Bare Blass
by habituallychic
08 . 10 . 11
After I posted the Sutton Place apartment of Bill Blass, a few people mentioned his house in Connecticut. I was waiting to post it until my copy of his book Bare Blass arrived. I can’t believe I didn’t already own a copy. Not only does he talk about his life and fashion but also his apartments and houses. I highly recommend it for that reason alone.
“And then one day in 1976, Billy Baldwin and I were out looking for houses for sale in Connecticut, something we did a lot together, and I saw this wonderful old stone house. It had such a dignity about it – and hideous red flocked wallpaper in the living room. The place was built in 1770 as a tavern n the old Albany Post Road. The house came with six acres, and I bought the adjacent apple orchard, or what was left of it. Twenty-one acres in all. I moved in a few months later.” – Bill Blass
11 Comments
Bill Blass is seriously amazing. Everything about him and his style is so classic and seriously speaks to me. Great post!
Ciao,
Linz & Holl
my-grandpas-closet@blogspot.com
Should we ever have expected anything less than perfection from Bill Blass? His Connecticut country home is exactly what I thought it would be: chic as can be.
Heather – I read Bare Blass several years ago and LOVED it. I attended the Sotheby’s auction of his estate and managed to grab a couple of things, but it happened during the time of those crazy Jackie O type events where everything just went for thousands above estimate. A true testament to the inimitable Blass stye and a very memorable experience for me early in my career. I gave the book to my Grandmother (a very stylish Lady and a Blass client) for Christmas and when she’d finished reading it, she called and asked “did you make the meatloaf?” – we both had – and it’s fabulous, like everything Mr. Blass did. xo Tommy
Wow – amazing home. My husband would kill for this! Thanks for the great post!
I once read he bought the long horizontal piece shown near the ceiling in the third and fourth pictures by ‘eyeballing’ the dimensions. No surprise that it was a perfect fit.
one of my favorite homes of all time.
great post.
– {darlene}
fieldstone hill design
O my goodness- what a place.I love Bill Blass and his designs- he has such good taste!!
I have always thought his place in CT was so brilliant and I love the quote. I feel exactly the same way with each passing year. I have begun to find people who I can pass along the vast amount of “crapola” in my life.
By the way, secret fact about Mr. Blass: his favorite candy bar with 5th Avenue! What a guy indeed.
What a spectacular post! Thank you for making the effort and sharing.
love Mr Lauren’s work
Oh, I cannot wait for a chilly Fall day to prepare one go to Bill Blass recipe, a magnificent meat loaf and mashed potatoes. A creamed spinach side dish and a good bottle of red. I interviewed with Mr.Blass and he smoked the entire time. I will never forget him and the end of that era.
pve