocrats could afford to be buried in jade suits, which resembled suits of armor. Jade was believed to hold the essence of mountains and have the power to keep corpses from decaying: When Chimei rebels raided Emperor Gaozu’s tomb in the second century, they found the bodies of the emperor and empress intact. For centuries many archaeologists believed that the jade burial suits were only myths or legends, but the startling discovery in 1968 of two complete suits in the tombs of Liu Sheng and Dou Wan in Hubei proved their existence. One suit consisted of 2,498 plates of solid jade connected with two and a half pounds of gold wires. Since then they have become national treasures. Many more jade suits have been discovered in ancient tombs and exhibited around the world. The process of creating one was labor-intensive: It is estimated to have required more than 100 craftsmen two years to complete a single suit.
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In 1975, the author’s father, Canadian Ambassador Chester Ronning, and friends viewed the 2,000-yearold Han Dynasty jade ceremonial burial suits on exhibit in Toronto.
But in spite of this, the resourceful Xie Genone celebrated with Mou-tai, which they sipped the experts even made the excuse that since the rong was able to create two jade suits out of leftout of authentic imperial jade wine cups. jade suits were inside a glass case when they were over jade and fishing wire that fooled the experts. Now the plot thickens. Someone found out examined, they’d be hard to authenticate. UnforHe knew it was a gamble. Chances were that the about all this skullduggery and legal trouble detunately, in the middle of it all, one of the acaaverage banker didn’t know snap about antiques, veloped. Fear of punishment resulted in finger demics died of a heart attack. Since he could not so he declared the suits to be pricedefend himself he drew a lot of fire. less items from his own collection. They all blamed the dead guy, for as But the bankers weren’t that stupid. they say, dead men tell no tales. They demanded an authentic ap- FOR CENTURIES MANY ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVED Chinese reporters loved this story praisal. Enter the middleman Niu for many reasons. They admired the Fuzong, an expert for a Beijing TV THAT THE JADE BURIAL SUITS WERE ONLY MYTHS OR entrepreneurial spirit of Xie Genprogram called “ Treasures of the rong. They laughed at the fools at World.” He helped Xie Genrong LEGENDS, BUT THE STARTLING DISCOVERY IN 1968 OF the China Construction Bank for put together an impressive team TWO COMPLETE SUITS IN THE TOMBS OF LIU SHENG giving him such a huge loan and of five experts, including respected applauded the exposure of the utacademics from China’s Palace AND DOU WAN IN HUBEI PROVED THEIR EXISTENCE. terly corrupt academic experts and Museum. The connoisseurs authe creepy henchman-like work thenticated Xie’s unique ensembles performed by middleman Niu, who as antique and gave the bank an esmade everything possible. The retimation of stellar value. They all agreed that the pointing. The academics began to blame each porters also used this story of the jade suit hoax suits were worth 2.4 billion RMB. Xie was quite other. One acute expert claimed immunity from as an example of widespread allegations in China pleased with himself. He got his loan and everyliability because of academic freedom: Whether of corruption among experts in the antique busione down the line was paid off. As a reward the the appraisal was accurate or completely wrong ness, which has become a metaphor for a society academics shared hundreds of thousands of apwas irrelevant, you see. The members of the acadin which the highest forms of knowledge somepraisal fees with middleman Niu Fuzong. Everyemy were involved in a scholarly pursuit. One of times become a means to an end.
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TAKE TWO
JULIE GAYNOR’S BACK AT NEIMAN MARCUS BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ROZYCKI
“THIS IS MY SECOND TOUR OF DUTY,” Julie Gaynor says with a laugh. The new vice president, general manager of Neiman Marcus Westchester in White Plains is referring to her return to the store where she spent 3½ years as assistant manager. In-between, she spent seven years as general manager of the Paramus NM. But now she’s back in White Plains, having discovered – to tweak a Sammy Cahn song – that it’s just as lovely the second time around. “It’s been familiar but different,” she says of her return four months ago. “We have a group of tenured individuals that have been with the company upwards of 30 years. That’s been nice to return to. But a lot has changed – makeovers, new faces and new customers.” Among the new features – the restaurant Mariposa, replacing the signature Zodiac. Out with the astrological signs, in with the butterflies – mari-
posa means butterfly in Spanish. Add a touch of leopard print and a zesty, refreshed menu that still makes room for Neiman’s trademark melt-in-your mouth popovers with strawberry butter and classic chicken salad dish. “Customer response has been great, and we’re looking at expanding the hours,” Gaynor says, adding that while The Zodiac was wonderful, “it was time for a change.” Some things, however, will never change. “My focus as far as the store is concerned is to continue bringing our customers great service and compelling merchandise,” she says. “In this marketplace, there are so many places they can go. I want us to be the place where they can come … and find what they need without going down to Fifth Avenue.” To make it easier to reach that clientele, every member of Neiman’s sales
“MY JOB WOULDN’T EXIST WITHOUT EVERYONE ON THE STAFF INTERACTING WITH THE CUSTOMERS,” SHE SAYS. “ONE OF THE THINGS I HATE THE MOST IS BEING STUCK IN MY OWN OFFICE.” staff is equipped with an iPhone 5. “I want them to reach out to our customers, and for the customers in turn to find them.” You get the sense that even if Neiman Marcus did not provide the sales staff with the iPhones, Gaynor herself would insist on it. She is that kind of person, an immediately engaging woman whose warmth is offset by her
elegant office attire – a black pencil skirt with a kick pleat; a bouclé jacket in gray, the color of the season; black pumps; and pearls with gray overtones. Her bright blue eyes are enhanced by makeup in an attractive pastel palette. More important, having coffee with her in her spacious office is like talking with a longtime friend. For Gaynor, it’s all about the personal.
Excellence. The kind that pays returns for years to come. The management team of the UBS Financial Services Inc. 299 Park Avenue Branch congratulate Jonathan Adamsky for being recognized by Registered Rep magazine as a Top 40 Under 40 Financial Advisor in the United States.*
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“My job wouldn’t exist without everyone on the staff interacting with the customers,” she says. “One of the things I hate the most is being stuck in my own office.” Instead, Gaynor is the type of GM who’ll point you in the direction of a sales associate so you can get that kettle from MacKenzie-Childs’ new Butterfly Garden enamelware collection that you always wanted, then talk to you while your purchase is packaged and follow up on how you’re enjoying it. These are people skills she honed back in Dallas – Neiman Marcus’ hometown and hers as well. Gaynor started out in retail as a teenager at a mom-and-pop shoe store to which her mother would drive her after school. “I liked it,” she says. “There’s always something new in retail.” There was plenty of formal education, too, but much of her learning curve and strong work ethic came from experience at The Limited and through Neiman’s extensive training program. “I’ve had wonderful women mentors and a lot of fun. But it is weird that I’ve been with Neiman Marcus 20 years, and 10 of them have been in New York-New Jersey.” Home is in Dutchess County, which she shares with husband Mike, a partner in an accounting firm and their 17-month-old fraternal twin boys. “They’re the joy of our lives,” Gaynor says. “We’re so happy we decided to (become parents).” She acknowledges that it’s a balancing act, juggling her two great loves – family and Neiman Marcus. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I have very dear friends who do the same and I said, ‘If they can do it, I can do it.’”
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Fun Neiman’s facts: • The Neiman Marcus Group has 41 NM stores and two Bergdorf Goodmans. • Bergdorf opened in White Plains on Sept. 7, 1980. •Neiman Marcus Westchester is located on its former site. Photo courtesy of Neiman Marcus Westchester.
‘FALL’ING FOR NEIMAN’S “THE FALL SEASON HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE,” says Julie Gaynor, the new vice president, general manager of Neiman Marcus Westchester. She favors pretty things and there are lots of them, according to NM fashion director Ken Downing. He talks about the trends of the season in the August edition of Neiman’s “The Book”: GO GLOBAL — “Pattern, print, feathers and fringe create an elegant exoticism that will ignite your imagination and your look,” he writes. A case in point from Chanel — the richly textured navy/gray tweed jacket of cotton, wool and nylon with silk lining ($8,350) over a blue/white/ black tweed midi skirt of acrylic, nylon, cotton, wool and polyester with silk lining ($7,200). Accessorize the outfit with a ruthenium “Dallas by Night” minaudière with crossbody chain strap ($5,600) and black waxed calfskin boots with golden metal cap toe ($2,025). BOOTIE CALL — The year-round bootie has become Downing’s choice for go-to footwear. We love Manolo Blahnik’s camel suede bootie with metal grommets and studs ($2,055). THE CLUTCH — It’s, well, clutch. Downing
writes that you should polish your daytime look with it. And there are so many beauties, from Valentino’s striking red camouflage canvas and laser-cut leather “Rockstud” clutch ($1,995) to VBH’s classic beige dyed and black/hazelnut screen-printed calf hair “Manila 30” clutch with blue leather trim ($1,975), exclusive to NM. TERRIFIC TROUSERS — Guess who wears the pants? Make ours Carolina Herrera’s sleek black leather leggings ($2,290), topped with her divine olive duster in virgin wool, cashmere and black dyed fox ($3,690) and matching wool tank ($890). NIFTY SHADES OF GRAY — It’s the new black, as in Akris’ charcoal double-faced cashmere cardigan, reversible to black ($3,590) charcoal cashmere and silk mock turtleneck ($1,190) and charcoal cotton and polyurethane pants ($795). Or go green with Dolce & Gabbana’s pine/ multicolor polyester and silk jacquard dress with three-quarter sleeves ($2,995). It will make everyone emerald with envy. For more, visit neimanmarcus.com. — Georgette Gouveia
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Catherine Latson in her Yonkers studio.
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Au naturel Catherine Latson’s unwearable art BY MARY SHUSTACK PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
She has created fanciful corsets that will never be worn and ties that won’t adorn a single neck. She’s even made a collection of dramatic umbrellas, though none will keep an outfit dry. Despite those practical particulars, there is no denying artist Catherine Latson’s work draws influences from the world of fashion. That the umbrellas are made of leaves, the corsets have sported seashells and the ties both moss and feathers give equal nod to the importance of nature to her work. Latson, a Tarrytown resident who
works out of a Yonkers studio, sums it up quite eloquently on her website: “My work springs from the overlap between the natural world’s innovations and our own… My work does not preach. Nature is the text and a full-fledged collaborator.” And that is more than clear on a recent morning in Latson’s light-filled corner studio, part of the YoHo Artist Studios at the Alexander Smith Carpet Mills Building. A muslin-colored corset sits on a table, fragments of the palest green anemone shells having recently been stitched onto its vintage surface as others await their turn. Nearby, twisted vines have been
turned into one-of-a-kind chandeliers and sconces, while ink-black feathers artfully drape to form the sleekest of neckties. Overhead, one of her classic umbrella creations hovers. Through the umbrellas, she says she has learned about leaves themselves. “The beech trees hang onto their leaves all winter, and they’re this wonderful vanilla color,” Latson says. “Oak leaves are fun because of the spaces between them.” Harvesting the elements by hand is part of the process, giving Latson a
Latson’s fern dress. Photo courtesy Dawn Watson Photography.
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chance to know her materials. Of the leaves, for example, she notes “You can buy them, but why?” And she also learns a lot about the nature of things and knows now to “stay away from the really fragile. It’s hard because they are the most beautiful.” Latson’s current work was spurred by a wiry bunch of vines collected on a walk. “I dragged it back and said ‘I’m going to make something.’” What others saw as a nuisance, she saw as an artistic element. “Nobody wants them because they’re invasive,” she says. She has long collected others’ discards, at one moment drawing attention to an artful sweep of a coppery wire that may find itself in a future work. “There I was, Dumpster-diving for piano wire.” Now that her work is better known, she adds she will also “frequently find bundles of things outside my door, bundles of bark.”
THE ROAD TO ART Latson says she grew up in so many places that she has a ready answer when asked her origins. “People say ‘Where are you from?’ and I say, ‘Right now, New York.’” Latson studied both biology and studio art at Macalester College in St. Paul,
Latson’s tie features feathers.
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Minn. For a time, she would work as a medical illustrator before embarking on a 20-year career as a professional scenic artist, painting sets and special effects for film, TV and city operas, ballet and theater companies across the country. “Then babies came along and that turned everything on its head,” she says. She lived for a time in Hawaii, where her husband was working at the Punahou School. The family moved to Tarrytown 16 years ago when he joined Hackley School. With college tuition looming for her two sons – now graduated – Latson shifted gears and “cranked out a nursing degree at 40.” She was working in the field for seven or eight years, she says, but felt something lacking. “I thought I was going to lose my mind not having the right brain going,” she says of her return to art, as painting gave way to sculpture and her current work. Today, Latson is a hospice nurse – working mostly nights and weekends – and spends time in her studio most every day. “It’s a great balance. It’s turned out to be the perfect balance.”
FASHIONING WORK Latson’s studio has an element of fashion to it, complete with mannequin form, spools of vintage thread, sketches and swatches. “I learned to sew as a young girl,” she says. And these days, she adds, “I find myself sewing more and more.” Her current work in the “Garment Series,” as she has described it, “explores the language of clothing and offers unconventional versions of the packages we put ourselves in, and perhaps, too often define ourselves by.” It definitely makes a statement, from the fanciful gown where fern forms a flowing skirt to another necktie where moss takes center stage. Throughout, Latson goes for the imperfect or what she calls “Dr. Seuss” effect. Her asymmetry is deliberate. There is a story in what is past its prime. “Not that I intend anything when I’m creating this,” she says, preferring to allow her work to be interpreted by the viewer, each creating “a different story.” But one can’t help see some sort of statement, even when it occurs naturally. A corset-style framed work on one wall, for example, is a study in delicate hydrangea petals. It began, Latson says, in a rich hue but has faded, taking on a most wistful quality. Though working alone, Latson says she finds inspiration in her neighboring YoHo artists, especially stylist and vintage clothing dealer Jessie Matrullo of Bohemian Royalty. Latson might ob-
A Latson umbrella fashioned with leaves.
tain an Edwardian or Victorian corset from her and “start taking it apart, piece by piece.” Latson says it was vintage clothing, baby items in frames, that got her thinking about fashion-as-art in a new way. “I understand vintage, nostalgia, but there’s something haunted about them,” she says. In her work with natural materials, Latson transitioned her art into the realm of clothing – with her own spin. “I stuck with the organic materials. The palette is endless. The textures are endless.” But Latson says she doesn’t flip through fashion magazines, for example, looking for a dress to recreate in, say, moss. “I do find myself taking note of interesting forms,” she adds. But they will be translated by her vision, “I don’t find myself wanting to copy forms, silhouettes or textures even.” She attends fashion events, such as the Alexander McQueen and Charles James exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but again, more for an overall impression rather than direct sourcing. “A lot of this project, no pun intended, is very organic,” she says. “It’s more researching structures than it is styles.” To her, the natural elements are key to an overall impression. “I want it to look like it’s been washing along on the shore for a month,” she says, showing off a recent find, a piece of well-worn leather that has fascinated her. The process of creating a work, which starts with sketches and often ends with museum-quality framing, can take up to a year.
SHOW TIME “The studio can be very solitary which is nice, but it’s really nice to have
feedback,” Latson says. Her work has been featured at the Greenburgh Nature Center and in the Macy’s Flower Show in Manhattan and Philadelphia. She has exhibited at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in Manhattan as well. Recently, Latson was part of group shows at both the Blue Door Gallery in Yonkers and Gallery 66 NY in Cold Spring. Prior to the “Fashion as Art II” exhibition at Gallery 66 NY, owner Barbara Galazzo didn’t know Latson’s work, which was chosen by artist and show juror Carla Goldberg. “She just submitted something to the gallery,” Galazzo says of Latson. “The ‘Fashion as Art’ was an open call so we had people from all over the country.” Latson’s work, Galazzo says, is just “stunning.” “It’s so original. Her piece was simplelooking but complicated in its execution… I loved having it in the gallery.” Latson says CSM Art & Frame in Chatham, N.J., started to carry her work last spring and she has what she calls a “really nice relationship” with Pergola in Litchfield County. With Latson, time and nature provide endless inspiration. “Every season has something different. It’s a different menu every season.” For Latson, being in the studio is its own reward, preferable to being out selling her work. “I’d much rather be here playing by myself,” she says with a smile. After all, there’s an endless supply of leaves, shells and so much more to spark her creativity. “I always have five or six things going on. It’s like a playground.” For more, visit catherinelatson.com.
experience. something. real.
PATTI LUPONE © Rahav Segev
BRANFORD MARSALIS © Ryan Anderson
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY © Paul B. Goode
2014 • 2015 AN EVENING WITH BRANFORD MARSALIS September 27 • 8pm MARTHA CLARKE’S CHÉRI September 28 • 3pm MIKE BIRBIGLIA: THANK GOD FOR JOKES October 2 • 8pm
AN AFTERNOON WITH DAVID SEDARIS October 12 • 3pm BLACK VIOLIN October 19 • 3pm
MIDORI
© Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
NEW ORLEANS LEGENDS PRESERVATION HALL & ALLEN TOUSSAINT OH YEAH! TOUR October 24 • 8pm THE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER October 25 • November 22 • December 6 • 5pm SUZANNE VEGA November 7 • 8pm THE CZECH PHILHARMONIC November 15 • 8pm EN GARDE ARTS PRESENTS BASETRACK November 22 • 8pm ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA November 30 • 3pm THE SUZANNE FARRELL BALLET December 7 • 3pm EDGAR MEYER, double bass December 14 • 3pm
DAVID SEDARIS
ROB MATHES HOLIDAY CONCERT December 19 & December 20 • 8pm © Hugh Hamrick
MUSICA SACRA: HANDEL’S MESSIAH December 20 • 2pm CAMERON CARPENTER, organ January 24 • 8pm THE KNIGHTS WITH BÉLA FLECK January 31• 8pm MAMET’S A LIFE IN THE THEATRE February 3 • 8pm MIDORI, violin February 14 • 8pm
KENT TRITLE / MUSICA SACRA © Jennifer Taylor
DANÚ March 7 • 8pm NATALIE MERCHANT AND THE PSO March 20 • 8pm COMPAGNIE KÄFIG March 21 • 8pm THE KLEZMATICS March 22 • 3pm ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS March 26 • 8pm JACK QUARTET April 12 • 3pm
SING-A-LONG-A SOUND OF MUSIC April 18 • 8pm & April 19 • 3pm BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA April 25 • 8pm PATTI LUPONE THE LADY WITH THE TORCH May 2 • 8pm RIOULT DANCE NY May 3 • 3pm CONSERVATORY CHAMBER PLAYERS May 10 • 3pm OPERA AT THE CINEMA Oct 5, Nov 9, Jan 11, Mar 8 • 2pm HARLAN JACOBSON'S TALK CINEMA Select Tuesdays • 7pm
DECODA February 15 • 3pm PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY February 28 • 8pm
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Major sponsorship of The Performing Arts Center’s 2014-15 Season is provided by The Vivian and Seymour Milstein Endowed Fund. The Performing Arts Center’s programs are also made possible by ArtsWestchester with support from Westchester County Government. • The Orchestra Series and Chamber Music Series are made possible in part by support from the Tanaka Memorial Foundation. • Special thanks to our corporate sponsor Steinway & Sons, and media sponsor WNYC.
