Know Your Royals: Grace, Caroline, and the Other Princesses of Monaco

To what can we attribute our enduring fascination with the royal family of Monaco? Just this week, we have seen a lavish screening sponsored by Ralph Lauren of the 1955 To Catch a Thief, starring the luminous Grace Kelly, radiant in Edith Head’s confections; tonight the Princess Grace Foundation holds its annual awards gala; next spring, Nicole Kidman will star in Grace of Monaco, a much anticipated biopic.

Why this ongoing romance with the Grimaldi brood? Well, for one thing, despite the European pedigree, the fairy-tale castles, the whole notion of a “principality,” this family’s modern lineage—okay, half of it at least—is all-American, giving rise to the notion that you, too, can grow up in Missoula or Maspeth—or in Grace’s case, the East Falls area of Philadelphia—and end up with a serious title. Someone who was actually rejected from Bennington College supposedly because her math scores were too low (feel better about your academic career now?) ended up as one of the most admired women in the universe, married to a genuine royal (even if he came from a country of less than one square mile that you previously had never heard of). It’s the original Kate Middleton story, except that the Duchess of Cambridge never worked with Alfred Hitchcock or costarred with Jimmy Stewart or William Holden.

No wonder that more than a half century after her magical nuptials—it is estimated that 30 million people watched the ceremony on television—we still have an avid (almost embarrassing!) fascination with Grace, her illustrious progeny, and their fashionable spouses.

Above, an informal family tree, and a look at the Grimaldi women’s unique and always compelling style.

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Collette Dinnigan leaves high fashion with a final run of limited pieces

After two and a half decades at the height of high fashion, Collette Dinnigan has shocked and saddened customers, retailers and the fashion industry with the announcement that she will close her main label and cease creating the beautiful signature French lace and hand-beaded dresses for which she is renowned, after a final run of limited edition pieces.

Angelina Jolie, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry and the Duchess of Cambridge are among her customers but Dinnigan, who forged a multi-million dollar empire on the back of pretty lace slips, lingerie and dresses, will shut her boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne and London by the end of the year in order to devote more time to her children.

"It's been a very emotional day but I am still very busy for the next six weeks," says Dinnigan. Fans of the designer's work take note: as part of that final push: "There will be the last hurrah of limited edition pieces."

Rarely does a designer with the influence and following of Dinnigan cut short the fairy tale. Usually they retire or are bought out, with a hot young gun stepping in to continue the legacy. A legacy that, in Dinnigan's case, saw her single-handedly blaze a trail for Australian fashion in the late 90s, thrusting the world's spotlight on the country while others struggled to find their fashion feet.

"When I first started fashion was considered too fluffy for newspapers," notes the designer. "But I've had many newspaper covers and shown that fashion is a commodity and a viable business."

She remains the biggest designer success story to ever come out of Australia, and the only Antipodean to ever be officially invited by the Chambre Syndicale to show at Paris Fashion Week, where she first showed in 1995 having launched her label at the beginning of the decade with a collection of dry-clean lingerie. "My proudest moment was doing my first show in Paris and maintaining that for 18 years, doing 36 shows," Dinnigan says.

Her success can be attributed to her strong sense of signature. She has stayed true to her philosophy of creating runway-worthy gowns, while expanding into bespoke bridal wear, more casual prints and separates, and the diffusion collection Collette by Collette Dinnigan. (This more affordable line will continue to line the shelves at David Jones, Neiman Marcus, Matches Fashion and net-a-porter once the main label is closed.)

She has never deviated from her passion for luxury and quality, and as a result one can spot a Dinnigan a mile off – just as easily, in fact, as one can spot the legion of copycats that tried, and failed, to cash in on Dinnigan's love of French lace.

"If anyone wanted anything lace they always came to Collette Dinnigan," the designer says. "Now there's so many cheap copies it's sad. Lace is pretty and delicate and what is special about the brand is the emphasis was always on good quality, good fabric and cut and making clothes that stood the test of time."

