While poking about the internet for my Valentine’s Day gift guide, I realized how much I love the new lingerie collection by Stella McCartney.  Normally I leave it to Sarah to talk about underpinnings, but I just couldn’t resist after I saw these gorgeous pieces.  Sexy without being trashy, feminine without being prissy, and modern with just enough vintage inspiration, I’m having a hard time deciding what to pick up first.  Isn’t that pink silk amazing?  I’m also happy to hear that Stella has recently dropped her price point a bit and has decided to expand her range of sizes — genius!

So gents, if you are the type that purchases lingerie for your lady on Valentine’s Day, I definitely recommend Stella McCartney. (Sidenote: Whenever shopping for giftable unmentionables, I definitely recommend you always avoid anything with marabou, pleather, fishnet or absolutely anything from Frederick’s of Hollywood, as they think this is acceptable.  Pfft!)

Browse Stella McCartney lingerie at Net-A-Porter here.

A charming British short tries to understand the London coffee bar craze, which started in 1952, when an espresso machine was set up in London Soho.  And of course now I’m searching for as many of the Look at Life clips as I can find…

Sidenote: Man, I wish I could’ve hung out with Iron Foot Jack

Color Autochromes — an early form of color photography — taken during WWI, from the collection of Albert Kahn.  It is an amazing real-life look into the world that Downton Abbey so elegantly recreated for Masterpiece Theatre.  Sidenote: I am completely obsessed with the show.  Are you?

Kahn was a French banker and philanthropist who attempted to collect a photographic record of the entire world between 1909 and 1931.  Amassing over 72,000 Autochromes, Kahn’s collection included historical records of 50 countries and was little-seen until recently.  Kahn’s archive formed the basis of a recent BBC miniseries and accompanying book, The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn: Colour Photographs from a Lost Age.  Find out more here.

**Update: Just found a place online where you can watch a bit of the documentary.  Find part 1 here and part 2 here, courtesy of Ovation.  Enjoy!

A bathroom to live in.

The 16th-century Italian palazzo of Antonello Radi, in the Umbrian city of Foligno.  I adore the way he has decorated his home, the old with the new, completely color drenched and magnificently luxurious.  The bathroom is my absolute favorite room.  I could soak in that tub forever.

Decorating mastery aside, one must really give Antonello’s bio a brief look:

Antonello was fortunate to be born into a wealthy and prominent family in Foligno, a commercial center surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, and rolling hills. Radi, a bachelor, studied jurisprudence, found he didn’t like the life of a lawyer, and now works in the family business, finance, when he isn’t traveling.

Didn’t like the life of a lawyer, so he works in finance…when he isn’t traveling.  Must be very nice indeed.

Images via Elle Decor.

From top left:
Kiki de Montparnasse satin Muse corset bra and matching heart panty
La Maison du Chocolat heart box 13 piece assortment
Henri Bendel lady compact
Art can only be erotic – Pablo Picasso
Stella McCartney “Sam Partying” silk-satin playsuit
Cartier Panthere yellow and white gold ring
Diptyque votive in Baies
Hermès “Boucles et galons du Tsar” vintage style silk scarf
Smythson leather jewelry box
Santa Maria Novella Toscano cologne
Moynat Pauline crocodile city bag
Kiki de Montparnasse “My Tie” leather and silk restraint cuffs
The Lover, by Marguerite Duras

From top left:
Turnbull & Asser paisley dressing gown
Smythson leather watch roll
Hermès “L’Arbre de Vie” silk twill pocket square
Terrapin Stationers “I Fucking Love You” valentines
J.Press glen plaid patch cashmere scarf
Kiki de Montparnasse erotic chess set
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, by Pablo Neruda
Holland and Holland canvas bolster bag
Kiki de Montparnasse massage candle
Barber’s Adagio
Shackelton’s Whisky: Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt
1930s closed case Rolex
Santa Maria Novella shaving kit
Levi’s Vintage Clothing shawl-collar wool cardigan

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”
Coco Chanel

I am pleased to announce the founding of the Quite Continental Charm School.  Every year in the month of February, guided by the wise words of Coco Chanel, I will bring you a daily tip to generate more class and fabulousness in your everyday life, spanning the topics of fashion, travel, beauty, etiquette, relationships, and whatnot.  Most important is the “whatnot,” bien sûr...