PAST IS PRESENT (AGAIN) BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
“Dior Creates Cosmopolitan Drama,” Dovima in a Dior gown, Wymer, 1956. For Douglas Simon, Gene Federico art director. Fifty Advertisements of the Year Award, 1957, AIGA. From “William Helburn: Seventh and Madison.” Copyright 2014 William Helburn. Courtesy Thames & Hudson.
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THREE NEW FASHION BOOKS BY THAMES & HUDSON – about the legendary milliner Paulette, photographer William Helburn and the incomparable Yves Saint Laurent – take readers on a stroll down Memory Lane (or perhaps we should say, the Memory Runway). Reading them in chronological order turns the reader into an armchair archeologist, peeling away the strata of the 20th century, although instead of sifting through pottery fragments and bits of bone, you strip away layers of tulle, lace and silk. Here, however, our impressions of decades past are formed not by the actual clothes and accessories but through the scrims of photographs, sketches and reminiscences. This is particularly true in the recently
released “Hats by Madame Paulette: Paris Milliner Extraordinaire” (160 pages, 141 illustrations, 35 in color, $50). With its mauve endpapers, pink chapter introductions, frameable sketches and photographs by the likes of Cecil Beaton and Robert Doisneau, “Hats by Madame Paulette” is as elegant as a Madame Paulette capeline. And what capelines (picture hats), scull caps and signature turbans she created – feathered and festooned with fur, jewels and bows; swirling and soaring like a soft-serve ice cream cone, or a Baroque apotheosis. The text by Annie Schneider, Paulette’s daughter-in-law, paints a charming but uncompromising portrait of a charming but uncompromising woman who was taken to task in convent school for snipping overwhelming white satin rosettes off her school chums’ hats (as well as her own) in a gesture of independence and, no doubt, good taste. The grownup Paulette would take flowers, fake fruits, tulle and veils to new heights – and lows, literally. (Some of her turbans cascaded, swathing the neck in ’40s film-noir, femme-fatale style.) Like all great designers, she possessed the qualities of the sculptor and the theatrical
Cover of “William Helburn: Seventh and Madison.” Copyright 2014 William Helburn. Courtesy Thames & Hudson.
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director. Even if you don’t know her name – her career lasted from the 1920s to the early ’80s – you know her work. Those are her hats, based on drawings by Cecil Beaton, that crown Leslie Caron in “Gigi” and Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady.” “Of course, in this day and age, hats do not enjoy the status and importance they once did,” milliner Stephen Jones writes in the book’s foreword. “That role is fulfilled by handbags.” Still, Paulette’s creations give credence to his observation that “…nothing else is quite as evocative of a time and place as a hat, nothing as striking and, crucially, nothing as personal.” By the time William Helburn became the go-to photographer for the New York publishing and advertising worlds in the “Mad Men” era, hats were on the wane, done in by big hair and anything-goes mores. As Robert Lilly writes in “William Helburn: Seventh and Madison, Fashion and Advertising Photography at Mid-Century” (Nov. 11, 224 pages, 200 illustrations, 80 in color, $65), Helburn could’ve been famous. But flying under the radar enabled him to make more money and so “he sacrificed credit lines to the bottom line, gave higher profits precedence over critical recognition and public acclaim.” Still, talent will out and so we have this book, which is for anyone who ever thought Jean Shrimpton was simply scrumptious and Pound Ridge native Ali MacGraw, who contributes an affectionate reminiscence, was too modest about her modeling abilities. Part of what makes “Seventh and Mad” – which charts the seismic shift from the demure Eisenhower era to the increasingly freewheeling ’60s – such fun is discovering what’s still in (Coca-Cola, animal prints, eyeliner, lots of eyeliner) and out (smoking, plush thighs, small boobs). Some of the best pictures, however, aren’t ads or fashion shots but celebrity portraits, like Helburn’s black-and-white study of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in a noirish Times Square for a 1960 issue of Town and Country. Sporting a tux, he sits spread-legged on a white wrought iron chair whose heart-shaped back faces us – a nice romantic metaphor for the couple. She stands slightly behind him, legs crossed jauntily, her right elbow resting on his left shoulder, the gloved hand attached to that elbow tucked under her chin while her left hand trails down her left hip. Woodward’s wearing a brocade shift with black slingbacks. But the real revelation is her straight, cropped blond hairstyle and the way Helburn has captured her steady, slightly amused gaze. Woodward’s good looks were often eclipsed by her husband’s beauty and her own no-nonsense talent. But here she leaps over the ensuing decades to foreshadow Princess Diana’s glamour. It takes a great photographer to make us notice this. “Yves Saint Laurent” (Nov. 1, 208 pages, 200 illustrations, 150 in color, $50) has one in Roxanne Lowit, whose pictures have appeared in everything from Vanity Fair to a Vivienne Westwood ad campaign. Here she chronicles an iconic designer and an excessive time – the 1970s and ’80s – with all their flourishes of ruffles, lace, brocade, Frida Kahlo floral headdresses, roses, appliqué – you name it. There’s Saint Laurent kissing a cardboard Empire State building after his triumphant Metropolitan Museum of Art show. There’s his playful muse, Jerry Hall, shimmying in one of his shimmering creations. And there’s a pensive Catherine Deneuve at one of his shows. You can practically scent Opium.
Wilhelmina, Sharon Tate, Josephine Attominoff (the photographer’s stylist) and Jean Shrimpton, 1967. From “William Helburn: Seventh and Madison.” Copyright William Helburn. Courtesy Thames & Hudson.
Pillbox hat by Paulette with a houndstooth suit in navy blue and white by Jean Dessès, 1962. From “Hats By Madame Paulette.” Photograph by J.-M. del Moral. Courtesy Thames & Hudson.
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A necklace from the Christofle Vif Argent collection.
THE ART OF SABRAGE AND MANAGING A BRAND, WITH CHRISTOFLE’S CEO BY MARK LUNGARIELLO
N
icolas Krafft is the Americas president and CEO of Christofle Inc., the luxury silver maker known for its flatware, home décor and jewelry. He’s also a master of the art of popping open a champagne bottle with a sword. The method is called sabrage and it’s an old tradition in France and other countries in Europe. Krafft and his university buddies picked up the skill as students in
France years ago and he says the idea of a bunch of college kids running around with swords isn’t as out of the ordinary as it might be in the U.S. (The Crestwood resident, who speaks with a French accent and has a jovial wit, jokes that you could walk into any corner store in Europe and buy a saber for a few Euros). “If you do it properly, with a lot of panache, it is impressive,” he says. “If it’s well done, you don’t spill any champagne.” There are several legends that tell of
the origins of sabrage, Krafft says, but one of the most widely known is that it was started by the French cavalry in the time of Napoleon (incidentally the emperor’s nephew and heir, Napoleon III, had several Christofle pieces in his collection which are now catalogued by the Musée du Louvre). Soldiers rode back from the war on horseback through Eastern France and the Champagne region, where locals would hand them bottles of champagne as the horses pranced by. The soldiers, the story goes, invented sabrage as a way to open the bottles while riding horseback and never having to let go of the reins. The trick is to unwrap the metal foil and remove the wire cage, then find the glass’ seam. The saber is along the seam up to the bottle’s rim, with the blade combined with the internal pressure sending away in a shot the entire top of the bottle, cork and all. Get the technique down and a sword isn’t even needed: Krafft can pop
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The LaCie Sphere.
Marcel Wanders Jardin d’Eden. Product images courtesy of Christofle.
the head of a bottle off using the base of a champagne glass and he has a YouTube video under the Art of Sabrage showing him using a credit card (He says he’s the only sabrage master on the web demonstrating the technique with a charge card). For those who might suddenly get overcome with the urge to mix their sabering with a nice bottle of bubbly, Krafft doesn’t recommend trying it without the guidance of an expert. The pressure inside a champagne bottle can be as high as 90 pounds per square inch, or PSI, which is three times the PSI of a car tire. A miscue could be dangerous. “It can explode in your face and hurt somebody standing next to you,” he says. A tip: never use Prosecco or sparkling wines because the lower internal pressure and strength of the glass may be a shrapnel-making combination, he says. Sabrage and champagne are part of appreciating the finer things and Krafft says that is the vision of the Christofle brand dating back to its beginnings in the 19th century by jeweler Charles Christofle. “We are not a showoff brand,” he tells me in his Madison Avenue corner office, which overlooks Madison Square just across from the distinctive gated entrance and clock tower of the Met Life building. “They are not museum pieces, they are made to be used.”
Even the company’s Marcel Wanders-designed Jardin d’Eden-line spoon, which uniquely has an artful design on its back, was conceived so that the design was comfortable for people eating with it. A basic fivepiece place setting in that design can run for around $600 retail. Krafft has neat white hair and glasses and is a connoisseur of all things related to the company in much the same way he is a trained wine, champagne and spirit connoisseur. He describes the typical Christofle customer as high-net worth individuals, refined but who appreciates entertaining and attending a good party. Not very unlike a number of the company’s customers in Westchester and Fairfield counties. “You can have a nice barbecue, but it’s even nicer if you have a champagne cooler,” he says. One of the standout pieces in Christofle’s Madison Avenue showroom is a champagne cooler that includes ornate silver-smithed flowers and can put nearly a full case on ice at once (Krafft notes in his friendly manner that beer cans also fit in the bucket). That piece, a limited edition silver plate called the Anemone-Belle Epoque Champagne Vasque, would cost about $65,000. Most of the company’s offerings are built with stainless, silver plate and sterling silver. Krafft tells me that Christofle is aware that some customers recoil from silver products over the dreaded fear of tarnishing. From his windowsill, he retrieves the shiny Lacie Sphere, a 1-terabyte external hard drive with the elegant look of a silver sorcerer’s orb. The Christofle Sphere is treated with a new process called SilverEver.
Nicolas Krafft. Photograph by Mark Lungariello.
“I can’t say it stops tarnishing, but it delays it considerably,” he says. The SilverEver process, which was tested by the company for four years prior to rollout, is a cutting edge process in the market. It’s already used in the Sphere and decorative products like Christofle’s made-to-order candelabras (the company says it makes a limited number before breaking a mold). It hasn’t been used to treat the flatware yet even though it has been FDA-approved for use. Heat reduces the effectiveness and Krafft said that cutlery put in a dishwasher would see the effectiveness reduced of SilverEver. The company looks to continue to open two new stores in yet-to-be-determined locations in the next two years and is starting an online registry for weddings and other events. Social media and hashtags are a part of branding its sleek, understated and often hardto-pin down aesthetics. Krafft says the company takes its brand and history seriously, but also enjoys working with artists. It is that approach of adapting that’s Christofle on the map for these years. “We design pieces related to our times,” he says. “When I say adapt to our time, it’s not to be a follower. We are avant garde, like the treatment is avant garde.” For more, visit christofle.com
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CONYERS FARM LAKEFRONT ESTATE | $14,950,000 A magnificent 33 acre estate in Conyers Farm overlooking Converse Lake, contiguous to Ron Howard property. 3.73 acres of land. WEB ID: 0067107 | Shelly Tretter Lynch | 203.618.3103
ENCHANTING ESTATE ON AN IN-TOWN LANE | $11,900,000 A pillared, gated entrance welcomes one to this park-like estate on 3.12 pristine rolling acres on a private in-town lane. Just minutes to Greenwich. WEB ID: 0066134 | Renee Haggquist | 203.618.3140
DISTINGUISHED GEORGIAN ESTATE | $6,995,000 Sited on 4 park-like acres, this 7 bedroom home has gracious rooms with exceptional detailing. Grand enterance, library, guest house, wine cellar, theater, pool and tennis. WEB ID: 0065622 | Joseph Barbieri | 203.618.3112
SERENITY | $4,995,000 Set on 5.65 park-like acres, offering peaceful and private surroundings. 21st century Colonial with a Victorian twist. Theater, wine cellar, gym and spa. WEB ID: 0067210 | Barbara O’Shea | 203.618.3134
CHIC MID-COUNTRY | $4,950,000 Complete renovation of classic Colonial in 2013/14. Impeccably finished by owner/published interior designer. 2+ acres with pool and gardens. WEB ID: 0067027 | Cynthia Vanneck | 203.618.3169
SPACIOUS ON A QUIET CUL-DE-SAC | $1,295,000 Wonderful 4 bedroom, 4 full and 2 half bathroom Colonial set high on a knoll on 2 manicured acres with free form heated pool. WEB ID: 0067130 | Liz Boutry & Edward Mortimer | 203.869.4343
GREENWICH BROKERAGE | 203.869.4343 One Pickwick Plaza | Greenwich, CT 06830 Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.
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CLOTHES HELP MAKE THIS MAN STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY LEIF SKODNICK
Y
YOU MIGHT SAY BARNUM FINANCIAL GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR PAUL BLANCO GOT HIS FASHION SENSE FROM THE BALL FIELD. As a kid growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Blanco didn’t wear suits. So when the son of a construction worker graduated college, he looked toward the field for clues on how to look sharp. “Playing football and baseball, you always made sure your uniform looked a certain way,” Blanco says with a smile in his Shelton office. “As a football player growing up, I always wore number 34 – (Chicago Bears running back) Walter Payton. And if you look at Walter Payton, how he had his socks, how he had a towel, how he had his wristbands, his headband and all the accents – it’s the same thing.” Sitting across a table in a leatherbacked chair, Blanco is engaged, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. Silver cufflinks with the Roman numeral XII hold the French cuffs of his purple checked shirt together. Just the right amount of cuff extends from the sleeves of his jacket. “When I came into corporate America and had to start getting dressed up, you had to try to keep the balance of looking conservative but fashionable,” Blanco says. He noted that his look involves crisp colors. On this day, a conservatively patterned purple tie complemented his shirt. He doesn’t wear spread collars, because it’s more difficult to make his tie knot look exactly right, and Blanco nev-
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er has the collar of his shirt unbuttoned or his tie loosened. “I like my tie to look nice,” he says. “It’s either off or all the way on.” Blanco isn’t just meticulous about his clothing. He works as hard out of the office as he does in it. On a normal day, he is up around 5 a.m. and headed to the gym by 5:30, protein shake in hand. After 45 minutes of cardio, he’ll hit the weights for 45 minutes with a few co-workers. He’ll drive a short mile or so to the Barnum Financial Group office on Corporate Drive and grab a quick shower in his office bathroom, then put on a suit and tie. He’ll reach his desk, fully dressed, by 8:15 a.m. “And then I basically start with meetings at 8:30,” Blanco said. “I’m meeting with one of the 35 managers that run departments, our sales managers that run the sales advisers. I speak a lot in the industry and I manage a lot of the strategy and vision.” As careful as he is about what he puts on his body, Blanco is as measured about what he puts in his body. Each day, he takes three small meals in his office, always at the same time. “If I’m here past 5, I’ll go into the bathroom and come out wearing Under Armour shorts and an Under Armour Tshirt,” Blanco says. “I walk in like that in the morning and I walk out like that.” As soon as he gets home, between 6 and 8 p.m., he lays out his clothes – workout gear, suit, shirt, tie and shoes – for the next day, depending on his schedule. Besides being an executive, Blanco is also a philanthropist. He and his wife, Mindee, started Foundation for Life, in which Barnum Financial Group’s employees raise money to support charities in their local communities. “A few years back, we said, ‘We’re helping make people financially secure, but also, how do we make the communities we’re in better places to live?’ We decided at that point to do more charitable work and that’s where our foundation started from.” Blanco and Foundation for Life have provided bicycles and backpacks for
Paul Blanco at his office at Barnum Financial Group in Shelton.
underprivileged children, helped fund playground construction in three Connecticut communities and held an essay contest that offers children the chance to earn college scholarships. “We really focus on children and giving back and helping the younger population,” says Blanco, who is a father of three. “We’ll give away 500 bikes in our Bikes for Kids program. We probably support 50 to 60 different charities and most of the money is raised by employ-
ees here through events that we do. “It’s all part of being a role model. The kids learn by what you do,” Blanco says of the importance of giving back. In five or six years, Blanco hopes Foundation for Life will have more than $1 million to help other charities. “Organized and efficient,” Blanco says when asked what his clothes say about his leadership. “Comfortable but not flashy, confident and fun. And that’s our culture here and it starts at the top.”
The Bristal Assisted Living | Where Ever y Day Means More TM
NOWN OPE ANOTHER QUALITY COMMUNITY BY THE ENGEL BURMAN GROUP
Continue Your LifeStory at The Bristal at Armonk.
Life is lived in meaningful chapters, each building on the next. And every year brings new experiences that extend our personal stories. Just check with any of our valued residents, like Tom, Barbara, Sam & Essie, or Terry. What they found in their own communities of The Bristal is the same you’ll encounter right here in Armonk, our newest Assisted Living community — entertaining, engaging and rewarding experiences that help enrich your life. The Bristal creates an environment that keeps residents going and growing each day. Computer learning, education, and cultural activities; wellness programs and social events; games, gourmet dining, outings, music, movies and so much more. It’s all designed to invite, involve and inspire discovery and development — at any age. Because at The Bristal, no one is too old to learn new tricks or enjoy a few kicks in the process. Incomparable care. A loving staff. The finest in Assisted Living.
Ask about Reflections at The Bristal an area providing secure and compassionate memory care
90 Business Park Drive | Armonk, NY 10504 | (914) 432.8200 OTHER WESTCHESTER LOCATION:
305 North Street | White Plains, NY 10605 | (914) 681.1800
THE BRISTAL.COM PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR ALL LOCATIONS IN THE TRI-STATE AREA • LICENSED BY THE DEPT OF HEALTH • ELIGIBLE FOR MOST LONG TERM CARE POLICIES
DOCTORS of DISTINCTION Saluting those who go beyond the diagnosis
2014
NOMINATE a DOCTOR IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: }}HUMANITARIAN AWARD: In recognition of a physician whose
project or service significantly enhanced the quality of life for people in the region, the nation, or the world. }}LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: In recognition of a physi-
cian respected for a lifetime career in the medical profession.