While there is no arguing that the Australian retail and fashion industry is suffering financially, Dinnigan is and has always been in a league of her own, with her business set to make $14 million for 2014. So this was not a financial decision but rather an emotional and family one that Dinnigan made after her last Paris show.

"It's sad but other things always happen, and I am so excited to get to spend time with my children as they are growing up. The whole decision was based on that," says the designer. "I will spend Christmas and summer with my family at our farm and I am so excited as I haven't done that before. Usually it's been fleeting and I've had to work."

The question now is what will become of the Dinnigan devotees who, in an era of fast fashion, were happy to part with hundreds, even thousands, for a piece safe in the knowledge that it was only one of a rare few ever made – Dinnigan sewed that number into the garment.

A Dinnigan dress has always been a fashion classic that would hang proudly in their wardrobe and stand the test of time and the rollercoaster of trends. "Many daughters are now wearing their mothers' dresses," Dinnigan says. And as for all the brides who've been saving their hard-earned cash to ensure they are married in a Dinnigan … it's a gap that will be difficult to fill.

There are still a few months in which to purchase Dinnigan's high-end pieces, with the boutiques not closing until early January. And her diffusion line will remain, along with her children's wear collection which is relaunching at David Jones next month. She has also hinted that she is open to future designing collaboration opportunities. "It's a chapter closed but you know me, I can't stay away," she says.

But there will be no more of her signature inspirational creations, beautifully and thoughtfully crafted from the finest materials. One can only imagine the news will have fashion aficionados racing to her stores to snap up a coveted collector's item.

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Common Ghanaian Beauty Myths

There has been so much said about women’s beauty that the line between beauty tips and beauty myths has become blurred. So much so that at times, entirely untrue bits of trivia end up becoming a sort of truth for us that we believe and promote. So here’s a list of the most absurd yet common beauty myths, some of which even you may have believed in at one time!

1 Pluck a grey hair and you get several more:

This is the most common thing people hear when they sport their first grey hair and are advised against pulling it out to avoid ending up with several dozen more silver strands. It’s completely untrue because there are a limited amount of follicles on your head. So it doesn’t matter whether you pull out white hair or not, ageing will take its own course.

2 A razor shave will make your hair grow thicker:

Hair thickness depends on hair follicles, which lie under your skin. A razor doesn’t even touch that. The reason why hair may seem thick a few days after a razor shave is because they are shaved at an angle, which gives the appearance of a stubble.

3 Oily skin doesn’t need to be hydrated:

Oily skin is your body’s way of producing essential oils to keep skin and hair soft and healthy. These oils may end up clogging your pores which are cleared by a moisturiser. So if you have excessively oily skin, an oil-free moisturiser can work best.

4 Does a 2-in-1 shampoo work as advertised:

Conditioning and shampooing are two different things. A shampoo cleans your hair while a conditioner softens it. Most two-in-one shampoos are merely clever marketing ploys. For great hair, you should always shampoo and condition separately.

5 Eating fish with dairy products causes patches on skin:

Patches on the skin are caused by the destruction of cells that create melanin. The condition is called vitiligo and is in no way related to combining dairy products and fish.

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Just Say No to the Sexy Halloween Costume

This time of year, every empty storefront in downtown Manhattan, my neighborhood, becomes a Halloween pop-up—vast emporiums filled with slutty Snow Whites and lascivious Betty Rubbles, voracious Raggedy Anns and insatiable Cinderellas. If the position of women and our success in the workplace has been gaining ground during the last half century, you wouldn’t know it from these places, where the female-friendly professions are confined to Blazin’ Hot Firefighter, Stop Traffic Sexy Cop, and Hospital Honey Nurse.

This is vaguely depressing—okay, more than vaguely—until it occurs to me: Why do we need these stores at all? Why should we spend good money on cheesy stuff that will barely last through Susanne Bartsch’s Halloween party when we can channel those funds into real clothing?

