Baby You Can Drive My Car

Actually, you can't drive my car because I don't own one.  I also don't think Ralph Lauren will let you drive any of his cars because they are priceless treasures.  But you can read all about them and their special garage in the January 2011 issue of Vanity Fair.  Ralph Lauren doesn't collect art because as he says, "you can't drive art" but it's clear from these photos that each one of his cars is a work of art.  They sure don't make them like this anymore.  He bought the 1971 Mercedes 280SE soon after he started his own company and that's exactly what I am going to buy myself when my business takes off.  Right after I take driving lessons.  I wonder if I can hire Ralph for the job!

Photos by Todd Eberle for Vanity Fair

The Avid Gardener

I was hoping that Vanity Fair would post the Jonathan Becker photos of Bunny Mellon's gorgeous garden at her Oak Spring estate in Upperville, Virginia and today I was rewarded.  There is something about a garden that immediately makes me wish I could sit in one reading and relaxing all day.  Bunny Mellon has been an avid gardener her whole life and even helped Jackie Kennedy with the White House Rose Garden.  She will turn 100 on August 9, 2010 and I hope she's letting other do all the gardening so she can sit back enjoy it!

Photos by Jonathan Becker and last by Henri Cartier-Bresson

New Moon on the Rise

I didn't get the Twilight hype last year so I didn't see the film until it was available on DVD. I don't think I will be making that mistake with New Moon. I mean, who wouldn't want to see a movie staring this handsome hunk of man candy?! For more photos of Rob Pattinson, check out the December 2009 issue of Vanity Fair. Thanks Graydon!

Photos by Bruce Weber for Vanity Fair

Maison Yves Saint Laurent

I was looking for photos of Yves Saint Laurent's home earlier this year, I'll tell you why in the next post, and didn't find much online so I was beyond excited to open the January Vanity Fair magazine and see the most amazing photos. But that was just the tip of the iceberg! The Vanity Fair website has more even more exclusive photos by Pascal Chevallier, as well as vintage photos. For those of you who don't live in the US, you can read the entire article, The Things Yves Loved, online.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Yves' longtime companion and business partner, Pierre Bergé has decided to "auction off the art and objects with which he and Saint Laurent filled the late designer’s duplex at 55 Rue de Babylone and his own Rue Bonaparte apartment" at Christie's in Paris this February. One of the items that won't be sold is the the couture house’s original logo from 1961 that was hand-lettered by graphic artist Cassandre above.

I knew that Yves was influenced by art since he referenced artists such as Mondrian and Braque in his fashion collections but I wasn't aware of his extensive art collection. They also didn't just buy art willy-nilly, "a work had to come from a crucial stage in an artist’s development. It had to be in perfect condition—no restorations, no cleaning, no re-lining. And the piece had to possess an exceptional, documented provenance." That is what separates the average art lover from the serious collector while Jacques Grange helped to decorate the apartment.

"Francisco Goya’s Portrait of Don Luis Maria de Cistué from 1791 was was donated to the Louvre Museum and is surrounded by a pair of cubic French Art Deco chairs and a Pierre Legrain stool, circa 1925. The painting on the wall is by Giorgio de Chirico, 1917–18.

Ingres’s Portrait of the Countess de Larue from 1812 is displayed in the Grand Salon with one of two Gustave Miklos palmwood and red lacquer benches, that have a pre-sale auction estimate of $2.5 to $3.8 million.

One of my favorite photos is of Yves' Jean-Michel Frank desk on which sits his signature glasses and three simple Y's made out of coral and wood. So sweet.

"A 15th-century tapestry forms a backdrop to an Albert Cheuret Aloe lamp, circa 1925–30. To the right of the 18th-century Italian sofa hangs Théodore Géricault’s Portrait of Alfred and Elisabeth de Dreux (top), circa 1818, and Juan Gris’s 1913 The Violin (bottom), both estimated at $5 to $7.6 million."

An Edvard Munch seascape from 1898 hangs above Henri Matisse painting from the Blue and Pink Rug series. Below the two paintings is an Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann table lamp, circa 1927.

The designer at work in his Paris bedroom in 1974 was taken by Reginald Gray.

A detail of the desk in the bedroom, includes a magnifying glass and a small leather-bound notebook with a notation “Yves” on the front cover.

"In the library, a cylindrical crystal vase is situated on the François-Xavier Lalanne–designed multi-metal and ovoid Bar YSL. Mondrian’s 1920 Composition No. 1 is displayed above a fireplace." Below is a detail of a Matisse cut out that can be seen hanging on the back of a door in the photo above.

Pierre Bergé said that he decided to sell everything because the collection doesn’t exist if Yves doesn’t exist. "After Yves’s death, to conserve the collection makes no sense. It will go away just like that." It makes me sad but one good thing to come of the sale is that all the proceeds will benefit two foundations, one set up to preserve Yves' legacy and another devoted to AIDS research.

I can't wait until the catalog is up online so I can see if there is anything I can afford. As someone who grew up obsessed with his designs and his world, I would love to own something that he touched and would hope that some of his magic would rub off on me. I don't think there will be anything I can afford but it sure is fun to dream. I think Yves made a lot of people dream and that will be an even more important legacy than his fabulous art collection.