}}LEADERSHIP IN MEDICAL ADVOCACY AWARD: In recognition
TWO SEPARATE AND UNIQUE AWARD PROGRAMS CELEBRATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF FIVE PHYSICIANS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND FIVE IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY JUDGED BY A PANEL OF PEERS AND SCHOLARS TO BE THE MOST EXEMPLARY IN THE PROGRAMS’ CATEGORIES. SPONSORED IN BOTH COUNTIES BY CITRIN COOPERMAN AND THE BUSINESS JOURNALS, THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION IS THE CO-SPONSOR OF THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY AWARDS AND THE WESTCHESTER MEDICAL SOCIETY IS THE CO-SPONSOR OF THE WESTCHESTER EVENT.
Open to nominations from the public, this is an opportunity to recognize those physicians who make an impact each and every day on people’s lives. NOMINATIONS will be open from now until September 17. To nominate please visit westfaironline.com for instructions and nomination forms or call Holly DeBartolo at (914) 358-0743.
of a physician who has provided exceptional leadership in the form of advocacy on behalf of the medical profession at the local, state, or national level.
}}COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: In recognition of a physician
for providing pro bono patient medical care services for people in need. }}EXCELLENCE IN MEDICAL RESEARCH AWARD: In recognition of
a physician whose ingenuity or clinical research significantly contributed to the advancement of medical practice.
AWARD PRESENTATIONS A distinguished panel of judges will choose a winner in each category, all of whom will be awarded at one of the elegant receptions and ceremonies below.
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum,
October 30
The Bristal,
October 22
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. SPONSORS
Norwalk Armonk
m
aybe it’s because she’s the first female design director in Tiffany & Co.’s 177-year-old history, but Francesca Amfitheatrof isn’t afraid to stand the silver and jewelry emporium’s trademarks on their ears. Take the signature “T” cuff and bangle, which have gone horizontal to suggest a clasp. It’s bold, uncluttered, contemporary – which is just the way Amfitheatrof likes her new Tiffany T Collection. Maybe, too, because this Japaneseborn British beauty has lived all over the world, she’s not afraid to combine things in unusual ways – silver with gold in various hues, fine jewelry with jeans and a T (as in shirt). As she told August Vogue, “The idea is to mix fine pieces with a string bracelet or your beach holiday beads or something your granny gave you.” While she makes her home in Brooklyn with a tech hubby, two kids and two pooches, she spent part of the summer traveling in Asia. We feel fortunate that we were able to pin her down via email for a few questions about the new collection: We are struck by the marvelous complementary quality of your delicate jewelry designs and your bolder, sculpted works that evoke Modern art. Given this, what can we look forward to in the new Tiffany T collection? “Tiffany T is jewelry that you want to touch and feel and play with. There’s a wide range of scale in the collection, which allows people to put different pieces together in a way that really says something about their sensibility and personality. “I find the most powerful statement you can make with these pieces is by playing with that, mixing it up, creating contrast and tension with size and shape. You have very delicate pieces that work well when they’re mixed together with big, sculptural cuffs and softer chains. “The collection is offered in 18-karat gold – rose, yellow and white – and cool sterling silver, which has such a great crisp feeling to it. For people who want to wear precious stones in a really modern way, there are a number of diamond pieces that are inspired by sketches from the 1920s that I found in the Tiffany archives.”
Tiffany T square bracelet in 18-karat gold. From left – rose gold, sterling silver and yellow gold. Copyright Tiffany & Co.
NEW TIFFANY DESIGN DIRECTOR’S NOT AFRAID TO
MIX IT UP BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
Your background is in jewelry design and silversmithing. How does that inform your home designs? “I’m obsessed with form and function, and it seems to me that because metal is so malleable and changeable, you can do anything with it. Always, always, I start with a dream, something I see in my head that won’t fade until I get it down on paper. I love those initial drawings, when anything is possible and your mind is wide open. “I like to start with a sketch, to give the design process a human element, a real touch. But I enjoy the entire process, the journey of taking a vivid idea and doing all the practical and techni-
cal thinking that makes a piece possible to produce beautifully.”
energy and curate their looks in a really interesting way.”
I know you’ve recently been traveling in Asia. Any particular inspirations there? Or, more to the point, what inspires you?
You’re going out for a night on the town. What would you select to wear from any of Tiffany’s magnificent collections?
“I grew up all over the world and have immersed myself in music, art, film and theater along the way. I particularly love Asian art and ceramics. There’s a real sensitivity to form and a very pared down and clean aesthetic. Also, I lived in Italy for a time when I was growing up, and beauty and art surround you all the time. And in New York, people have such great
“The possibilities for styling this collection are just about endless, which adds an element of fun and individuality. I love the square bracelet in 18 karat gold. It’s not the largest piece in the collection, but it has great presence on its own while also somehow working in well with any other piece in the collection for a more textured, layered look.” For more, visit tiffany.com
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THE JOY OF SAKS
For JEFF O’GEARY, the Greenwich store he now helms is a special delight BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
Jeff O’Geary. Photographs by ChiChi Ubiña. Courtesy Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich.
JEFF O’GEARY KNOWS RETAIL. For 1½ years, he ran the designer apparel floors at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Prior to that, he’d been in sales, buying and planning for 18 years with the May Department Stores Co. and Macy’s, which May owns. Then he served as assistant general manager of merchandising at Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich. So when the GM job opened at Saks in Greenwich, “I made sure my hat was in the ring.” Would it come as a surprise to find out that he got the job? “My skill set matched the skill set of the store,” says O’Geary, whose title is actually vice president and general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich. But he adds, “My designer background had a lot to do with it. What a wonderful opportunity. It was a big deal and very different than Saks in Greenwich,” he adds of the Manhattan store’s faster pace. But experience is just one of the reasons that O’Geary is at the helm of a store that helps anchor Greenwich Avenue – one of the most fashionable thoroughfares in the world. Another key is his courtly management style, which takes some of the starch out of high-end fashion. As he escorts you
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to his office in the sweeping, black-and-white space, he has a greeting or a kind inquiry for his employees, and they in turn greet you, the customer. That’s no small potatoes in a field that can sometimes make a woman feel intimidated, like Julia Roberts’ “Pretty Woman” (pre-makeover) shopping on Rodeo Drive. This is a team, one to which O’Geary might’ve sang the Andrew Lloyd Webber song, “As If We Never Said Goodbye.” “Absolutely,” he says. “I was gone a year and a half and it felt like I was on a vacation and came back.” There’s a lilt in his voice that evokes North Carolina. That echo of the South comes out every once in a while, he says, more in word choice than in speech, especially when he’s on the phone with his mother. Then he might be apt to say something about “cranking up” the car, a North Carolinian expression. “What are we, driving Model Ts?” he says with a self-deprecating laugh. Henderson, N.C., was where the teenage O’Geary fell in love with retail. He went to work for the family-owned Roth-Stewart and enjoyed not only the experience but the thrill of cash in his pocket at a young age. So it was
hello, merchandise, and goodbye, tennis team. The East Carolina State University graduate’s retail career next took him to the now-defunct Thalhimers, a big Richmond, Va., department store that was ultimately taken over by the May Co. After a long tenure with May/Macy’s, “I thought it was time for a change,” O’Geary says. So he moved over to Saks in 2011. There are 40 Saks stores around the country. “But there’s something special about the Greenwich place,” he says. “It’s big and continuing to grow” – a challenge within the confines of the store’s 36,000 square feet. Another thing about Saks Greenwich: It’s only women’s merchandise. Today’s shopper, particularly the Saks Greenwich shopper, is vastly different from that of the past. “The customer just knows more,” O’Geary observes. “She’s been to the fashion shows in Paris. Or she’s been online and has seen the whole thing. That’s a challenge for us. She wants that instant gratification. And we have to take that extra step to make sure she has it.” Technology, part of the challenge, is part of the solution. “Everything is computerized,” he says. “So we can look into her ‘closet’ to see what she’s bought in the past, and she can get brand alerts from sales associates. A lot of business is conducted on Instagram, Twitter and by text. Technology is driving the volume and the merchandise. It’s easier for customers to shop.” For us Luddites who want to luxuriate in the feel of Prada before purchase, O’Geary has the answer. The dedicated Prada, Akris and Ralph Lauren sections of the store have been renovated. And spaces for other brands will be refreshed as well. It’s all about providing the best possible setting for the best possible merchandise, whether it’s a detailed graphic T or a rich moto jacket over a great lace dress. It’s the kind of aspiration that keeps O’Geary’s head in the game – although the New Haven resident is known to take a break for the gym or an exhibit like the fab Charles James show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. “I think about work all the time, but not in a bad way,” he says. “But rather I ask myself, ‘How can we do things differently?’”
SAKS HELPS FASHION TWO BIG EVENTS Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich is once again spearheading “Fashion on the Avenue” and partnering with Greenwich Hospital for “Key to the Cure.” First, “Fashion on the Avenue” returns Sept. 5 at 5:30 p.m. for its fourth year. Greenwich Avenue will be closed from Lewis to Elm streets as the thoroughfare is transformed into a red carpet runway with models and performers. Casablanca Polo, the Arthur Murray Grande Ballroom of Greenwich and Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich are among the participants. For more, email GreenwichFOA@gmail.com. Saks teams with “SNL” cast members past and present, including Will Ferrell and Vanessa Bayer, and photographer Mary Ellen Matthews for the 2014 “Key to the Cure” T-shirt, designed by Marcus Wainwright and David Neville of rag & bone to draw awareness to women’s cancers (while also celebrating “SNL’s” 40th anniversary). The T, which retails for $35, debuts in Saks stores Oct. 1 and will also be available at saks.com and saksoff5th.com. Then join Saks Fifth Avenue Greenwich and Greenwich Hospital Oct. 16 for the “Find Your Key” brunch and shopping event, which kicks off the “Key to the Cure” charity shopping weekend through Oct. 19 at all Saks stores plus saks.com and saksoff5th.com. During that weekend, 2 percent of sales from participating vendors will go to the hospital and its fall “Venezia” gala for oncology services. In the past 15 years, Saks has raised more than $35 million for cancer research from the charity shopping weekend. Among the items you might consider at Saks are “SNL”-inspired clothing by seven New York designers, like a Diane von Fürstenberg dress fit for those driven, surfer-dude “Californians,” (a running soap opera within the show) and Eugenia Kim’s Coneheads hats. For more about “Venezia,” call 203-863-3865 or email events@greenwichhospital.org. For additional information, visit giving.greenhosp.org.
JENNY DU PONT: NURTURING THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY
FLOWER
POWER
+
BLONDIE’S AMBITION GROUNDBREAKING WOMEN WHO LANDSCAPED AMERICA NEW WAVE OF INTEREST AT THE SURF CLUB A BOUQUET OF TULIPS, BUTTERFLIES AND GARDENS PETER MAX-IMIZES MARILYN CHIC CHOICES
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TAUPE/IVORY HAND-PAINTED, BEADED GOWN WITH FEATHERS.
TAUPE SILK, OPEN-WEAVE GAZAR STRAPLESS GOWN WITH BEADED BANDS.
DRESSING UP ON YOUR DOWNTIME
W
hen you think resort, you think, what? A pair of Capris and a T? Mmm, perhaps. But not if you’re designer Pamella Roland. She knows that fashionistas want to look their best dining and dancing, whether they’re cruising to Montenegro or Madagascar. But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what her spokeswoman has to say: “The Pamella Roland Resort 2015 Collection features a graphic interpretation of floral print and vibrant hues. The collection brings together sophisticated and modern silhouettes in luxe fabrics with
TAUPE CREPE-BACK SATIN GOWN WITH BEADING.
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Images courtesy Pamella Roland. BLACK/IVORY STRIPED, SILK ORGANZA GOWN WITH BEADING.
BLACK CREPE-BACK SATIN GOWN WITH LAPIS BLUE FISH-SCALE SEQUIN BANDS.
eye-catching detail.” A perfect example is a charcoal/pink peonyprinted, silk gazar dress with beading. The way the sleeveless line is angled to offset the shoulders; the mesh neck, suggesting a hint of collarbone; and the cascade of peonies are all so fetching. You’ll wow them in Palm Beach with Roland’s lapis blue to charcoal (the “it” color) ombre satinface, silk, chiffon strapless gown. The effect is electric.
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NAVY BLUE SILK FAILLE OPERA COAT.
Equally stunning is Roland’s signature sequin dress in dark taupe and light and dark charcoal with a beaded waist and again that flattering halter neckline. You’ll fi nd Roland’s resort wear at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. For more, visit pamellaroland.com. — Georgette Gouveia
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Cat Greenleaf with Oliver Stone. Photograph by David Giesbrecht/USA Network.
CAT ON A HOT STONE STOOP
C
at Greenleaf coveted her Brooklyn brownstone long before she bought it, since her good friends live right next door. But when the place went up for sale in 2006, the asking price was more than she and her husband could afford. As luck would have it, the owner got a break on his first home and wanted to pay it forward. “It was the deal of the century,” she says. At first, that deal upset other residents on their Cobble Hill block, where similar homes now go for millions. But their attitude improved once Greenleaf sprinkled some Hollywood magic. “Our neighbors hated us in the beginning,” she says, giggling, “but now I bring the stars to their
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BY HEATHER SALERNO
front steps, so they’re happy.” That’s because as the host of the Emmy-winning show “Talk Stoop,” Greenleaf has transformed her porch into a TV set, where some of the world’s biggest newsmakers drop by to chat about their latest projects and snuggle with sometime co-host, Gracie the Bulldog. Snowy or sunny, locals know walking past Greenleaf’s house often means a celebrity sighting. Hundreds of heavyweights have stopped in over the last five years, including Claire Danes, Woody Harrelson, Martha Stewart, Don Cheadle, Orlando Bloom and just about every Kardashian. And for every VIP Greenleaf greets, more clamor to visit. “We just don’t have room for everybody,” she says. Greenleaf launched “Talk Stoop” in 2009 as a features reporter for WNBC,
NBC’s New York station. The show was a near-instant success, partly because segments also aired on NBC affiliates around the country and the New York Nonstop digital channel (now Cozi TV), as well as on screens in New York City taxicabs, PATH trains and gas pumps. On these platforms, Greenleaf estimates that the program is seen nearly 12 million times a week. Plus, for the past year, Greenleaf has served as the face of USA Network’s daytime block, offering celebrity tidbits inbetween repeats of “NCIS” and “Law & Order: SVU.” For Greenleaf – who, until partnering with USA, had mostly worked solo – the association is a blessing. Now, she has help from an on-set producer, several camera operators and a guest booker. “It’s like getting seated at the big kids’ table,” she says. It appears to be a smart pair-
ing for USA, too: According to the cable network, daytime ratings are up 8 percent since Greenleaf came on board. “None of this is orchestrated, by the way,” she adds. “It’s all been a lucky mistake.” On this particular summer morning, though, she is busy grinding coffee beans. Dressed in a batik-print dress and wearing her hair tied back in a red bandana, she’s barefoot, having not yet donned her trademark sneakers (which she even wears to weddings). It’s relatively quiet for a house that’s usually a chaotic home and office, since the famous stoop is empty and Greenleaf’s husband, “60 Minutes” investigative producer Michael Rey, and their sons, Primo, 5, and Truman, 2, aren’t around at the moment. The calm is welcome, since she’ll spend the next two days interviewing “Long Island Medium”
Theresa Caputo, “The Tonight Show” house band The Roots, “Scandal” actor Tony Goldwyn and “Dancing with the Stars” pro Derek Hough. Greenleaf helps a panting Gracie into a chair, as two other rescue dogs, Molly and Walter, race about the home’s main floor. She explains that this part of the house isn’t only a space for the family to hang out, it’s also the “Talk Stoop” green room. Here, before the cameras go on, guests nibble on catered snacks and admire the eclectic décor. A bronze Buddha head sits on a weathered green cabinet, which contrasts nicely with a ruby-red piano and deep-seated cream leather couch. A sliding barn door hides a built-in pantry in the kitchen, where her three Emmy awards rest on top of a cupboard, surrounded by Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads. And none of it is separated from the rest of the home, so on any given day, the likes of the Kardashians mingle with Greenleaf’s children, cleaning lady or groundfloor tenants. “This house keeps going,” she says. “I shut it down as much as I can, but there’s only so much I can do.” Greenleaf continues, “Out of about 500 guests – and I won’t say who they are – but maybe four haven’t been totally
cool. Overall, you’re walking into someone’s house … so people’s guard drops.” Indeed, this casual approach is part of what makes “Talk Stoop” unique, an informality that extends to Greenleaf’s own style. Unlike other talk shows, where female hosts are squeezed into Spanx and five-inch Manolos, she’s boho-chic, often wearing jeans or a comfortable dress paired with leather jackets and giant hoop earrings. And those ever-present sneakers? They’re Converse, not couture. She believes this allows her guests to unwind, which makes for some great TV moments. When Sir Ian McKellen sat on the stoop to promote “The Hobbit,” she got the esteemed actor to question Gandalf’s hygiene. “He doesn’t carry anything around with him. I don’t know how he survives,” he mused. “Maybe inside that great big pointy hat, he could just go in and there’s a toothbrush.” A flirty talk with Ed Asner went so well, he ended up kissing her “dead on the mouth.” Once, an interview with Eva Longoria disrupted a Good Friday procession. After spotting the “Desperate Housewives” actress, Greenleaf recalls, “All these Latinos (were saying), ‘Ay, dios mio!’ Jesus drops the
cross. Everyone’s genuflecting. It was so crazy.” Greenleaf’s path to the small screen had a cross-country route. Born in White Plains, she spent her early years in Mamaroneck, but after sixth grade her family moved to Los Angeles where a number of high school classmates had famous parents. “It wasn’t the prettiest picture always,” she says, “which is why I think I’m not all dazzled by celebrities.” She attended Boston University for two years – until her heart was broken. Her remedy – move to India to work in one of Mother Teresa’s orphanages and then Brazil to study music and religion. She made her on-air debut in the 1990s as a radio traffic reporter in San Francisco, returning to New York in 2000 for a job at NY1. Yet Greenleaf was uncertain about a journalism career until the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “For the first time ever, I realized I did have something to contribute, because I was able to say to people, ‘You can walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. You can’t walk in the Lincoln Tunnel,’” she says, tearing up at the memory. “It gave me the confidence to know I could be important on broadcast.”