Who would buy a flimsy, nasty black cape and a dumb pointy hat when she could be a ravishing witch in a Yohji Yamamoto Y’s cropped cape coat for $440 with a flurry of pea-green Chanel Epatant Illusion d’Ombre eye shadow standing in for rouge on her cheeks? (If you want to spend serious money, Alexander McQueen has exquisite cape variations, including an example enhanced with pearls and made of a patchwork of fox, goat, and mink for $16,452.) And why settle for a packaged flapper costume (these ensembles are having a renaissance, no doubt due to Baz Luhrmann’s Gatsby and Martin Scorsese’s Boardwalk Empire) when you can locate a gorgeous cerise chiffon beaded dress at H&M, knee-baring in front and calf-grazing in back, for $69.95? Enhance this with an extra-long strand of Fallon bike-chain pearls for $140.

Did the Met Costume Institute’s “Punk: Chaos to Couture” exhibit put thoughts of radical disaffection in your pretty head? A visit to Trash and Vaudeville can supply the $82 plaid bondage trousers, along with a $28 Ramones T-shirt. (Surely, you own your own biker jacket.) If a recent viewing of Kill Your Darlings, starring the post–Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe (his wizard costume is everywhere apparent at Halloween stores, but his Allen Ginsberg is nowhere in sight) spurs a desire for a Beat generation getup, Uniqlo can supply the obligatory black turtleneck for $79.90, you can get the black leggings anywhere, and Capezio, the company that likely shod all those Kerouac girlfriends back in the day, has the necessary ballet shoes for $19.50. And should anyone have the least doubt that you lean to the left of Adlai Stevenson, Miriam Merenfeld has a silver dogtag peace symbol pendant for $125.

But despite the imperatives of feminism and the fact that this is, after all, the twenty-first century, perhaps you are one of the legions of women who are hell-bent on using October 31 as an excuse to walk the streets like a literal streetwalker. To which I shrug and say, okay, well then at least purchase a beautiful L’Agent by Agent Provocateur polka-dot flocked tulle basque for $150, or a rhinestone-inflected teddy for $78 from Victoria’s Secret. For boudoir verisimilitude, add a pair of Mamie Van Doren–worthy marabou-trimmed mules by Jacques Levine, in business making these slippers without irony for the past 77 years. Throw a trench coat over the whole business—you never know who you’ll encounter in the elevator—then get out there and watch the parade.

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Suite 1521 Takes Personalized Shopping to a New Level

“We are brutally honest! We say no as often as we say yes!” insists Kim Kassel, co-owner with Lizzie Tisch of Suite 1521, describing the special customer service they render to their fashionable clients.

In a retail landscape crammed with alternatives—from traditional shopping, to sample sales, to online high-fashion sites, to eschewing the current crop entirely and searching the Web for back-season bargains—arrives Studio 1521. The idea, dreamed up by good friends Tisch and Kassel, works like this: You join for $500; this enables you to attend a series of chic presentations featuring the complete runway collections from a roster of up-to-the-minute designers (the darlings of London Fashion Week are current favorites) at two-day trunk show marathons.

Usually the designer is present, and if not, someone from his or her atelier is there, allowing for a level of personalization and customization that is, according to Tisch and Kassel, what makes the business so unique. “When Giles [Deacon] was here, he brought someone from his production team, and you could really design your own piece with him,” Kassel recalls. “You get a toile, and he even comes back—he really gets into it!” There are benefits, as it turns out, for the designers as well as the customers. “It’s not just about how a buyer responds, but how a customer does,” she explains. “Sometimes designers are surprised that the age range we bring is both a 35 and a 65 year old.”

On the day I visit Suite 1521’s swanky Madison Avenue digs, Roksanda Ilincic, or rather her clothes, grace the spacious racks. The designer, busy opening her first boutique in London, sadly couldn’t make it, but her representative is cheerfully helping women decide on such delightful dilemmas as should a black shift be enlivened with a neon bright belt, lending a slash of hot pink or maybe lime? Some clients are lounging on the sofas and sneaking a Hershey’s Kiss from the mound under the glass top of the witty Wally Rizzo coffee table (Tisch found it on 1stdibs); one visitor has even brought her puppy. (Max is very well-behaved.)