Formerly called my “28 Days of Classy & Fabulous Things,” the new name reflects two epiphanies.  First, it is a leap year this year and there are 29 days in February.  I hear this kind of thing happens every 4 years or so.  Second, when I discovered pictures of young ladies at charm schools in the 1940s and 1950s, I found myself wishing we still had them today, but that they would offer the modern girl of today a bit more substance than how to balance a book on your head.  Perhaps I am wrong, but to me the charm schools of yesteryear seem especially focused on outward presentation, with an emphasis on catching a mate.  Of course, looking great and having a satisfying relationship remain important to a lot of people — but that is not the end-all, be-all for most of us these days.  So let’s take the idea and make it better, shall we?

Enter, the Quite Continental Charm School: a modern guide to creating a charmed life, where you will learn classy and fabulous things to do, to see, to think about, to taste, to buy, to read, to listen to, and to experience.  And as I definitely don’t claim to have a monopoly on such knowledge, you’ll have lovely guest instructors, chosen for their class and fabulousity.

While it is my earnest hope that we’ll be a coeducational establishment, some boys might like to supplement their studies with a look at Valet’s Handbook, an excellent collection of tips and tricks that was one of the original inspiration sources for this feature.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Reach me via email at contact@quitecontinental.net

FEBRUARY 2012

To be continued…

FEBRUARY 2011

Day 1: Get Your Passport

Day 2: Own a True LBD

Day 3: Social Stationery

Day 4: The Red Lip

Day 5: Keep A Diary

Day 6: Champagne!

Day 7: Give Back

Day 8: Tie a Tie

Day 9: Move It

Day 10: Fresh Flowers

Day 11: Calling Cards

Day 12: Perfect Your Signature

Day 13: Pearls

Day 14: Be Your Own Valentine

Day 15: Wear Pajamas

Day 16: The Trench

Day 17: Thank You Notes

Day 18: Disconnect

Day 19: Try a Bit of High Art

Day 20: Une Bicyclette

Day 21: Fix Your Face

Day 22: Have a Signature Dish

Day 23: Fly Solo

Day 24: Get a Tailor

Day 25: Watch Classic Films

Day 26: Smell Pretty

Day 27: How to Stock a Proper Bar

Day 28: C’est Fini

Moppets Charm School, taken by Arthur Rickerby for LIFE Magazine.
Images via the LIFE Archive.

Horse Riders Journal, Spring 2011

Fashion and dressage?  Consider me signed up.
Loving this photography series by Ditte Isager.

Photographer born and raised in Copenhagen Denmark. Living in NYC since 2006. Shooting interiors, personalities, lifestyle and travel. The style is simple nordic. Working with contrast in materials, light, color and objects. Inspiration comes from the light in the Dutch masters, storytelling and effects from motion pictures and the style, character and layers of NY.

A beautiful collection of vintage travel posters is currently available at Vintage Seekers.  To view and purchase these and more, head here.

Too amazing not to share.  Definitely watch this full screen!
Via Project Yosemite.

Would you believe I was born and raised in California and have yet to visit Yosemite National Park?  After viewing this, our very first national park (technically, as it was created in 1864, ahead of Yellowstone in 1872) has made a massive jump on my shortlist of Desired Destinations.

Have you been?  Should I camp?*

*Please note that I have never once in my life been camping.**

**My Mother would beg to differ on this point (please see below).   I shall respond by saying that spending a weekend in a massive RV with a microwave and cable television is not really camping.

A lovely documentary by Encyclopedia Britannica Films on the myriad of transportation options to and from Manhattan available to the New Yorkers and New Jerseyans of 1941.  Great images of commuters, the subway, trains, buses, Grand Central, the New Jersey ferry system and — the very best part — my office building on Fifth Avenue at the 5.27 mark. 

As a native Californian, mass transit is still a relatively new development in my life, but come next rush hour I will definitely be thinking of the generations of Manhattan strap hangers that have come before me.  I only wish the commuters of today looked just as stylish.