At WNBC, Greenleaf’s original idea for “Talk Stoop” was to interview neighborhood folks like the seltzer delivery guy. But then she met actress Rosie Perez at a fundraiser, who agreed to do the show. Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee saw that interview in a cab, and as Greenleaf puts it, “the celebrity ball started rolling.” And along the way, she and Rey adopted their boys. Greenleaf’s older sister is adopted, and she always knew she wanted to adopt, too. The process was a bit bumpy: A few birth mothers changed their minds or misled the couple, and they had one woman running a scam arrested. The bottom line, says Greenleaf, is that they were meant to be with the children they have. So, like any other working mom, she tries to balance her professional life with parenthood. Yet most mothers don’t have such blurry boundaries. Greenleaf laughs when describing a recent evening after a shoot on the stoop, as she and a producer tried to edit the piece. “It’s two kids jumping up and down, the nanny’s in and out, and the dogs are going wild,” she says. “None of it’s perfect, but I have it pretty good.”
Alysa Haas Jazz Cabaret Kicks Off
Three Exclusive
2014
JAZZ FEST Evenings
Sept 4, 5 & 6
Alysa Haas
Gerry Malkin Jazz Collective
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For the performance schedule and to purchase tickets, visit artsw.org/jazzfest
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A veddy stylish day trip VISIT THE FASHIONS OF ‘DOWNTON’ – VIA DELAWARE
From top, views of Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library outside Wilmington, Del. All photographs courtesy Winterthur Museum. Exterior of the museum containing the period room interiors; Reflecting Pool in autumn, photograph by Michael Gunselman; and period-room detail, photograph by Lizzie Himmel.
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F
BY MARY SHUSTACK
ans of “Downton Abbey” are a loyal, enthusiastic bunch. They – let’s be honest, we – replay DVDs of the hit television show that airs on PBS; read books about (and inspired by) the drama tracing the Crawley family and the English estate that gives the show its name; and buy themed goods ranging from tea to Tshirts. The series is so addictive we find ourselves chatting away with friends about the fictional characters as if they were members of our own circle. What tragedy will next befall “poor Lady Edith”? Can we ever forget those smoldering looks of
“that Mr. Pamuk”? How do Anna and her Mr. Bates endure the gasp-inducing saga that is their relationship? Then there are the oohs and aahs over the gowns, suits and jewelry that, as they would, outshine the workmanlike aprons and uniforms of the staff. All contribute to this exploration of the social graces and traditions of those early decades of the last century. Clearly, the show written by Julian Fellowes (Academy Award-winning writer of “Gosford Park”) and co-produced by Carnival Films and PBS’ “Masterpiece,” has struck quite a chord. And since March, “Downton” lovers have been making a determined path to one of America’s very real historic estates,
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library outside Wilmington, Del. The draw is “Costumes of Downton Abbey,” and just hearing about the exhibition’s existence no doubt gets a fan’s heart racing. From all accounts – it has received an incredible amount of national press, ranging from Women’s Wear Daily to The Wall Street Journal – the exhibition is echoing the popularity of the show itself. “Costumes of Downton Abbey” is artfully packed with tea dresses and evening gowns, hunting jackets and butler vests, plus a hearty helping of history. It adds up to a most stylish destination for a day trip from WAG country.
A SETTING MOST FITTING The country estate of the du Pont family – Henry Francis du Pont opened up his childhood home to the public some 60 years ago – is hosting the exhibition that continues through Jan. 4 – coincidentally the date that “Downton Abbey” returns to PBS for its fifth season. A long run, it has become clear, was the right decision, giving visitors plenty of time to drool over Lady Edith’s wedding gown or the dress Lady Mary wore when Matthew proposed beneath the gently falling snow. “It has wildly exceeded our expectations,” says Maggie Lidz, Winterthur historian and co-curator of the exhibition along with Jeff Groff and Chris Strand. The exhibition, Lidz shares during a recent phone chat, was one that “came together very quickly,” a natural for Winterthur. “I think a lot of people here have been fans of ‘Downton Abbey,’ because it’s just a great entry point to history.” It was facilitated by Winterthur Director of Museum Affairs Tom Savage, who has strong ties to England. “He had a connection to Julian Fellowes and explained to Julian Fellowes what Winterthur was, and he was really intrigued by that American country house connection,” Lidz adds. The exhibition, she says, is designed to not only celebrate the costumes of those captivating characters but to go deeper,
“Costumes of Downton Abbey” features outfits worn by Crawley family characters played by Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville. Photograph by Nick Briggs, Carnival Film and Television Limited 2011.
offering a way to compare the British lifestyle reflected by the show to what was going on in an American estate such as Winterthur during the same time. “That’s how we were able to get it,” Lidz says.
TO ENGLAND Most of the costumes featured at Winterthur are owned by Cosprop Ltd. in London, a leading costumer that worked with Winterthur on its “Fashion in Film” blockbuster in 2007. Lidz traveled to the massive British warehouse to select the clothing to be included in the “Downton” exhibition rather than simply have a collection of beautiful gowns sent over. “One of the reasons I had to go is we wanted to represent all the different people in the house.” It took, she says, four days to just go through all the costumes of the “downstairs” characters, from Daisy to Thomas to Mr. Carson. Throughout, she kept one goal in mind. “It was really important for us to have the costumes that the actors wore,” Lidz adds. It’s no surprise the treasure trove of costumes more than impressed Lidz. “The gowns are just beautiful. I was particularly fond of the velvet gowns. They are just so sumptuous.” How to arrange the exhibition was quite the consideration as well. Lidz says it finally came to the Winterthur team to trace a day in the life of the Crawley household.
“It seemed so natural once we decided on it,” she says. You might see what Mrs. Patmore the cook would wear while preparing breakfast all the way through to an elaborate gown worn to dinner by everyone’s favorite snob, Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (so wellplayed by Dame Maggie Smith). The exhibition goes beyond simply displaying the clothing and accessories such as hats and shawls. There are photographs of the characters wearing the clothes, script lines reflecting the scenes and even video elements. Related displays bring things further to life. Visitors, for example, can touch a stretch of vicuña wool, which Lidz calls the “rarest textile in the world.” Lidz says Winterthur purchased some vicuña “wholesale” from Loro Piana, the Italian company known for its luxe designs in cashmere and wool. A touch of the material, she says, will answer the question: “Why does Lord Grantham look so spectacular in his custom-made evening wear?” And tea, Lidz says, was a staple not to just the Crawleys but the duPonts. Visitors can inhale the heady scent of the Hu-Kwa tea favored by Winterthur’s residents. “It’s sort of like a single-malt Scotch kind of tea,” she says.
DRAWING A CROWD Lidz says the show has connected with visitors of all kinds, from “Downton” devotees to history buffs, costume designers to design students.
“We have a lot of theater and costume people coming,” she says. The exhibition, she adds, also serves as a window into a very “coded” world where the way of life is no longer familiar to us. “People are interested in breaking those codes,” Lidz says. Related programming helps do just that. There are lectures and afternoon teas, automobile exhibitions and themed cocktail parties. Jessica Fellowes, author of popular books about “Downton Abbey” and niece of Julian Fellowes, will serve as the keynote speaker of Winterthur’s 51st annual Delaware Antiques Show Nov. 7. The exhibition, Lidz concludes, has done a lot for Winterthur. “What we’re particularly happy about is people are coming not just to see ‘Downton Abbey’ … but they’re staying for the day.” That includes taking the garden tram and touring the 175-room mansion, where exhibitions feature selections from the permanent collection. Oh, and there’s another quite popular element, Lidz adds, and it’s one that’s decidedly contemporary. “They are going bonkers in our gift shop. ‘Downton’ stuff is everywhere.” And that seems fitting. After all, what’s a day trip without some souvenirs? For more, visit Winterthur.org.
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SILVER ICON DICKY RIEGEL’S COMPANY OFFERS LUXURY TRAVEL, VINTAGE APPEAL BY MARY SHUSTACK | PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
Airstream 2 Go encourages luxury travel through the American West. Photograph by Alison Turner.
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It’s
not hard to figure out what iconic American product has captured Dicky Riegel’s imagination. Moments after driving onto his Bedford Hills property, you can spot a vanity plate sporting a version of the word Airstream. A glance across the lawn reveals Riegel is down by the pool, where a “Bambi” — “‘Bambi’ is a loving term for any Airstream under 20 feet,” he will explain – serves as a pool house on wheels. Later, he will walk you to a charming, barn-like structure in the shadow of the main house, an oversize family/rec room complete with an Airstream-themed bar, painting and assorted memorabilia capped by an Airstream-shaped weathervane on the roof. Behind the barn sits Riegel’s fully restored – to original specifications – vintage 1954 Airstream, one he would soon be taking out on the road. As one classic image – or actual vehicle – is spotted after another, Riegel makes an admission, accompanied by a laugh: “If you cut me, I bleed silver.” Clearly, Riegel is more than just a fan. The onetime president and CEO of Airstream, the classic American trailer company, has continued his love of that distinctively designed mode of aluminum-clad transportation with his latest venture. In June of 2013, as founder and CEO, Riegel launched Airstream 2 Go, a company that combines luxury travel with the classic American road-trip icon. It was his own family’s Airstream adventure – Riegel, his wife and their two children joining two other families for a most memorable trip out West nearly a decade ago – that spurred it all. “It was the best trip that we’d ever taken,” he says. And now, he’s started to bring that experience to many others, with the company designed to fill a need that Riegel long noticed. “Every day somebody who knew I had anything to do with Airstream said ‘How do I rent one of those?’” he says. Until the formation of Airstream 2 Go, Riegel says that wasn’t readily possible.
corporations looking for a distinctive team-building experience. Airstream 2 Go features two models, the Airstream 28-foot International Signature Series and the 23-foot FB International Signature series, which sleep six and four, respectively. All rentals, from a few days to a few weeks, include a GMC Yukon Denali tow vehicle. Riegel says, “Towing an Airstream can appear daunting at first sight to some people.” So staffers explain how to operate one after picking you up at the airport, taking you to the fleet location and offering an orientation for the virtual hotels on wheels. In line with the company’s approach, the Airstreams are outfitted with Egyptian cotton sheets, state-of-the-art kitchen supplies and iPad minis that are fully loaded with everything from operating tutorials to themed musical playlists. Rental locations are currently operating out of Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Bozeman, Mont., which Riegel considers the ideal gateways to the American West. Customers can “Take It & Go,” or opt to create a “Custom Journey.” For the latter, Airstream 2 Go has partnered with Off The Beaten Path, a veteran travel planner and outfitter, to provide clients with personalized service that extends to itinerary, stopovers and destinations that suit your expectations. “We go to that extra length,” Riegel says.
A HISTORY PRESERVED Riegel says that in today’s fast-paced world, people are intrigued by the chance to experience the nostalgia encapsulated by Airstreams, a storied way of travel. The lure of the open road led to the founding of Airstream in 1931 by Wally Byam. The recreational vehicles have long been known for their riveted aluminum
HIT THE ROAD Airstream 2 Go may have offices on Park Avenue in Manhattan and in Mount Kisco, but its focus is on offering one-of-a-kind vacation experiences in the American West. The ideal, he says, is “to take advantage of the name of the company. Airstream, freedom, movement,” and help people visit iconic American sites in an iconic American way. “It’s the cool way to travel, and you have these great destinations.” It’s not specifically for people in the American West, he says, but for those adventurous travelers wanting to see a Big Sky ghost town, the Grand Canyon or the Pacific Coast Highway or fashion a trip focused on fly-fishing or white-water rafting, for example. As Riegel says, Airstream 2 Go “addresses the question of ‘How do I do that?’” The company is the exclusive, factory-authorized source in North America to rent current model Airstream trailers. But don’t think you’ll be handed a key and sent on your way. No, the Airstream 2 Go experience is one designed to meet the needs of today’s travelers, from families on their annual trip to friends hitting a music festival to
The bedroom of Airstream 2 Go’s 28-foot model. Photograph courtesy Airstream 2 Go.
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Airsteam 2 Go founder Dicky Riegel at home in Bedford Hills, with his own vintage Airstream and truck, both 1954 models. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.
shells as well as an efficiency that extends from an aerodynamic exterior to a most functional interior. “They’re very simple, but very livable and beautiful in the simplicity,” Riegel says. He will hop onto his pool cottage’s bed, for example, to show how it accommodates his 6-foot-7 frame. Riegel finds much to admire in Airsteam, which fuels his continued passion. “I just love celebrating the heritage of the company.” Riegel has his own long history with Airstream, having been a part of the company from 1998 to 2012. Growing up in Wilmington, Del., with an auto-enthusiast father, Riegel attended Salisbury School in Salisbury, Conn., before Middlebury College in Vermont. “I joined out of Columbia business school,” he says of his time with Thor
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Industries, Airstream’s parent company. He was with the company in corporate development before being asked to become the head of Airstream Inc. and for a time, Riegel had a house in the Ohio town that Airstream calls home and is a big part of the community. Airstream 2 Go, he notes, is also a local effort. He points to the designers who created its site to the attorney he worked with to the voiceover artist on the iPad tutorials as all drawn from Westchester talent. It took, he says, “a Bedford village” to get Airstream 2 Go road ready. And, he adds, word continues to spread both locally and across the world (a recent client came over from England). “There is no question that word of mouth is by far the biggest advertising that we could create,” he says. Working with corporate clients – such
as Aston Martin, which conducted automobile test drives by day and put up the participants in an Airstream fleet by night – helps raise the profile. “Car companies are always looking to do something in a unique way,” Riegel says.
THE ETERNAL PULL Travel by Airstream, Riegel says, can be addictive. “Once you experience it, it’s something that grabs hold of you and you want to do it more and more.” Riegel uses his 1954 Chevy truck to pull his own vintage Airstream on his family trips, which included spending most of August on Fishers Island. He also frequently takes the setup to Lime Rock, where he’ll camp on the infield and race the Connecticut track. He admits working in the recreation field has its benefits.
“You can have some fun doing it,” Riegel says with a smile. A reward, he notes, is being so handson in helping people create stylish, memorable journeys on the proverbial open road. “People still have that wanderlust and want to go and see and do these things,” he says. But, he adds, Airstream travel is not for everyone. “You have to be adventuresome. This is not for somebody who wants a spa vacation.” In his backyard, Riegel points out the way his Airstream’s aluminum side is reflecting nature. It’s an observation that could equally apply to the entire Airstream experience. As Riegel says, “It’s capturing the colors around you.” For more, visit airstream2go.com.
DESIGN POWER BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN RIZZO
Rubin Singer
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“CLOTHES CAN EMPOWER PEOPLE,” HE SAYS. “MY CLOTHES ARE ABOUT NOT ONLY MAKING PEOPLE FEEL BEAUTIFUL BUT STRONG. THIS IS NOT ONLY MY AESTHETIC, BUT MY SPIRITUAL BELIEF.”
R
UBIN SINGER KNOWS THE POWER OF A SUIT. He knows it in his bones. “What happened was that (my grandfather) escaped from the Nazis in Poland and walked to the Soviet Union where he was captured by the Communists and sent to work in a coal mine,” he says. But I’m not a miner, Singer’s grandfather told an officer. I make clothes. Well, then, the officer said, make me a suit and we’ll see whether you live or die. It must’ve been some suit. Not only did the grandfather – for whom Singer is named – survive, but he thrived, becoming the first official couturier to the Communist
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Party elite and the premier himself – Josef Stalin. Singer’s father, Alik, created costumes for the Bolshoi Ballet and the Stanislavski Theater. Rubin Singer, then, is a third-generation designer. What did he learn from such a fashion-able family? He fixes you with those limpid gray-green eyes, framed by square black glasses and chiseled bone structure. “Form,” he says. The Austrian-born Singer grew up in Paris and New York in a cultured household, with afternoons and evenings spent listening to Wagnerian operas or watching the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov in a theatrical production of Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis.” Singer studied fine arts at Purchase College and Central Saint Martins in London before chucking school to work as an associate designer at Oscar de la Renta. (He was also head designer at three Bill Blass licensees.) And indeed, though Singer’s style is entirely his own, he nods as you note that there is something of de la Renta’s classic voluptuousness in his ball gowns. It’s not surprising, then, that Singer’s work should find its way to Mary Jane Denzer in White Plains, where Oscar is a staple. And it’s fitting that a trunk show of Singer’s Autumn/Winter 2014 Collection should inaugurate the official opening of the store, which is next to The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester. Denzer and Singer are a mutual admiration society. “I love Mary Jane,” he says. Denzer, who’s been carrying his clothes for several years, speaks of “his fabric and his draping. He has a huge design background. He really understands (design), which not every designer does.” A breathtaking example of this is the black oleander-print, strapless, draped ball-gown that draws admiring gazes and exclamations from the audience gathered for Denzer’s ribbon-cutting, including White Plains Mayor Thomas M. Roach; Janis Morris, director of constituent affairs for New York state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins; and designer Neil Bieff. The sweetheart neckline, fitted bodice and bell-shaped
Model Sandrina Bencomo looks smashing in a black oleander-print, strapless draped ball gown that is the quintessence of Rubin Singer’s artistry.
skirt that stops at the ankle manage to echo the 18th century and the 1950s all at once, while the cascades of gathered fabric illustrate Singer’s gift for drapery and theatrical flair. An edgy touch: On the front of the gown there appears to be a smudge that’s really a wisp of the charcoal-colored print. If the gown, part of Singer’s Resort 2015 Collection, hints at de la Renta, the fall-winter collection pays tribute to Santiago Calatrava – who designed the World Trade Center’s soaring Transportation Hub – and the architect’s dynamic ability to marry angular and curved forms. Singer explains the inspiration: His previous collection found him ensconced in ancient, gilded Egypt and he was casting about for something new. On a trip to Buenos Aires, he saw Calatrava’s Puente
de la Mujer, or Women’s Bridge, based on the curve of a woman’s body as she’s dipped in the tango. “And I thought, ‘Wow, what an amazing talent that can take the human form and turn it into an abstraction.’” Singer’s metallic evening dresses, python jackets, leather moto blazers, suede cocktail dresses and peekaboo blouses that offer the illusion of nudity capture the tension between the classic and the modern, the curved and the angular in Calatrava’s work and the female body, but they do so with a twist. Asymmetry rules in Singer’s designs: Straps are mismatched. Sleeves billow while hemlines and collars rise. Patterns appear to be inspired by shards of stained glass, as exemplified by the evening gown on the cover of the Look Book that is available at Mary Jane Denzer.