Because Tisch and Kassel like to pair two designers, jeweler Ileana Makri is also here, presenting her trademark evil eye and snake-themed baubles, along with her newest collection called Geometry, which features diamond-laden delicacies that employ abstract shapes. Unlike the clothing, you can take these treasures home with you right away, though, if you decide your serpent ring should have emerald eyes, say, rather than ruby, you will have to wait a bit for your new pet. Makri says her customers love the privacy of shopping this way: “It’s a new idea—they create their own things. It’s more playful!”

Tisch and Kassel like to wear the designers they are touting, so this afternoon Tisch is clad in the Margot Lantern dress, so-called for the shape of its sleeves, and Kassel has a huge diamond Ileana confection, reminiscent of a snowflake, perched on one happy finger. The Lantern is a Roksanda classic, offered every season, and can be ordered with the waist and/or neckline subtly lowered or raised. Not least, the frock can be had in a spectrum of hues—there is a color card on hand to help realize your dreams. So if I want to have my Lantern with a tangerine and melon back and a hyacinth and daffodil front, would that be okay? “Probably, yes!” Tisch laughs.

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Where Vogue's Social Editor Is Going This Week

Alright, the fall mania is heavily underway this week: Monday night is Project Paz’s art auction. On Tuesday, it is Fashion Group International’s annual Night of Stars as well as Ralph Lauren’s book party for Bonnae Gokson’s delectable-looking book of cakes. Wednesday and Thursday nights’ line-ups have us firing on all cylinders with eight events on Vogue schedule for each night! A few of Wednesday’s highlights promise to be Barneys’ dinner for Sacai’s Chitose Abe cohosted by Sally Singer, Prada Journal’s fete with readings by two of my favorites Jonathan Ames and Gary Shteyngart, among others. There is also a party at Bookmarc for Craig McDean’s new photo tome.

And, of course, the Whitney Gala, this year honoring Ed Ruscha. On Thursday, there is Armani’s glittery One Night Only fashion show as well as Versace’s unveiling of the Haas Brothers’ special design project with a party at the SoHo store. At Omar’s, there is a dinner celebrating the one-year anniversary of the e-commerce jewelry emporium Latest Revival; there is another jewel-centric dinner at Lafayette, this one hosted by Julia Restoin Roitfeld for Swarovski. On Saturday, Allison Sarofim and Stuart Parr host their much-beloved Halloween party and this year’s theme, Welcome to the Jungle: A Night in the World of Gauguin, ensures some wild costumes—pun intended. (I found a vintage dress on eBay covered in a Gauguin Tahitian-maiden print, which I immediately snapped up and plan on wearing with aplomb.)

Meanwhile, in Dallas there is the Two x Two gala for amfAR, which seems to have evolved into a weekend-long Texan extravaganza, and in Los Angeles, Vogue’s annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund fashion show takes place, along with all the accompanying celebrations. Go west!

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Will the county commission create an adult dress code?

A vaudeville routine — one based on the difference between permission and ability — comes to mind when considering what could have been going on backstage before a recent meeting of the Maury County Commission’s Administrative Committee.
Apparently, cooler heads prevailed when discussion was postponed on whether county rules should prevent Americans from wearing T-shirts with political speech printed on the cotton during meetings of our county’s governing body, or even whether placards would be permitted. It seems like an adult version of fabricating a school dress code.
Anyway, somebody suggested that people attending county meetings be prohibited from expressing their political thoughts on shirts or signs.
Why? Well, recently in Columbia, there were many signs and people wearing shirts stating their opinion that the county should prevent the establishment of a landfill near the town line.
“You see,” one official could have told another before the administrative committee meeting, “you can pass a rule to suspend free speech, but you may not enforce it.”
Once there’s a violation of such a rule and a victim of its enforcement, then there’s a violation of the First Amendment protecting free speech. Setting aside what punishment might be imposed, if the victim wants to protect their constitutional right, they may go to court. In my opinion, the county would lose.
There’s no shortage of lawyers who would take the case. The county would pay attorney fees and legal costs. There might even be punitive damages. If the case was brought on behalf of an organization opposing the landfill, then the county might be funding an anti-landfill group.
Admittedly, that’s an extrapolation — just saying what might happen — but it’s a fairly simple legal issue.
Without extrapolating on the ramifications of state law on landfills, elected officials of Columbia and Maury County should by now know about Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, Chapter 211, Part 7. It’s the Jackson Law. It lists criteria upon which landfill plans must be judged. It includes authority for municipalities within a mile of proposed landfills.
This isn’t vaudeville.
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The State Of Texas Vs. Prada Marfa