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“Calatrava 2” fil coupe strapless gown.
Leather and silk crepe neck gown.
“To me what’s important to asymmetry is to find a balance.” Singer achieves that in his “Calatrava 3” cocktail dress, in which the neckline, waist and knee-length are underscored by contrapuntal diagonals and a jagged pattern that recalls the Chrysler Building’s diadem. It’s similar in spirit to Singer’s Zigzag dress, which Carrie Underwood wore recently. “Clothes can empower people,” he says. “My clothes are about not only making people feel beautiful but strong. This is not only my aesthetic, but my spiritual belief.” Lots of strong women wear Singer’s clothes, including Glenn Close, Alicia Keys, Heidi Klum, Lucy Liu, Queen Latifah, Shakira and Kerry Washington. But Singer is perhaps best known for the leather-lace body suit he created for Beyoncé’s 2013 Super Bowl halftime show that spoke to her Sasha Fierce incarnation. (He also did the designs for her “Mrs. Carter Show” world tour.) The Super Bowl outfit was featured in a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit that opened July 22 – his birthday and, perhaps not so coincidentally, Oscar de la Renta’s. It was a high point in a career landscape that has had its peaks and valleys. “I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations since going out on my own eight
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Blue dutchess satin gown with black trim.
years ago. I survived the recession then got involved with partners who screwed me out of money.” (In April, a group of investors sued Singer, saying he spent $560,000 in seed money on his peripatetic lifestyle.) That life goes on. Singer shares it in Manhattan with his partner, the travel writer Carlos Melia, and their brown Miniature Schnauzer, Bruna. The pair met in Thailand, Singer’s favorite place, taking the Orient Express from Bangkok to Singapore. They return to Thailand every year. In Manhattan, Singer has a studio/showroom on 39th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, where he employees 30 people. His management style is, “I run the show.” He says this not with arrogance but with the matter-of-factness of a businessman whose independence has been hard-fought and who believes he owes a debt to the past. That suit his grandfather made in the World War II era didn’t just save his life, it made his grandson’s possible. “It saved my family DNA,” Singer says. And it created a dream he won’t deny. “You have to want it and believe you’ll attain what is yours in this world.”
way
LIVING IN style STORY BY HOULIHAN LAWRENCE PHOTOGRAPHS BY TIM LEE
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PRESENTED BY HOULIHAN LAWRENCE
C
lassic Italianate Revival architecture and dramatic, forward interior design are the hallmarks of this circa-1845 home. Built by circus showman John J. June, it is one of the most historic gems of North Salem. Masterfully and completely renovated, it fully retains the elegant style of old from its rooftop cupola to the wraparound verandas framed by Doric columns to its detailing of modern amenities. The gracious front-to-back entryway with drawing rooms on each side offers an intimate setting for perfect
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entertaining. Restored plaster moldings, original marble fireplaces, rich colors, modern fixtures with Venetian glass shades, as well as artfully added custom millwork grace each room. A designer kitchen offers top appliances, copper-clad ventilation, granite counters and a light-filled breakfast area with French doors leading to the veranda. On the second level, the master suite bathroom offers a detailed mosaic-floored bathroom with soaking tub, a glass enclosed steam shower, two separate custom dressing areas and an intimate but light-filled bedroom. On three levels with 4,651 square feet, this historic residence includes five bedrooms, four full baths and one powder room. The lower level offers a billiard room, a
JOHN JUNE HOUSE AT A GLANCE • North Salem • 4,651 square feet • 12.96 acres • Bedrooms: 5 • Baths: 4 full, 1 half • Price: $3.6 million
gym room and laundry. A gabled third floor has two bedrooms with a sitting room and charming cupola overlooking the entire grounds. The 13 landscaped acres offer walkways along the stream, a pool and pool house with an artist’s studio and caretaker’s cottage and separate two-car garage. Truly one of the most beautifully and luxuriously appointed historical homes. • Classic Italianate Revival built in
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1845 meticulously restored and renovated with all modern luxuries. • Five bedrooms, four full baths and one powder room on three levels with four fireplaces. • Elegant Old World style master suite with two dressing rooms and spa bath with a mosaic-tile floor. • 13 acres of landscaped grounds with pool, pond, pool house, artist’s studio, caretaker’s cottage and detached two-car garage. • Lower level with a billiard room, gym, laundry and storage spaces. • Third level with two bedrooms, sitting rooms with built-in storage, full bath and a charming ladder leading to a cupola with grounds views on all sides. For more information, contact David Turner at Houlihan Lawrence Bedford Village Green brokerage at 914-953-6010, 914-234-9099 ext. 22365 or DTurner@houlihanlawrence.com.
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WWW.ONSMD.COM 57
ALL BLOOMIE’S HIS “IT’S ALL ABOUT 100 PERCENT BLOOMINGDALE’S AND WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL,” says a spokeswoman for the White Plains store. She’s talking about Bloomie’s exciting fall campaign, which brings 1,000 new creations, from 100 fashion and home designers, to the retailer that bills itself as “a store like no other.” From a striking, pink-dyed, shearling, lamb-fitted biker jacket by Brandon Sun for Maximillian Fur ($2,195) to a darling Gucci mini crossbody ($895), from Shifman Luxe Handmade Mattresses ($3,000 to $12,000) to John Varvatos Luxe menswear (prices upon request), it’s all “100% Bloomingdale’s.” The campaign kicks off Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at Bloomie’s stores nationwide with
a fashion show celebrating the exclusive items. Then look for a men’s fashion show Sept. 18 at the White Plains store, featuring former stars of the New York Giants, including Jeff Feagles, Chris Snee and Amani Toomer. Here’s a peek at some of the goodies you’ll be seeing. But already we know that there’s one item you won’t be able to resist. It’s the Bloomingdale’s Alex and Ani teddy bear charm bracelet ($28) to benefit the Child Mind Institute, a longstanding Bloomie’s charitable partner dedicated to transforming mental health care for children. For more, visit bloomingdales.com. — Georgette Gouveia
Hardy Amies blazer.
Color block coat by Zegna.
Shawl collar sweater look by Vince. Hilditch & Key shirts and ties.
All images courtesy Bloomingdale’s White Plains.
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... AND HERS
Cynthia Rowley party dress, bonded foil print, $425.
12th Street Cynthia Vincent cutout neckline silk dress, $365.
Mini crossbody (top), $895; and SoHo shoulderbag with top zip, $1,590, both by Gucci.
Deep V dress in exclusive print by Clover Canyon, $325.
Fiamma bag by Ferragamo, $2,950.
Bloomingdale’s Alex and Ani Teddy Bear charm bracelet, $28.
Black/red floral dress by Torn, $348.
Black/red floral dress by Torn, $348 Tebal crystal broach full skirt by Ted Baker, $248. (Also available in a neoprene sweat top, $175; and skater dress, $248).
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TECH WITH A
fashion twist BY DANIELLE RENDA PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB ROZYCKI
T
ech fashion is hot, hot, hot. Women’s Wear Daily recently noted how Google and Amazon, as well as retailers and designers, are incorporating technology into their products and doing so with style. From inthe-pink wristlets (purses for your cell) to all-purpose solar-paneled backpacks, tech has bonded with fashion to such an extent that you can even experience the sensations of your sports heroes simply by donning a shirt. More on this in a bit. In its earlier stages, tech fashion was all about athletics. Less aesthetically pleasing, the products were built to monitor vital signs or acknowledge fitness milestones. Now these gadgets have evolved to incorporate our smartphones in addition to becoming trendsetters. Withings, a company that develops smart devices to monitor health, recently created the Activité tracker. It looks no different than a highend wristwatch, but measures steps, distance and calories, differentiating among sports and activity and rest. You can even swim with it. Even more unusual, Foxtel, a media company, recently developed the Alert Shirt, an almost eerie athletic shirt that enables wearers to feel the sensations of their
A wristlet by Michael Kors.
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This pretty-in-pink laptop case is the kind of thing Marc Jacobs produces for techie fashionistas.
favorite sports players. Back on Planet Earth, Bloomingdale’s is offering the Jetson bike ($2,000) as part of its 100% Bloomingdale’s fall fashion and home design campaign. In a different sector, jewelry has been given a techie spin. Keith Kaarup Jr.’s TEK Bracelet is a handcrafted leather bracelet with a built-in USB flash drive offering 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB memory options, along with customizable styles. Swarovski sells crystal USB drives in the form of pens, bracelets and necklaces, featuring an array of colors and styles. U.K.-based Kovert is among the companies that have developed jewelry connecting wearers with their smartphones. The jewelry vibrates when calls or messages are received, nixing the need to check your phone. The chic design of these products completely disguises their tech-vantage. Wearable tech can also accompany your device in accessory form, such as 100% Bloomingdale’s graphic printed iPhone 5 cases by Mophie ($99.95). Tory Burch, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Kate Spade are among the designers glamming up your cells, tablets and laptops. Michael Kors has wristlets that hold a cellphone and credit cards ($128 and $108), available as part of the 100% Bloomingdale’s campaign. Or you can also revamp your laptop with products like the Marc Jacobs case pictured here, available at places like Nordstrom Rack and your favorite Apple store. If you’re looking for a universal bag, Voltaic Systems’ solar paneled backpacks are equipped to charge all handheld electronics, regardless of outlet access. Bloomie’s is also offering solar bags by O-Range ($395 and $295). Adding tech to your wardrobe will not only make you fashionable, but you’ll be one step ahead in the techie world.
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PRIVATE SCHOOLS VISIT, VIEW, VALUE
SEPTEMBER September 24 OAKWOOD FRIENDS SCHOOL 9:30 a.m. Poughkeepsie, NY Phone: 845-462-4200 oakwoodfriends.org September 26 WORLD CLASS LEARNING ACADEMY 6 – 8 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 212-600-2010 wclacademy.org
October 8 REGIS HIGH SCHOOL - RESIDENTS OF MANHATTAN, WESTCHESTER, BRONX 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 212-288-1100 regis.org October 8 TRINITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 7 p.m. Stamford, CT Phone: 203-322-3401 trinitycatholic.org
September 27 MILLBROOK SCHOOL Millbrook, NY Phone: 845-677-8261 millbrook.org
October 13 THE DARROW SCHOOL New Lebanon, NY Phone: 877-432-7769 darrowschool.org/home admission@darrowschool.org
September 27 SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD 1 – 4 p.m. Rye, NY Phone: 914-967-5622 holychildrye.org
October 13 REGIS HIGH SCHOOL –RESIDENTS 1 – 4 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 212-288-1100 regis.org
September 27 THE GUNNERY Washington, CT Phone: 860-868-7334 gunnery.org
October 13 THE FORMAN SCHOOL 9 a.m. Litchfield, CT Phone: 860-567-8712 formanschool.org
OCTOBER
October 16 SOUNDVIEW PREPARATORY SCHOOL 9-11 a.m. Yorktown, NY Phone: 914-302-2763 soundviewprep.org
October 1 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL – ELEMENTARY New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu October 5 SOUNDVIEW PREPARATORY SCHOOL Yorktown, NY Phone: 914-302-2763 soundviewprep.org October 7 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL – GRADES 7- 8 New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu October 7 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL - HIGH SCHOOL 6:30 – 8 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu 62
October 16 WHITBY SCHOOL 9:30 a.m. Greenwich, CT Phone: 203-869-8464 whitbyschool.org October 18 ACADEMY OF OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL Noon – 3 p.m. White Plains, NY Phone: 914-949-0178 goodcounselacademyhs.org
October 18 THE HARVEY SCHOOL 9 a.m. Katonah, NY Phone: 914-232-3161 harveyschool.org
October 25 RIPPOWAM CISQUA SCHOOL 9 – 11 a.m. Bedford, NY Phone: 914-244-1200 rcsny.org
October 18 WOOSTER SCHOOL 9 a.m. Danbury, CT Phone: 203-8303900 woosterschool.org
October 23 THE WINDWARD SCHOOL 6 – 8:30 p.m. White Plains, NY Phone: 914-949-6968 thewindwardschool.org
October 19 IONA PREPARATORY Noon – 3 p.m. New Rochelle, NY Phone: 914-632-0714 ionaprep.org
October 26 ARCHBISHOP STEPINAC HIGH SCHOOL 1 p.m. White Plains, NY Phone: 914-946-4800 stepinac.org
October 19 RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL – LOWER 1 p.m. Rye, NY Phone: 914-967-1417 ryecountryday.org
October 26 NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL Fairfield, CT Phone: 203-372-6521 notredame.org
October 19 SAINT LUKE’S SCHOOL – MIDDLE SCHOOL Noon New Canaan, CT Phone: 203-966-5612 stlukesct.org
October 26 RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL – MIDDLE AND UPPER 1 p.m. Rye, NY Phone: 914-967-1417 ryecountryday.org
October 19 SAINT LUKE’S SCHOOL – MIDDLE SCHOOL 2 p.m. New Canaan, CT Phone: 203-966-5612 stlukesct.org
October 26 SOUNDVIEW PREPARATORY SCHOOL 1– 3 p.m. Yorktown, NY Phone: 914-302-2763 soundviewprep.org
October 19 SAINT LUKE’S SCHOOL – UPPER SCHOOL 2:30 p.m. New Canaan, CT Phone: 203-966-5612 stlukesct.org
October 28 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL – ELEMENTARY New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu
October 19 SAINT LUKE’S SCHOOL – UPPER SCHOOL 4:30 p.m. New Canaan, CT Phone: 203-966-5612 stlukesct.org
NOVEMBER
October 20 MARIA REGINA HIGH SCHOOL 1 – 4 p.m. Hartsdale, NY Phone: 914-761-3300 mariaregina.org
November2 NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL 1 – 3 p.m. New Canaan, CT Phone: 203-972-0771 countryschool.net
November 2 SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL OF WESTCHESTER – HIGH SCHOOL 9:30 a.m. – noon Hartsdale, NY Phone: 914-948-8333 schechterwestchester.org November 2 THE URSULINE SCHOOL 1 – 4 p.m. New Rochelle, NY Phone: 914-636-3950 ursulinenewrochelle.org November 2 WHITBY SCHOOL 1 p.m. Greenwich, CT Phone: 203-869-8464 whitbyschool.org November 4 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL – GRADES 7 – 8 New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu November 4 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL – HIGH SCHOOL 6:30 – 8 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu November 5 THE BEEKMAN SCHOOL 6 – 8 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 212-755-6666 beekmanschool.org
November 5 WESTCHESTER HEBREW HIGH SCHOOL 6:30 p.m. Mamaroneck, NY Phone: 914-698-0806 whhsny.org
November 15 MASTERS SCHOOL – GRADES 5 – 8 12:15 p.m. tour 1 p.m. program Dobbs Ferry, NY Phone: 914-479-6400 mastersny.org
November 6 RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL – ELEMENTARY New York, NY Phone: 212-879-1101 steiner.edu
November 16 SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL OF WESTCHESTER – KINDERGARTEN 10 a.m. – noon Hartsdale, NY Phone: 914-948-8333 schechterwestchester.org
November 6 THE BEEKMAN SCHOOL 6 – 8 p.m. New York, NY Phone: 914-948-8333 schechterwestchester.org November 8 MASTERS SCHOOL – GRADES 9 –12 12:15 tour 1 p.m. program Dobbs Ferry, NY Phone: 914-479-6400 mastersny.org November 14 MAPLEBROOK SCHOOL Amenia, NY Phone: 845-373-9511 maplebrookschool.org November 11 THE DARROW SCHOOL New Lebanon, NY Phone: 877-432-7769 darrowschool.org/home admission@darrowschool.org
November 21 MASTERS SCHOOL – INFORMATION NIGHT Grades 9 – 12 7 p.m. Dobbs Ferry, NY Phone: 914-479-6400 mastersny.org November 23 MASTERS SCHOOL – INFORMATION NIGHT Grades 5 – 8 7 p.m. Dobbs Ferry, NY Phone: 914-479-6400 mastersny.org
DECEMBER December 4 THE WINDWARD SCHOOL 6 – 8:30 p.m. White Plains, NY Phone: 914-949-6968 thewindwardschool.org
December 7 SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL OF WESTCHESTER – MIDDLE SCHOOL Hartsdale, NY Phone: 914-948-8333 schechterwestchester.org
JANUARY January 11 WHITBY SCHOOL Greenwich, CT Phone: 203-869-8464 whitbyschool.org January 19 THE DARROW SCHOOL New Lebanon, NY Phone: 877-432-7769 darrowschool.org/home admission@darrowschool.org
FEBRUARY February 16 THE DARROW SCHOOL New Lebanon, NY Phone: 877-432-7769 darrowschool.org/home admission@darrowschool.org
APRIL April 17 MAPLEBROOK SCHOOL Amenia, NY Phone: 845-373-9511 maplebrookschool.org
PUTTING TEETH INTO PREVENTING CHILDREN’S SPORTS INJURIES BY RICHARD ELIAS, DMD, MD, MAMARONECK ORAL SURGERY
SPORTS SAFETY is a concern for many parents. Have you ever seen a child slide into home plate or get hit in the face with a ball? Kids love running around, getting dirty and exerting themselves. But that doesn’t mean they should have to suffer the consequences of a sports injury. Recently, many football players discovered they are suffering from long-term head injuries due to untreated concussions that occurred when they were children. With this as a recent concern for athletes, head injury protection is becoming a top priority for children. But dental pro-
tection is also very important. According to the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation (NYSSF), dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury occurring in sports. A hit in the face or a fall can lead to a serious oral injury. There are three types of dental injury – fracture, avulsion and luxation. A fracture occurs when just a part of the tooth is chipped or broken. An avulsion is when the entire tooth, including the root, is taken out of the mouth. Finally, luxation occurs when the tooth is still inside the socket but was moved into the wrong position. In order to prevent any of these injuries from occurring, one must take the
proper precautions. Having the appropriate equipment is essential. Helmets, shin guards, athletic cups and knee pads are only some pieces of the protective equipment commonly used by athletes. However, a mouth guard is rarely seen as a mandatory piece of equipment. The use of mouth guards is essential for the protection of teeth. According to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, mouth guards prevent an estimated 20,000 oral injuries in the U.S. every year. If an injury does occur, it is important to take your child to the dentist immediately. Waiting until the activity is over may be dangerous if a loose tooth falls into the airway. Avulsed
teeth may be salvaged if they are reimplanted and luxated teeth may be easily realigned if they are treated in a timely fashion. Any delay may result in permanent loss of the tooth and complicate the replacement with implants or a bridge. If the tooth was avulsed, knocked out, place it in a cup of milk or have the child place it under his tongue during transport to the dentist. Never clean or brush the tooth off. While oral injuries are never 100 percent preventable, using a mouth guard is a great start. Richard Elias, DMD, MD, is an oral surgeon at Mamaroneck Oral Surgery. For more, call 914-873-0045 or visit him at mamaroneckoralsurgery.com.