Even if you’ve never seen Prada Marfa—and unless you’ve made a pilgrimage to rural Texas’ unlikely outpost of conceptual art, you probably haven’t—you’ve no doubt heard of it. The eerie adobe installation in the middle of the Texas desert was created by the artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset in 2005. Though it is made to resemble a store, it is arguably more of a sculpture, given that it’s not open for business (or open at all—the doors are permanently locked). And it is not an official Prada location, though Elmgreen and Dragset did receive the company’s permission to use the logo, and the house donated Prada bags and shoes for the windows, albeit bottomless bags and only right shoes to prevent looting.

Most critics see Prada as a comment of sorts on consumer culture. Is it also an advertisement for a luxury brand? That’s what the Texas Department of Transportation is now arguing. And for that reason, the installation is in jeopardy of being removed.

“According to law, Prada Marfa is considered outdoor advertising, and a state license and permit are required. Prada Marfa does not have either of those,” said Texas Department of Transportation representative Veronica Beyer. “Obviously we appreciate artwork, and we enjoy seeing it across our beautiful state. But like all other outdoor signs, we have to make sure that they follow federal and state law,” she continued. “The real big issue here is that 10 percent of our federal transportation funding is tied to us following these laws. We are at risk of losing 10 percent of federal highway funding—which is huge for Texas.” When asked if the federal government had actually made any such threat, Beyer responded, “We need to check that out for you.”

“I was in disbelief,” Elmgreen said in response to TxDOT’s ruling. “They obviously work in a very slow pace in that office…How could this happen after eight years!” The answer may be that similar installations, like Richard Phillips’ collaboration with Playboy, which went up this past June, raised hackles; Playboy Marfa was deemed illegal and will be removed in December. Playboy Marfa, however, was situated just outside of Marfa, whereas Prada Marfa is set on private property twenty-seven miles out of town, and Playboy Marfa was commissioned by the magazine, rather than allowed by it. Beyer, for her part, confirmed that the decision regarding Playboy Marfa had thrown Prada Marfa into the spotlight; the piece was cited in legal discussions regarding the Phillips installation.

Fans have rallied around the artwork by joining the Save Prada Marfa initiative via Facebook and Twitter. “This is a piece that is adored by children, art critics, and truck drivers alike,” said Yvonne Force Villareal, cofounder of the Art Production Fund, which helped make the work a reality.

“We highly respect Richard Phillips, but definition-wise and legally, there is a big difference between these two situations,” added Elmgreen, whose work is now the subject of a new show at London’s V&A Museum. “Our work is not linked to Prada as a fashion brand. We could have chosen a different luxury goods label but Prada was and maybe still is the favorite fashion brand in art circles.” (He also compared Prada’s retail aesthetic to the minimalism of Donald Judd, the artist whose foundation helped to establish Marfa as an art destination.)

As of press time, TxDOT was still checking on whether the federal government was threatening to withhold funding due to Prada Marfa, and the possibility of a removal order remains. “Hopefully we don’t end up in a silly court case, but we will for sure fight to the end,” Elmgreen promised. “If it turns out that we have to remove the artwork—which would be extremely sad—we will erect another version somewhere else.”

FIVE THOUGHTS ON SENSATION AT MGM GRAND

1. Gotta say: What looks eye-popping on Sensation’s promotional channel on YouTube appears much more commonplace and understated in person. (It’s all in the editing, apparently.) The production for the October 5 Dutch dance event’s Vegas debut—part of an inaugural American tour of the “Ocean of White” theme—ultimately underwhelmed, from the uninventive use of lighting to the ho-hum eye candy (jellyfish, illuminated balls, waterfalls) that, frankly, had nothing on competing electronic music festivals Electric Daisy Carnival and Tomorrowland.