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When students feel they belong, they can achieve anything.
Families choose Soundview Preparatory School because of its rigorous college preparatory curriculum, its strong music and art program, and its uniquely personalized learning community (grades 6-12) that fosters self-confidence and individuality.
Soundview Preparatory School ! Yo u’re in vited
370 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 (914) 962-2780 • soundviewprep.org
October Open Houses: Sunday, Oct. 5, 1 - 3 pm • Thursday, Oct. 16, 9 - 11 am • Sunday, Oct. 26, 1 - 3 pm The Gunnery, Mr. Gunn’s School, is a coeducational college preparatory boarding and day school for students in grades nine through twelve. We offer small classes, a comprehensive curriculum, a close community, and a range of artistic and athletic offerings in an extraordinary setting.
Please RSVP to wrightk@gunnery.org for our Open House on September 27th .
www. gunnery.org ~ 860-868-7334 ~ admissions@gunnery.org 99 Green Hill Road, Washington, CT 06793 64
n
A MASTERS MIND IS BRAVE
DETERMINED
THERE’S MORE TO A MASTERS MIND.
CURIOUS GRADES 5-12, DAY AND BOARDING
From honing their intellects at the Harkness table to flexing their imaginations in the lab, gym and studio, The Masters School enriches students’ minds, preparing them for success in college, career and life.
OPEN HOUSE | NOV 8, GRADES 9-12 | NOV 15, GRADES 5-8
12:15 PM TOUR, 1PM PROGRAM INFO NIGHTS | GRADES 9-12, NOV 21 | GRADES 5-8, NOV 23 | 7 PM To RSVP, call (914) 479-6420 or email admission@mastersny.org
Academically Robust Authentically Christian
w.kingsmen.org
49 Clinton Avenue | Dobbs Ferry, NY | www.mastersny.org
Christian Heritage School OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, NOV. 15, 2014 | 2PM Mandarin Chinese starting in Kindergarden iPads for Grades 9-12 Study Abroad Programs Private Van Transportation and Pickup from Train Station 575 White Plains Rd. | Trumbull, CT | 203-261-6230 | www.kingsmen.org 65
Darrow School
A Coed, College-Preparatory, Boarding and Day School for Grades 9–12
Small Community, Big Opportunity
authenticity achievement community sustainability creativity teamwork Darrow School welcomes visitors and prospective families throughout the year. Call or email today to set up your visit.
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Our challenging and individually focused college preparatory curriculum features a unique combination of classroom instruction, hands-on learning, and environmental consciousness. Our beautiful mountainside campus in the Berkshires is a National Historic Landmark, rich in its Shaker heritage and provides an ideal setting for learning. Visit www.darrowschool.org or call today to schedule a visit. 110 Darrow Road, New Lebanon, NY 12125 Tel: 518.794.6000 Toll Free: 877.432.7769 or (877.4DARROW) admission@darrowschool.org
e path to their future starts here.
Collage prepatory Coeducational Boarding & Day Grades 6-12 Financial Aid Avaliable 70 miles north of NYC Minutes from the MTA Founded in 1796 Oakwood Friends School, guided on Quaker pricipels, educates and stragthens young poeple for lives of conscience, compation and accomplishments. Students experience a challenging curriculum within a diverse community, dedicated to nurturing the spirt,the scholar,the artist and the athlete in each person.
(845) 462-4200
www.oakwoodfriends.org
facebook.com/oakwoodfriends
Give your son the best, From his very first day, ’Till he leaves the nest.
APPLY TODAY. LEAD TOMORROW. Upper School: (914) 632-0714 Lower School: (914) 633-7744 Admissions@IonaPrep.org www.IonaPrep.org
Iona Preparatory School K-12 Where Leaders Are Made
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chic CHOICES COMPILED BY MARY SHUSTACK
FASHION STATEMENT, AL FRESCO Summer still has a few weeks left, but we’re planning on extending the season even further. And there’s a most fashionable way to do just that. The Reef Rattan Apple Day Bed ($1,795) offered by Select Furnishings makes it easy. From a collection of handmade patio furniture, the piece features all-weather UV-resistant resin wicker and luxurious stain-resistant cushions. All we know is we want to nestle in this, morning, noon and night. For more, visit selectfurnishings.com.
Photograph courtesy Select Furnishings.
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Gifts and new products ideal for any occasion
THAT FINISHING TOUCH
Photograph courtesy Amoretti.
Dine with most any fashionista, and a good salad is often involved. Quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar can make all the difference in those healthy meals. Amoretti is offering an Olive Trio Gift Set ($99.95) that features its Premium Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, infused with the natural flavor and aroma of kalamata olives; its Premium Aged Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar; and its Premium Aged Pomegranate Vinaigrette. Use these alone or in combination to dress salads, marinate meats, poultry and fish or finish bread, pasta and pizza. Each is also gluten-free, sodium-free, vegan and kosher, so drizzle or dip away. For more, visit amorettistore.com.
Photograph courtesy L’Objet.
BY CANDLELIGHT Sous la Lune, the 10th anniversary collection from L’Objet, has launched. From lapis-themed porcelain dinnerware and desk accessories to a coral centerpiece featuring 8,000 hand-set coral cabochons, the line is right on fashion’s cutting edge. For a gift that will surely impress, why not opt for Voyage D’or? The 10th-anniversary candle ($195) features a custom signature scent, Fleur d’Or, from master perfumer Yann Vasnier. Sweet. For more, visit l-objet.com.
RAISE A GLASS So, what are your plans for Mexican Independence Day? Wait, you didn’t know about it? Well, mark your calendars for Sept. 16, and while you’re at it, stock up on Partida. Our in-house taster found the creations of master distiller Jose Valdez “nice and smooth.” Pick up the 750 ml bottles of Partida Blanco ($40), which features an un-aged pure agave flavor; Partida Reposado ($45), aged six months and dubbed “the Bentley of Reposados”; or Partida Anejo ($50), aged 18 months and ideal for the single-malt lover. Salud! For more, visit partidatequila.com. Photograph by Carolyn Rozycki.
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chicCHOICES IN THE BAG You probably know Ramy Sharp’s work, the timeless and sophisticated fashions of the Ramy Brook collection. Now, the New York-based designer is launching a line of luscious handbags to coincide with the debut of her first freestanding boutique in Manhattan. The bags, from the classiest hobo to the funkiest tote ($395-$645), will be featured there and join the selections of her fashions and accessories already sold in some 200 boutiques and department stores across the country. For more, visit ramybrook.com.
Photographs courtesy Ramy Brook.
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wanders
ONE CITY, TWO VIEWPOINTS THE WEINSTEINS IN BARCELONA BY MARC WEINSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARC AND CAMI WEINSTEIN
La Sagrada Famiglia, Antonio Gaudi’s soaring, embellished cathedral, is still a work in progress.
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The Mediterranean rolls up on the beach at Sitges.
Y WIFE, INTERIOR DESIGNER CAMI WEINSTEIN, SURPRISED ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY WITH A TRIP TO BARCELONA. SHE KNEW IT HAD BEEN ON MY LIST OF PLACES TO VISIT FOR A LONG TIME. ALTHOUGH MY BIRTHDAY IS IN DECEMBER, WE DECIDED TO GO IN EARLY SUMMER. I AM SO GLAD WE DID: THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT, ALL THE BETTER FOR SEEING ANTONIO GAUDÍ’S WORK, WHICH DOMINATES THE CITY. Cami selected the Mercer, a hip boutique hotel housed in a 14thcentury structure with modern interiors in the Gothic Quarter. The quarter was the original walled city, a quieter part in the center of Barcelona, but only a short walk to many sites, including Museu Picasso and the Rambla Market. It hit the right note. Although Barcelona is a great walking city, there are some places where you need to cab it like Park Güell, one of Gaudí’s masterpieces.
Perched on a hill, it is one of the most beautiful parks in the world. Gaudí originally designed it as a residential park for 60 single-family residences for entrepreneur Eusebi Güell. The project failed and only two houses were built. But it is imaginative, colorful and playful. My wife and I spent hours there, each of us concentrating on different parts of the park. I photographed for the pure pleasure of seeing the way the light and forms played against one another. Cami focused on details – doorways, the repeating patterns, the flora forms. When we shared and compared our photos later on, we enjoyed seeing the different and in some cases the same things that were inspiring each of us. The different things that captured our imagination and interest were evident throughout the trip. Next up was Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall designed in the Catalan Modernista style by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built between 1905 and 1908. It is gorgeous. While there, we saw a show, “The History of Flamenco through Opera.” It was quite a magical experience.
Both Weinsteins fell in love with Barcelona’s architectural details.
We also went to the La Sagrada Familia, the cathedral that was begun in 1882 and is still being built and worked on today. A year after it was started Gaudí became the director and architect and continued working on it until his death more than 40 years later. Walking into the cathedral is a jaw-dropping experience. Not only is it staggering scale but it is so modern in a “Metropolis” kind of way. Once again, my wife and I were focusing on the many details that Gaudí envisioned. Nothing escaped his perfectionistic eye. No detail was too tiny to ignore. Gaudí loved organic forms and that is clearly evidenced throughout his work and indeed in this cathedral. Even the holy water font is a giant clamshell edged in silver and encased in simple but elegant ironwork. Those organic forms were on full display in two residential Gaudí buildings – La Pedrera and Casa Batllo – as well. They include reptile shapes, bat wings, bones, undulating snakes and sea and land plants. Needing a change of pace, we visited La Rambla. This street is home to great markets – and a huge tourist draw. The open air market was wonderful. Fruit, vegetables, meats, eggs, chocolates, fresh fish: It was wonderful
to see all of the different foods displayed and for me created another opportunity to photograph an interesting part of everyday life in Barcelona. We decided a day out of the city by the seaside might make for a fun adventure. A short train ride away is Sitges, right on the Mediterranean. It’s charming, with winding streets and cafés that are right across from the beach. We had a wonderful seafood paella while watching the waves roll in at the beach. You cannot go to Barcelona and not see the Picasso Museum. The place itself is terrific as it is in a medieval mansion. There you can get a sense of various periods in his career, as he grew up and studied art there. We spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Barcelona and photographing all of the things that interested us. I found myself drawn to the colors and shapes of city, the light and forms that were everywhere I turned. Cami’s pictures were more focused on the design details that she likes to reinterpret in her work. I think for both of us our shared experiences and photos allowed each of us to explore the city and then share together our mutual love of color, forms and details.
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wonderful DINING
The Spread’s open space fits any occasion. Photographs by John Videler Photography
‘SPREAD’ING GOOD FOOD AND FUN BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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As it says on its website, The Spread is the fulfilled dream of four lifelong restaurant employees who have come together to “spread” their passion for good food and drink as well as good times. Bartending for most of their combined 80-plus years in the industry, owners Andrey Cortes, Chris Hickey, Chris Rasile and Shawn Longyear crossed paths years ago. These personal and professional intersections helped forge a bond among the partners that reached a high point with the October 2012 opening of The Spread. After his first dishwashing job turned him on to the business, Cortes began bartending with Rasile in the 1990s at Manero’s Restaurant in Greenwich. Rasile followed up his time there with a six-year stint at Bleu, also in Greenwich, with Longyear. After Bleu’s days came to an end, Rasile joined forces with Hickey to woo the SoNo crowd at Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant, while the Greenwich location took the team of Cortes and Longyear. The four quickly developed a reputation, learning about cuisine, service and local preferences while gaining lots of experience. In 2009, they began to think about a restaurant of their own. Three years later, they found the spot on North Main Street in Norwalk, signed a lease and began construction. The rustic industrial elements seen today were selected by the four piece by piece, trusting
one another’s instincts and having faith that the finished product of contrasting elements would come together – the way they did. Soon after, they secured the talents of general manager Juan Meyer and executive chef Carlos Baez – the final pieces to the puzzle. Meyer was an obvious choice, having showed his talents firsthand to Rasile during their time together at Barcelona. Baez, part of a small team that had worked together at Napa & Co. in Stamford, was brought in to run The Spread’s kitchen. This added security to the front and back of the house was crucial to the restaurant’s successful launch. It’s the wish of this gastronomic quartet that their patrons return to The Spread for celebrations big and small for many years to come. The Spread is at 70 N. Main St. in Norwalk. Kitchen hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Bar hours are 4:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 4:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday brunch is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Hour is 4:30 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Dollar oysters are served all night Tuesdays, with six oysters and a glass of wine for $12. There’s live music starting at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays and a DJ at 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. For more, call 203-939-1111 or visit thespreadsono.com.
Grilled Portuguese octopus with homemade chorizo and fingerling potatoes
Seared lamb saddle with wild mushrooms and Brussels sprouts over puréed black garlic. Photograph by Neil Landino Photography.
Seared squid with Espelette peppers and scallions. Photograph by Neil Landino Photography.
HOMEMADE CHORIZO
Ingredients
1½ pounds of ground pork 1 tablespoon cumin seed 1 teaspoon coriander seed 5 whole cloves 2 bay leaves ½ teaspoon oregano ½ teaspoon thyme 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sea salt 5 teaspoons ground black peppercorns 2 tablespoons Ancho chile powder or substitute a combination of 2 tablespoons paprika mixed with ½ teaspoon cayenne powder 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions Use plastic gloves for handling the chili powder and chorizo as chili powders can cause burning and staining to your hands. In a mortar and pestle, grind the cumin seed, coriander seed and cloves. Break up the bay leaves with your hands as much as possible
and add them to the spices, grinding them until you have a fine powder. Add the remaining spices to the mortar and pestle and grind/mix until everything is well combined. Use your hands to break up the ground pork in a glass bowl. (This is when you should put on the gloves.) Pour in the vinegar and half the spices, spreading them evenly on the pork and start working them into the meat. Add more of the spice mixture until it has all been used. Keep working the pork until it turns red (from the chili powder) and all the spices have been combined into the meat. It’s best to let the chorizo sit overnight before cooking it. This will allow all of the flavors to come together. Sauté the chorizo in a frying pan until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
GRILLED PORTUGUESE OCTOPUS
Ingredients
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Homemade chorizo (about 1 cup per serving) 10 pieces cooked fingerling potatoes
Preparation Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot. Add the garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add the chili-pepper flakes and the octopus. Cover and lower the heat. Braise until tender, about 1½ to 2 hours, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Add parsley. Then add the sautéed chorizo along with the fingerling potatoes, which you have boiled separately for 10 minutes.
2½ cups olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon chili-pepper flakes 1 large octopus, about 6 pounds, cleaned, body discarded, tentacles cut into 2 1/2-inch chunks
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wine
& DINE
A selection of vintages from Moderne Barn’s cellar. Photographs by Paul Johnson. Courtesy Moderne Barn.
Matt Christoff, wine director at Moderne Barn in Armonk.
What to try? Choices are endless BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
So what’s the stylish oenophile drinking this fall? We turned to Matt Christoff, wine director at Moderne Barn in Armonk, for the answer. He’s continually developing and maintaining an extensive cellar of wines from small production grape farmers and winemakers, including bottles from the Old and New Worlds. Here’s what he had to say: The September issue of WAG is all about fashion. So what’s trending this autumn? “The production of cider in the Northeast is tremendously exciting. Apple and pear ciders, ranging from very dry to very sweet and dry to sparkling, always prove to be a great pairing for the abundant autumn harvest of the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires. As for more traditional wines during the fall, I always love rich and aromatic whites from Alsace, France, like Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer, as well as spicy and textured reds from the Mencia grape in Galicia, Spain.” Your cellar features vintages from small production vintners here and abroad. How do American wines stack up these days against their vaunted European counterparts? “The current state of domestic wine production has never been more exciting and world-class than it is right now. Producers are taking a closer look at worldwide techniques of great wine-making and then employing only those techniques most applicable to enhance what we already have learned in the states. While the domestic tradition has been defined by big, ripe, higher alcohol wines, especially in California,
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a growing number of producers are now achieving greatness through subtlety and elegance. Jon Bonné’s recent book, ‘The New California Wine,’ provides an amazing history of Californian wine production, as well a compendium of phenomenal wineries that have been producing some of the greatest wines of the Golden State to date.” Do you work with local producers and what can you tell us about wines in the Hudson Valley? “The Hudson Valley is one of New York’s few AVAs (American Viticulture Areas) and for good reason. Unbeknownst to many, the Hudson Valley is full of many small wineries producing some very interesting wines. One of my personal favorites is produced by Millbrook Vineyards & Winery from the northern Italian grape Tocai Friulano. Exploring the Shawangunk Wine Trail near New Paltz can also make for an amazing day.” There have always been rules about white with chicken or fish, red with beef and other meats. Some like to split the difference and order a nice rosé. Are things changing with regard to what goes with what dish? “Many of the classic ‘rules’ of food and wine pairing were put in place not as law but rather as general guidelines to help foster a better dining experience for a country that had lacked a traditional wine culture. With the dawn of a new wine and culinary tradition in the United States, however, many of these classic rules can be bent or completely broken. One of the most important considerations in the
pairing of wine and food is the big picture, including cooking methods, sauces and accompaniments. Just like great wine, the pairing of wine with food is all about the balance of flavors and textures. Try having an off-dry Vouvray from the Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc grape) with a spicy BBQ beef brisket or an Oregon Pinot Noir with grilled wild salmon and prepare for rules to be broken and your mind to be blown.” Lastly, you’re off to a nice party in WAG country. What’s your go-to wine to bring to the celebration? “Developing a relationship with your local wine shop is very important in learning what you enjoy, as well as being a great way to stay on the pulse of what is trending in the area. Asking for help is something everyone, including myself, should do while shopping for wine. Just as all restaurant wine programs are different, because of the buyer’s interests and palate, so are retail wine shops. The proprietor or wine buyer is a customer’s best resource in selecting the perfect bottle. “Personally, if I were to choose, I’d bring a Riesling from the Finger Lakes of New York. The wines are approachable, versatile and, in my opinion, the best wines being produced in the state.” For more on Moderne Barn, call 914-730-0001 or visit modernebarn.com.
DOUG PAULDING’S COLUMN RETURNS NEXT MONTH.
Keynote Speaker
Bethenny Frankel MEDIA SPONSOR
914-297-8672 77
well
Where fashion meets comfort – and the shoe always fits
W
BY BRUCE PINKER, DPM
WE’VE ALL HEARD THE EXPRESSION “No pain, no gain.” It may hold true in some instances, but beautiful shoes do not have to be painful. Podiatrists maintain that your feet should never hurt, yet 53 percent of women experience foot pain, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association. Some of the most common foot and ankle ailments include bunions, hammertoes, heel spurs, plantar fasciitis (or jogger’s heel, affecting the heel and underside of the foot) and ankle sprains. Most of these concerns can be avoided by wearing proper-fitting footwear. However, 88 percent of women in the United States wear shoes that are too small. This is compounded by the fact that pretty pointy-toe pumps promote bunions and hammertoes, sexy sandals with minimal support can lead to heel pain and plantar fasciitis, and high heels can spark a sprain in an ankle. But as a podiatrist with years of experience, I know Cinderella and Dorothy were on to something: Women like their shoes. Just look at the some of the feet of the famous. Jennifer Garner,
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Katie Holmes, Oprah and even the high priestess of fashion footwear, Sarah Jessica Parker, all wear sensational shoes and all purportedly suffer from tortured tootsies. For years, women have been willing to grin and bear it in the name of Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo, among others. In addition to the discomfort found in many current, high-fashion styles, many of today’s shoes are not well-constructed. The materials aren’t durable and there is minimal cushion and support. While many of my patients longed for lovely shoes, they felt they had to sacrifice today’s popular looks for more matronly comfort. No cage booties or peep-toe pumps for them. Considering all of this, I developed a line of finely crafted, bespoke footwear, called Dr. D-LuCS, which debuts this month. The line of finely crafted footwear – available in pumps, sandals and boots – provides style coupled with comfort and unique design. In order to achieve the perfect fit, patients begin the process with a personal, computerized gait analysis from which we are able to construct a custom-
made orthotic. The orthotic is inserted in each shoe to ensure maximum fit and comfort in a beautifully designed shoe of the customer’s choice. Our clientele has the freedom to choose all the details of the footwear, thus empowering women to be confident and elegant from the ground up. While providing fashion and function in a pair of shoes is the goal, my priority is always to get patients caring for their feet in the proper way. Check out these tips to keep you comfortably “on your toes”: • Stretching is essential to having pain-free feet. A simple five-minute routine not only feels great, it can loosen the muscles, tendons and ligaments that commonly tighten up. This allows more flexibility and better functionality. • Regular moisturizing keeps feet healthy. Applying a good foot lotion or cream regularly will remove the build-
up of dry, hard calluses that can become painful and slow us down. • Use good soap sense. Use nondrying soap such as Dove, which will also rehydrate your skin and improve its texture. And don’t forget to wash between your toes. • Don’t wear the same pair. Alternate. Even if it means having two pairs of your favorite flats or gussied-up Gladiators, shoes need to air out to avoid foot odor or infections. • Maintain a healthy heel height. The average woman has nine pairs of high heels. That’s OK by me, but for maximum foot comfort, a heel height of 2½ inches or less is recommended. • See a podiatrist for persistent problems. You can certainly trim your toenails or massage an achy foot, but for pain that doesn’t go away, consult a professional. For more, visit drd-lucs.com.
Dr. Bruce Pinker. Photograph by Maureen Plainfield.
PRINCE WILLIAM HAS PRINCE HARRY, SNOOPY HAS SPIKE – YOU KNOW, THE BAD-BOY BABY BRO WHO’S A CHUNK OF CHARM AND A TON OF TROUBLE. That’s what WAG Weekly is to WAG. In our e-newsletter, we let down our hair (and occasionally, our grammar) to take you behind behind-the-scenes of the hottest parties and events, offer our thoughts on the most controversial issues of the day, share what couldn’t be contained in our glossy pages and tell you what to do and where to go this weekend – all while whetting your appetite for the next issue. If you can’t get enough of WAG — or you just want to get WAG unplugged — then you won’t want to miss WAG Weekly, coming to your tablet each Friday a.m.
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whats up
Confessions of a fashion victim BY MARK LUNGARIELLO
n the fall of 2008, I carried my one and only suit jacket on a wire hanger into the men’s department of Bloomingdale’s White Plains. Barry was there, as he always seemed to be, a man of older yet somehow indeterminable age who wore black-rimmed glasses and had seemingly sold every male in my family every suit, shirt and tie they had bought in the last decade. I was looking for a new shirt and tie to match the suit, I told him. I didn’t know what I was looking for, I said, so my fate and my entire sense of style was, as usual, in his hands. He asked permission to go “a little wild,” which I granted, and he took the jacket that in my limited way I’d describe as gray with hints of purple. Then, with the jacket draped over his left forearm, he floated around the displays as if he were at a salad bar, deciding where to dig in first. It was like watching an artist at work. “Did I sell you this suit?” he asked me. Indeed he had. It was a Canali suit I had bought about seven years earlier and was at the time the most expensive thing I ever owned that didn’t require a driver’s license to operate. “You know something?” he said. “This suit was ahead of its time.” That was as dapper as I’ve ever been, at that very moment. (Never mind that I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt as all this was going on.) Whenever I wore a suit – that suit, of course – I’d mention it was ahead of its time. Then one day, it wasn’t ahead of its time anymore. Recently, only a few months shy of the suit’s 13th birthday, my brother applauded me – no doubt sarcastically – for insisting on wearing a threebutton coat despite the consensus no one wears them anymore. I’d seek Barry out for sympathy, but he retired several years ago. For a man who chose anything I wore when I “dressed up” for about half my life, I wish I would have at least known his last name so I could look him up – although I’m sure wherever he is, my getting in touch with him would be grounds for a restraining order or at least a pretty awkward chat. (“Hi Barry, I bought a suit from you in 2001. It was ahead of its time, if you recall.”) Barry’s retirement, whenever it was, left me and potentially dozens of other men without any guidance on how to choose what to wear. Barry may have been the last of a breed of passionate department store suit-
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sellers and perhaps customers like me are the last of the men-who-can’tdress-themselves set. In the post-metrosexual world, fashion victims like me are becoming style’s 1-percenters, that super-small minority that only buys new jeans when the cuffs of its one existing pair become frayed beyond practicable use. This is partly Don Draper’s fault. It doesn’t help that my fiancée’s heart races at every episode of “Mad Men.” I wonder how she can admire someone as well-dressed and neatly groomed as Draper yet be engaged to someone like me. I should try to dress better, but I’m not sure I can. My style ineptitude and fashion impotence are both genetic (I come from a family of mechanics, auto-body repairmen and factory workers) and sociological (all those television shows I watched as a kid told me it was cool for guys not to care about how they looked). For those of us who spent their adolescence growing up in suburbia while reading Hunter S. Thompson, the idea of wearing a suit and becoming a suit was frightening. Suits were what we had to wear at Iona Prep, where to make a statement about our individuality we’d wear Timberlands instead of shoes and pop the collars of our sports jackets while walking through the hall. We listened to punk rock and emulated the style of The Ramones with their uniform of leather jackets over ripped jeans and Converse All-Stars. We loved The Clash, one of punk’s greatest bands, which should tell you all you need to know about our fashion sense. It didn’t get any better as we aged. In the summer of 2007, I was a single guy in my 20s out for a night on the town in Fairfield with a young woman with big blue eyes, a bleached pixie haircut and a tattoo of a Salvador Dali painting. She planned to open a women’s clothing boutique and had a way of finding something distasteful about what everyone at every table around us wore. She also didn’t appreciate my decision to wear an un-tucked, button-down striped red shirt with a blue T-shirt visible underneath. I told her colors, like people, shouldn’t be segregated and that having to match colors was a rather limited way to choose an outfit. We always remained “just friends,” her and I. And yet, as much as men are now supposed to care about clothing and style, we see people who may be “suits” in the business sense of the word rejecting wearing suits. Bill Gates wears jeans, Steve Jobs had his turtlenecks and Mark Zuckerberg looks uncomfortable in a tie. So someone like me can now wear a suit – once we’re able to have our fiancées, wives and people like Barry pick them out for us – and still feel that we are rebelling against the new corporate stereotype. On the first day of the new, suited me, I came to work and was asked by my editor jokingly if I was going to a wedding or a funeral that day. Later, I ran into Cynthia Lobo, a New Rochelle resident who is an attorney. “Why didn’t you call me?” she asked. “You’re in a suit, which means you must have a court date.” No, no court date, just a date with the fashion police. Follow Mark Lungariello on twitter@marklungariello.com
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well Editor’s note:
In Dr. Erika Schwartz’s forthcoming book, “The Intimacy Solution” (Humanix Books, 250 pages, $24.95), she explores the complex roles that hormones and sex play in our relationships, drawing on her experiences with patients, family and friends, whose names have been changed to protect their identities. In this excerpt, which WAG has edited to conform to its style, Dr. Erika introduces us to:
THE FOUR SEASONS OF SEX
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s every middle school health teacher will tell you, teenagers are motivated by hormones. This is the time of our sexual spring. At adolescence, our sex hormones – estrogen, progesterone and testosterone and, of course, the evanescent pheromones – start flowing through our bodies. Not only do we transition from little kids into men and women physically, but on a psychic and emotional level we morph overnight into sexual human beings. There are some exceptions to the rule, of course, but in general, the blind desire to seek out and have sex (sometimes, regardless of who with, where we do it, or why) is the prime motivator during these teenage sexual spring years. It feels like endless summer as we enter young adulthood. In our 20s and 30s, the same hormones that made us crazy as teens now drive us crazy to reproduce ourselves. In evolutionary terms, it’s all about the genetic imperative to perpetuate our species. In this instance as well, all roads lead to sex. Whether we identify our sexual preference as straight, gay, lesbian, bi, or “other,” the culture generally equates our sex drive during these years with the search for love and intimacy. This is the period in which we seek relationships that have meaning to us, because as humans we need love and intimacy to couple up, mate and form families in the quest to fulfill our physiological mandate. Once children enter the picture, however, sex enters the back-to-school atmosphere of autumn, as relationships between couples become more complex and more unpredictable. Sexuality led by hormones alone no longer takes center stage. Things aren’t that simple any longer. Men and women in modern marriages or partnerships shift focus onto the ever-rising and changing numbers of pressures associated with raising and supporting a family, and the hot sex that brought them together in the first place invariably takes a back seat. In the hustle and bustle of family life, couples often forget or don’t even realize that when sex goes missing from a marriage, intimacy and connection often go with it. Our present culture offers us no tools to make relationships last with-
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out sex and regardless of how impossible it becomes to accomplish, sex is still considered the defining factor of intimacy and success in relationships. Still, the memories of the passion that brought us together often help us to hang in there during this potential perfect storm, as does the shared goal of raising a healthy family. Kids keep couples together during this phase – as do deeper aspects of love, commitment and intimacy, along with the still very much present hormones as well as simply the comfort and habit of being accustomed to one particular person. Once the kids are grown, the free time and privacy necessary to bring sex back into our relationships may return, but now hormones are no longer a driving force. As both men and women enter the next transitional phase in life menopause for women and andropause for men – production of sex hormones begins to wane, making sex an item of lesser importance on our daily to-do lists. Even when the desire strikes, many men and women find themselves far less physically and emotionally able or willing to perform the way they did in their youth. Now in the winter of our hormone fueled sexuality, the reality of this sea change in the relationship hits every couple head-on. Either they have maintained or even grown their common intimacy and trust, are able to find their way to rekindle the sexual fire, redefine the role of sex and how it can serve to keeps their relationship alive – or there isn’t much of a relationship left. At this point, oftentimes one or both of the partners may have already moved on, emotionally or physically or both. This is the make-or-break point where many find that a relationship they expected to last a lifetime was built on a foundation of sand. Many find that it’s better to just walk away and take the lesson learned than live a lie that will only make for more sadness, loneliness and misery in old age. In subsequent chapters, we’ll delve more deeply into each of these complex and mysterious seasons and its connection to intimacy. Through the wide variety of stories from patients I’ve laughed and cried with and cheered on over the years –from their teens to their 70s and beyond – I hope you will find help to understand your own sexuality better than before and gain some insight into what you want your future to be. In each chapter, you’ll find lessons and tools my patients and I found useful to improve not only our sexuality but also our emotional awareness in our own lives so we can reach for the golden ring where sexual satisfaction lies in your personal and unique life stories.
COMING SOON “The Intimacy Solutions” by Dr. Erika Schwartz
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Rocco DiSpirito
Friday, September 19th
Best Chef Battle Watch these chefs in a culinary battle! Rocco DiSpirito, Graham Elliot, Franklin Becker, & Dave DiBari White Plains, NY
Graham Elliot
Saturday, September 20th
Grand Culinary Village, including BBQ/Grilling Plaza, Mrs. Greens Healthy Eating Pavilion, Food Trucks & Concert
Sunday, September 21st
Wilson & Son Jewelers Grand Tasting Village, Mrs. Greens Healthy Eating Pavilion Scarsdale, NY
Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck, NY
Free admission Saturday & Sunday
Fully Tented for RAIN or SHINE
Scheduled to Appear Rocco DiSpirito Graham Elliot Jacques Torres Scotto Family (Fresco) Dan Amatuzzi & Nick Coleman (Eataly)
Presenting Sponsors
JJ Johnson (The Cecil) Kamal Grant (Sublime Doughnuts) Rafael Palomino (Palomino Restaurant) Dave DiBari (The Cookery) Sam Talbot (The Surf Lodge) Franklin Becker (Brasserie)
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www.Sowefwf.com 84
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when
& WHERE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Labor Day - The symbolic “last weekend of the summer.” Go out and enjoy what’s left of the summer because... it’s Back to School Week!
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Spend an evening at Ridgefield Playhouse with Colbie Caillat, whose breakthrough hit “Bubbly” remains one of the best-selling digital tracks in history. 8 p.m. 80 East Ridge Road; 203-4385795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
The White Plains Jazz Fest in its third year has expanded from three days of performances to a six-day festival that includes Latin, smooth, classic and contemporary styles of jazz. ArtsWestchester will host two events in The Arts Exchange, its landmark building on Mamaroneck Avenue, and co-host a third event with the White Plains Performing Arts Center. For a full schedule, visit artswestchester.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Chris Isaak plays his hits plus tunes from “Beyond the Sun,” his latest album, paying tribute to the roots of rock ‘n’ roll. 8 p.m., Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
The Avon Theatre presents “The Apartment,” starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray in an Oscar-winning tale of romantic intrigue in the “Mad Men” era. There’s a post-film Q&A with Norwalk Community College professor Gary Carlson. 7:30 p.m., The Avon Theatre, 272 Bedford St., Stamford; 203-967-3660, avontheatre.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
The 37th annual Norwalk Seaport Association Oyster Festival. Three days of fun and entertainment for the entire family. 6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Veterans Park, adjacent to Norwalk Harbor on Seaview Avenue, Norwalk; 203-838-9444, seaport.org.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 AND SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
At the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Festival, wineries, distilleries, craft breweries and food artisans from all over New York State will present their wares while everyone from gourmands and oenophiles to farmers and visitors will enjoy wine tasting and food sampling as well as the demonstrations by well-known chefs. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Dutchess County Fairgrounds, 6550 Spring Brook Ave., Rhinebeck; Hudsonvalleywinefest.com.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Celebrate Community Music Week at the Music Conservatory of Westchester. Attend free classes, tour the facility and meet faculty and staff to learn about lessons for every age. 216 Central Ave., White Plains; 914-761-3900, musicconservatory.org.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Lewis Black, a Grammy Award-winning stand-up comedian, brings his new show “The Rant is Due” to the stage of Ridgefield Playhouse. 8 p.m. 80 East Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
Margaret Wozniak Ceramics will be featured at Fall Crafts at Lyndhurst Sept. 12-14 in Tarrytown. Photograph courtesy Artrider Productions.