That said, the resulting ambiance did feel transportive on occasion, and between the elaborate center-stage setup and the platforming of an entire side of the MGM Grand Garden for VIP—the only ticket option to sell out—the venue looked almost unrecognizable.

2. The supposed unification powers of the all-white dress code apparently work. It was certainly hard to zero in on one’s differences when everyone more or less looked the same. And then there’s this: I watched a group of bros approach a group of flamboyant gay men, huge them all and wish them a good time.

3. Speaking of gay, with the mandatory all-white dress code, Sensation looked like the raver equivalent of the sort of “white party” popular with the LGBT community, though far less cruisy (but only slightly less gropey).

4. I had low expectations of the music curation, and sure enough, the “EDM” (read: mainstream and template-reliant electronic dance music) sets of duo Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano and Sensation closer Michael Woods were reliably banal and predictable, inspiring plenty of what I like to call non-dancing dancing—something I found myself executing, but only after three Stella Artois tallboys. How the overplayed offerings of Lana Del Rey/Cedric Gervais and Zedd fit the “narrative” promised by Sensation seemed vague, unless of course the definition of “narrative” was meant to be interpreted very loosely (or, as loose as a potentially fickle Vegas crowd might demand).

A shame, because there was certainly the establishment of something evolutionary early on with opener Mr. White, who kicked things off with a dark, dubby set. (Not sure what to think of that downtempo version of Prince’s “1999,” though.) The jock that succeeded him, Sebastien Leger, stayed the house course with a fun and funky set, full of grooves that had revelers legitimately dancing and facing away from him. Pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve heard a track from Philadelphia house/techno pioneer Josh Wink’s label (Ovum) inside the Grand Garden—or anywhere at MGM, for that matter.

5. Many wondered how a dance event could be pulled off in an arena with thousands of seats, but not me. Los Angeles has been having DJ parties in sporting halls since 2000, and this affair felt no different than ones I attended 13 years ago. Plus, per the non-dancing dancing, the EDM crowd doesn’t dance. They shuffle in place and pump their fists in the air, and they don’t need much room to do that. And with the visual element promoted so heavily, Sensation had already conditioned its attendees to be more like an attentive audience than a boogie-down throng—which makes Sensation no different than going to a Strip megaclub, and right at home in Las Vegas.

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Runway to Red Carpet: Sequined Lips and a Double Dose of Dolce

Last Friday night, Teen Vogue kicked off the weekend with its annual Young Hollywood party to celebrate the silver screen’s rising stars. To no one’s surprise, Kiernan Shipka ranked among the best dressed of the evening. Stepping out in a black top and silver and black paisley-print pants from Emporio Armani, the 13-year-old starlet consistently masters the fine art of appearing mature and sophisticated yet youthful and age-appropriate at the same time. Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland was also in attendance in a white Clover Canyon frock with a playful print that featured everything from colorful florals to skiers racing down the hem of the skirt.

Tilda Swinton, the master of androgynous chic, continues to nail menswear-inspired trends on the red carpet. On Wednesday evening she accepted the Douglas Sirk Award at the Hamburg Film Festival in Germany in an all-black Haider Ackermann pantsuit, accented with a diamond brooch and striking red lips. The following afternoon, Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore gave us a double dose of Dolce at the unveiling of Moore’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Moretz paired red heels with her blush-pink Dolce & Gabbana dress, while Moore opted for a pale yellow dress with sparkles along the neck and wrists. Meanwhile, on Thursday in Madrid, Hailee Steinfeld donned a black diamond-patterned skirt with a kitschy Markus Lupfer sweatshirt covered in sequined pouty lips to a photo call for her new film, Ender’s Game. Paired with knee-high black Stuart Weitzman boots (and bangs!), Steinfeld put a fresh twist on schoolgirl chic.