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when
& WHERE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
“The British Invasion 50th Anniversary Tour”Sharing the stage for the first time are Gerry & The Pacemakers, Chad & Jeremy, Billy J. Kramer, Mike Pender’s Searchers and Denny Laine of The Moody Blues & Wings. 7:30 p.m., Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
The American Gold Cup, one of the premier equestrian events, returns to Old Salem Farm. 190 June Road, North Salem. theamerciangoldcup.com.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
In 2009, Congress declared 9/11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Crafts at Lyndhurst offers an art and shopping experience for the entire family, featuring more than 275 artists and craftsmen presenting and selling contemporary American-made works. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine. 635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; 845-331-7900, artrider. com.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 THROUGH THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
ArtsWestchester presents “Visions 2014: Art of the Mind,” an exhibition featuring more than 150 original creations by some 70 artists who are recipients of mental health services in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester’s Shenkman Gallery, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains; 914-428-4220, ext. 306, artswestchester.org/visions.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Celebrate the life and support the charitable efforts of the late equestrian Anne Heyman at “Anne’s Night” at Double H Farm. Planned to coincide with the American Gold Cup in North Salem, the evening will raise money to support and continue Heyman’s philanthropic works, which include founding a youth village for victims of the Rwandan genocide. 11 Old Stage Coach Road, Ridgefield; 914-584-0137, facebook.com/annesnight.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
The Greenburgh Nature Center (GNC) is hosting its second annual Golf Outing & Reception. Join
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the center for a day of fun and fundraising on the green at The Scarsdale Golf Club. Driving range and registration opens at 11 a.m. BBQ lunch on the course, raffles, competitive games, evening cocktail reception and dinner. Scarsdale Golf Club, 1 Clubway, Hartsdale; 914-723-3470, golfouting@greenburghnaturecenter.org.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester will host its 20th annual Golf Tournament. Includes brunch buffet, shotgun start, cocktails, handrolled cigars, buffet dinner, awards presentation and live and silent auctions. Registration begins at 9 a.m., GlenArbor Golf Club, 234 Bedford Center Road, Bedford Hills; 914-666-8069, bgcnw. com/events.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
The “Paws for a Heart” Gala dinner with auctions will benefit the New Rochelle Humane Society. Proceeds will be directed to the Help Heal Fund, which gives severely ill or injured animals a second chance at life. 6:30 p.m., Glen Island Harbour Club, 299 Weyman Ave., New Rochelle; 914632-2925, newrochellehumansociety.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
The Junior League of Central Westchester invites women living or working in Eastchester, Greenburgh, Scarsdale and White Plains to its semiannual “Recruiting Coffees” at historic Wayside Cottage at 9:30 a.m., RSVP by September 17 to jlcw@verizon.net. 1039 Post Road, Scarsdale; 914723-6130, jlcentralwestchester.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
The Southern Westchester Food & Wine Festival features a Celebrity Chef Battle and a Grand Culinary Village including BBQ, food trucks, wine and beer, as well as celebrity chef demos, live music, a Kids Zone and a grand tasting event. The three-day fest takes place in various locations in White Plains, Mamaroneck and Scarsdale. For the full schedule, visit sowefwf.com.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
The AmeriCares Airlift Benefit features cocktails, dinner, dancing and an airlift bon voyage at the Westchester County Airport. Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn will be the guest speakers at an inspirational evening emceed by NBC News’ “Weekend Today” cohost Erica Hill that celebrates the global health and disaster relief organization. The evening culminates with a group of guests departing on a 24-hour journey to Nicaragua. 6 p.m., Landmark Aviation West, 67 Tower Road, Hangar-T, White Plains; 203-658-9558, americares.org/aab2014.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
In her fifth decade of writing songs and performing, Janis Ian continues to charm audiences and win Grammy awards for her songs. 8 p.m., Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Road; 203-4385795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
“A Perfect Party: A Gala Evening Honoring A. R. Gurney” - Playwright A. R. Gurney, who has had 14 of his plays staged at Westport Country Playhouse, will be celebrated at the Playhouse’s annual fundraiser. 6:30 p.m., 25 Powers Court; 203-227-4177, westportplayhouse.org.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Grammy Award-winning artist, Boz Scaggs and his band make a return to Ridgefield Playhouse. 80 East Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
The Westchester Italian Cultural Center presents a lecture on “The Spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.” Professor Joseph Spedaliere explores the souls of two exemplary spiritual revolutionaries – Saint Francis of Assisi and former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis). 1 Generoso Pope Place, Tuckahoe; 914-771-8700, wiccny.org.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
The second-annual Rhinebeck Arts Festival (formerly the Hudson Valley Arts Festival), spotlights more than 200 outstanding artists and craftsmen, interactive experiences, live music, dance performances, book signings, craft and art demonstrations, hands-on art encounters, children’s activities, gourmet food and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. The Dutchess County Fairgrounds, 6550 Spring Brook Ave. (Route 9), Rhinebeck; 845-331-7900, artrider.com.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
The seventh annual Westchester-Fairfield Vision Walk, a benefit for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, with family activities. 9 a.m. check-in, 10 a.m. walk start. Purchase College, West Lawn of the Performing Arts Center, 735 Anderson Hill Road. 212-244-1470. FightBlindness.org.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
The 16th annual Divine Compassion Golf Classic benefits the Sisters of the Divine Compassion’s ministries, educational programs and social services, including outreach to the poor. An afternoon of golf, followed by a cocktail reception, dinner, silent and live auctions and raffle drawings. 10 a.m. check-in, Wykagyl Country Club, 1195 North Ave., New Rochelle; 914-636-8700, Divinecompassion.org.
80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT • (203) 438-5795
ridgefieldplayhouse.org ART, WINE & JAZZ SERIES • Join us in the lobby at 7:15PM for free wine and cheese tasting & reception with local artist.
Esperanza Spalding
PINK MARTINI Sept. 25 @ 8PM
Natalie Cole NEW DATE
Performing her classic Jazz and R&B hits, songs from the Great American Songbook and Selections from her latest album Natalie Cole en Español.
Oct. 1 @ 8PM
Everyone’s favorite ‘little orchestra’ performs its repertoire with symphony ochestras around the world.
The incredible young bassist-vocalist and has become the most talked about artist in Jazz!
ROCK SERIES
MOFFLY MEDIA ENTERTAINING CONVERSATIONS SERIES
An Evening with Sig Hansen & Friends
Oct. 22 @ 8PM
Jeff Bridges and The Abiders
of The Northwestern from Deadliest Catch
Sat, September 6 @ 8PM
Sat, September 13 @ 7:30pm
The Oscar Winning Actor brings his unique brand of folk and country music to the Playhouse!
Sig and friends will be on stage to share their stories! You don’t have to be a fisherman to be intrigued by what they have to say.
An Evening with David Sedaris
The British Invasion
International bestselling author David Sedaris reads from stories in progress and journal entries, as well as recent New Yorker pieces – mixed with his commentary on the world. Q&A at the end of the event.
Tues, September 9 @ 7:30PM
50th Anniversary Tour
Mon, October 13 @ 7:30PM
Mo Rocca
NRBQ
Fri, November 14 @ 7:30PM
Gerry & The Pacemakers · Chad & Jeremy · Billy J. Kramer Mike Pender's Searchers · Denny Laine of The Moody Blues & Wings
Fri, September 19 @ 8PM
From CBS Sunday Morning, Comedy Central, The Cooking Channel and more! Mo’s stories and perspectives will have you laughing! Q&A will follow!
The world’s greatest ‘bar band’ and cult favorite brings their mix of R&B, pop and jazz – that will make you get up and dance!
DOYLE COFFIN ARCHITECTuRE SINGER SONGWRITER SERIES
The Bangles
Thurs, October 2 @ 8PM
Loudon Wainwright III
Best known for their hits “If She Knew What She Wants,” the Prince-penned “Manic Monday” and “Walk Like An Egyptian” these songs rocketed the Bangles to superstardom!
Fri, September 12 @ 8PM
Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. 2010 Grammy Winner Best Traditional Folk Album!
Macy Gray
Janis Ian
Sat, October 4 @ 8PM
Sun, September 21 @ 8PM
Don't miss her only area performance! Perhaps best known for her international hit single "I Try".
Grammy Award Winning Singer Songwriter with her critically acclaimed hits “At Seventeen” and more!
From The Punch Brothers Noam Pikelny & Stuart Duncan Grammy Winning Bluegrass Musician
The Best of Rufus Wainwright
Sun, October 19 @ 8PM
Wed, October 15 @ 8PM
One of modern music’s most innovative talents! A night of hits including “Going to Town,” “Hallelujah” and more!
For fans and students of the banjo and fiddle this is a must-see event!
CLARK CONSTRUCTION COMEDY SERIES
Whoopi Goldberg
Kathleen Madigan
An evening of stand-up with this comedy legend!
One of America’s funniest female comedians returns to the Playhouse
Sat, October 11 @ 8:30PM
Sat, October 18 @ 8PM
with an all new show!
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PET OF THE MONTH Among the casualties of the recent economic downturn are pets whose owners can no longer afford to care for them. So it is with Coco, an 8-year-old Cairn Terrier whose owner dropped him off at the SPCA. The little guy keeps on going though. Indeed, sweettempered Coco still acts like a puppy and enjoys going on walks and romping around the yard. Though he has cataracts and is a little hard of hearing, you’d really never know it as he is very alert. He would love to find a home where he can be spoiled and given lots of TLC as he craves human affection and attention and becomes attached quickly to new people.
To meet Coco, visit the SPCA of Westchester at 590 N. State Road in Briarcliff Manor. Please note: The SPCA does not accept deposits, make appointments or reserve animals for adoption even if it has spoken about a particular dog or cat with you. It’s always first-come, first-served among applicants, pending approval. The SPCA is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. To learn more, call 914-941-2896 or visit spca914.org.
PET PORTRAITS Pamella Roland with her pooch Manolo. For more on her 2015 Resort Collection, turn to Page 39.
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Photograph courtesy Pamella Roland.
The wedding day is a glorious day, and emotions will be near the surface. This is the atmosphere that I prefer to work in and how I create my best work. Foreign Press Association and Staff Photographer, WAG Magazine.
John Rizzo Photography
10 Cedar Street Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
(914) 231-9513 studio
(646) 221-6186 worldwide mobile
Email: john@jrizzophoto.com Weddings: www.jrizzophoto.com Photo Tours: www.johnrizzophoto.com Find us on Facebook - John Rizzo Photographer.
Published in Newsweek, New York Times, Bloomberg, Washington Post, & Los Angeles Times. Has covered assignments in Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia,, Great Britain, India, Japan, Myanmar, Singapore, Sweden, & Tanzania
watch HUDSON VIEWS Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison recently hosted a private reception to celebrate the opening of its 2014 gallery exhibition, “The Hudson River Portfolio: A Beginning for the Hudson River School.” Guests gathered under the pavilion adjacent to the west meadow for live music, wine and light fare. After taking in views of the Hudson, they were invited into the gallery to admire artistic scenes of the river. The collection of hand-colored aquatints was produced in 1821-1825 and was based on watercolors created by Irish artist William G. Wall specifically for the publication “The Hudson River Portfolio.”
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1. Jim Johnson and Sean Patrick Maloney 2. Steven Miller and Christine Ritok 3. Carolin Serino, Colleen Fogarty and Jane Pelson Miller 4. Bill Burback and Morrison H. Heckscher 5. T. Jeff Cunningham III and Don Nice
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FASHIONING AN EVENT
1. Christian Saccal and Felicia Landi 2. Corey Fontana and Frank Gaudio 3. Leslie Shantz and Anne Friday 4. Retailers and reporters turned out for the announcement of the fourth annual “Fashion on the Avenue.” 5. Jeff O’Geary, Geri Corrigan and Lou Liodori 1
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Photographs by Elaine Ubiña.
Stylish business leaders turned out recently for the announcement of Greenwich’s fourth annual “Fashion on the Avenue.” The event kicks off 5:30 p.m. Sept. 5 on Greenwich Avenue between Elm and Lewis streets with an outdoor red-carpet runway show spotlighting local retailers and designers. There will also be a performance by Equinox and dancers from the Arthur Murray Grande Ballroom of Greenwich along with a car show by Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich.
GIMME SHELTER The DSF Group celebrated the grand opening of the Halstead New Rochelle Metro North luxury, high-rise apartment complex (40 Memorial Highway) recently. Attendees were able to view the renovations at the 40-story high rise while DSF made a donation to Habitat for Humanity of Westchester, purchasing its entire “wish list” of building supplies from Amazon.com. 1. Ribbon cutting ceremony at the Halstead New Rochelle Metro North apartment complex 2. Jim Killoran and Mark Munroe 3. Robert and Marianne Sussman 4. Chris Selin and Ivar Hyden 5. Gail Stabile, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, Bill Mooney III, Mark Munroe, Jenn Popoola and Jo Gavigan 6. Joji Parappallil, Ralph DiBart and Barry Fertel 7. Keri Halstead, Valda Bozeman and Dan O’Grady 8. Fern Wagner, Emily McKenna and JoAnn Picarillo
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Photographs by ChiChi Ubiña.
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watch LENDING MANY HANDS Greyston celebrated the success of its employees and programs providing jobs to the hard to employ at its recent annual benefit. The event, held at X20 Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers, attracted hundreds of Greyston donors, supporters and community advocates and raised more than $400,000 for Greyston’s continuing initiatives, including a special auction that brought in $42,000 for its Community Gardens program.
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1. Kim Fudge 2. Greyston employees, donors, supporters and community advocates 3. Gladis and Alan Martinez. 4. Lucy Moreno-Casanova, John Tolomer, Deborah Stewart, Joe Armentano and Steven Brown
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SOUNDS OF SEEGER The opening night of the Jacob Burns Film Center’s annual “Sounds of Summer: New Music Documentaries” film series celebrated the life of Pete Seeger. The multimedia event was followed by a reception and music by the Shovel Ready String Band. 1. Kitama Cahill-Jackson, Ruth Unger, Mike Merenda, Tom Chapin, John Platt and Anna Canoni 1
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Photograph by Lynda Shenkman Curtis.
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TOP HATS The recent “Hats Off to John and Connie Curran” at Sleepy Hollow Country Club drew close to 200 people in support of the Currans and the 100-year-old Ossining Children’s Center, raising approximately $160,000 for the center’s tuition assistance program. 4
1. Connie and John Curran 2. Jim Burnette, Anita Hegarty and Sharon Saunders 3. Carol Welsh 4. Michelle Cilento, Azalia Velez-Nin, Claudia Weger and Tanya Vanegas 5. Jon and Jill Lerner 6. John Chow and Sandy Galef 7. MaryAnn Van Hengel 8. Chris and Susan Komosa 9. Dru Van Hengel
Photographs by MaryAnn Van Hengel.
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REMEMBERING ‘SUPER TY’ The Ty Louis Campbell Foundation recently celebrated its second annual Muddy Puddles “Mess Fest” at Camp Kiwi in Mahopac. Attendees enjoyed a beautiful day in honor of children who are battling or have passed away from pediatric cancer. Parents, friends, volunteers and, most important, children participated in many activities, including a mud pit, food fights, zip lining and horseback riding. The fest, which drew more than 1,500 guests from the tristate area and raised more than $75,000, honors Ty Louis “Super Ty” Campbell, a young boy from Pawling who lost his battle with brain cancer in October 2012.
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1. Julianna Rae 2. MaryEllen Odell, Nan Hayworth and Terrence Murphy 3. Chase Eichele next to a photo of his brother Tanner, who was honored at the 2014 Muddy Puddles Mess Fest. 4. Lara Sullivan 5. Nan Hayworth and Louis Campbell 6. Cindy and Gavin Campbell and Karla Bellotto 3
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WESTCHESTER CONNECTS
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More than 250 members and friends turned out for networking, cocktails and conversation at “Connecting Westchester,” the Westchester County Association’s annual summer reception. Held at the Tappan Hill Mansion, the event was sponsored by Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships, Another 9, J.D. Moschitto & Associates Inc., NYU Stern School of Business, People’s United Bank and Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
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1. Victoria Hochman and Kathy DeSilva 2. Chris Sebik and William Gaskins 3. June Burke and Cathy Stack 4. Shareeda Kayum, Tiffany Dallas and Alison Goggin 5. Bill Holzell, Earlina Green and Ted Havelka 6. Yvonne Marcinek and Caroline Martin 7. Steven Bryde and Amy Allen 8. Robert Weisz and Tony Maddalena 9. Peter Ramundo, Kevin Plunkett, Bill Mooney III and Thomas Mooney 10. Louis Gallo, Stephanie Pierce and Dan Sheridan 11. Michael Schiliro, Matthew Thomas and Andrew Edge 12. Rachel Sanders, Kyle Francis and Christy O’Keefe 13. Mike Kaplowitz, Arnold Lindhart and Tracy Kay
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Photographs by Lynda Shenkman Curtis.
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wit wonders: What style suits you best?
Molly Basak-Smith
Annette Cappucci
John Howland
Lou Liodori
Kelvin McGregor
Marcia O’Kane
Thomas M. Roach
Leslie Shantz
Allyson Spellman
Stacey Talieres
Laura Verbeeck
Toni Zinzi
“SEXY BUT ATHLETIC – AND SHORT.”
– Molly Basak-Smith,
registered dietician, Easton resident
“TAILORED SUITS ME. I WANT TO BE FUNKY, BUT IT DOESN’T SEEM TO WORK.”
– Annette Cappucci,
sales associate, Athleta, Yonkers resident
“I THINK BUSINESS CASUAL IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE WEARING THESE DAYS. IF YOU’RE GOING TO A JOB ON WALL STREET, MAYBE NOT. BUT HERE IN GREENWICH, IT’S THE APPROPRIATE ENVIRONMENT. I DON’T WEAR A NECKTIE.”
– John Howland,
president and CEO, First Bank of Greenwich
“I TRY TO BE ELEGANT BUT NOT LOOK LIKE YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME DOING IT. IT’S ABOUT GETTING YOURSELF TOGETHER AND MAKING THE EFFORT SO YOU’RE PROFESSIONAL AND READY FOR BUSINESS.”
–Lou Liodori,
general manager, Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich, Greenwich resident
“I’M VERY CASUAL THESE DAYS. I WAS A BUTTON-DOWN GUY FOR 17 YEARS. TODAY I’M ALL ABOUT A T-SHIRT AND JEANS. IT FREES THE SOUL.”
– Kelvin McGregor,
director of sales, K.P. Events Group, Stamford resident
“TRADITIONAL STYLE IS WHAT SUITS ME BEST. IT’S THE GO-TO STYLE FOR ANYTHING I PICK OUT.”
– Marcia O’Kane,
executive director, Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, Greenwich resident
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“I’M A LAWYER, SO I ALWAYS WEAR DARK SUITS. I LIKE ENGLISH SHOES. THEY’RE VERY WELL-MADE… I’M WORKING ON A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. WHEN I’M NOT IN SUITS, I FAVOR T-SHIRTS. AS FOR MY LEADERSHIP STYLE, IT’S COLLABORATIVE, GETTING ALONG WITH PEOPLE, WORKING WITH PEOPLE. I TRY TO TAKE AN ARGUMENT AND BUILD A BRIDGE.”
– Thomas M. Roach,
mayor of White Plains
“I’M A DRESS GIRL. I LIKE RUFFLES. IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY’LL SAY, ‘IT’S A WINTER DAY, BUT LESLIE’S OUT THERE IN A SKIRT.’”
– Leslie Shantz,
manager, Casablanca Polo, North Stamford resident
“SOPHISTICATED SAVVY. I LIKE A LITTLE MODERN EDGE TO A CLASSIC LOOK.”
– Allyson Spellman,
author, speaker, TV host, Greenwich resident
“I LIKE A CHIC AND EFFORTLESS LOOK. I LOVE TO TAKE GREAT BASICS AND ACCESSORIZE THEM WITH KEY PIECES. I LOVE TO WEAR BLACK. I’M A BIG FAN OF LEGGINGS. YOU CAN PAIR THEM WITH SO MANY GREAT PIECES.”
– Stacey Talieres,
assistant general manager, Neiman Marcus Westchester, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., resident
“MINE IS CLASSIC WITH A LITTLE WHIMSY. I CAN’T GO TO THE EDGE. IT DOESN’T SUIT MY LOOK.”
– Laura Verbeeck,
sales associate, Mary Jane Denzer, Norwood, N.J., resident
“I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS VERY SIMPLE – SWEATERS AND SLACKS. I ALSO LIKE TRADITIONAL DRESSES.”
– Toni Zinzi,
White Plains resident