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New and Noteworthy: June 2024

by habituallychic

06 . 23 . 24

I already posted some of these in my Bon Weekend posts on Substack but wanted to post them all together here for those of you who haven’t signed up yet. Luckily, there are a lot of new things to watch when you are hiding out inside from the 90 degree temperatures that seem to be plaguing the entire country.

Ginori 1735 and Bergdorf Goodman announced the opening of Café Ginori at Bergdorf Goodman. The new Café will offer Italian-inspired staples, from sublime dishes to divine cocktails, immersed in the world of Ginori 1735’s singular aesthetic.

Café Ginori at Bergdorf Goodman is located on the lower beauty level and will be open daily from 11:30am to 6:30pm, with aperitivo served from 4:00pm. Reservations are encouraged and available through OpenTable.

The Montauk Yacht Club has just had a renovation and rebrand if you need a new place to stay out east.

Spanning 16 acres of waterfront expanse, untouched natural beauty, and endless views, Montauk Yacht Club is a haven on the calm waters of Lake Montauk—bridging a legacy of East End tradition with Star Island adventure, exceptional dining, elevated wellness offerings, and direct access to the Hamptons’ largest marina…all from the team behind Proper Hospitality.

Charleston is hot right now, literally and figuratively, because Julia Amory has just opened a new store in the old Amanda Lindroth location at 445 King Street. Follow Julia’s Instagram account for all the behind the scenes scoop. You can also save 15% off Julia Amory online with my code CHIC15.

The third edition of Wow!House at the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour is on until 4 July 2024. “Built within the Design Avenue, Wow!house is a one-of-a-kind showhouse stretching 500 square meters. Featuring 19 full-size rooms and outdoor spaces — each one is uniquely designed by world-class interior designers, working in collaboration with globally recognised design brands and incredible suppliers.” Some of the designers participating this year include, Veere Grenney, his room is above, Alidad, Ken Fulk, Benedict Foley, Katherine Pooley, and Sophie Ashby.

John Pope Antiques posted photos of a new store, Wentworth, in Charleston, South Carolina, on Instagram that just opened. He said the store was a dream of event producer and planner Gregory Blake Sams who would talk about it over the years. The website describes it as “a shop, experience, and thoughtfully curated collection of new, vintage, and one-of-a-kind goods from around the world”. The photos immediately made me want to book a trip to shop. I probably won’t though until the weather cools off down south because Charleston heat and humidity is no joke.

I regret not planning to trip to Scandinavia this summer to beat the heat. If you are headed to Copenhagen, add the new Lié Studio flagship store at Vognmagergade 9 to your must visit list. The clean interior complements their “timeless, versatile jewelry designed for the modern, busy woman’s everyday wardrobe” by twin sisters Amalie and Cecilie Moosgaard. They’ve recently added leathergoods to their repertoire too.

If you are headed across the pond this summer, plan a visit to the National Portrait Gallery for the new free exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens. Tudor paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto have come together in the museum’s first exhibition of historic portraiture since reopening. It runs through 8 September 2024.

Six Lives chronicles the representation of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr throughout history and popular culture in the centuries since they lived. As a frequent source of fascination, the stories of the six women have repeatedly inspired writers and artists of all kinds to attempt to uncover the ‘truth’ of their lives: their characters, their appearance and their relationships. From historic paintings, drawings and ephemera, to contemporary photography, costume and film, the exhibition draws upon a wealth of factual and fictional materials to present the life, legacy and portrayal of six women who forever changed the landscape of English history.

The weather is perfect for visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art so luckily the new Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. exhibition runs through October 20, 2024. I missed the press preview and will miss the member preview so I look forward to bringing you a look inside when I finally get time to visit.

Edward C. Moore (1827–1891)—the creative force who led Tiffany & Co. to unparalleled originality and success during the second half of the 19th century—amassed a vast collection of decorative arts of exceptional quality and in various media, from Greek and Roman glass and Japanese baskets to metalwork from the Islamic world. These objects were a source of inspiration for Moore, a noted silversmith in his own right, and the designers he supervised. The exhibition Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co. will feature more than 180 extraordinary examples from Moore’s personal collection, which was donated to the Museum, alongside 70 magnificent silver objects designed and created at Tiffany & Co. under his direction. Drawn primarily from the holdings of The Met, the display will also include seldom seen examples from a dozen private and public lenders. A defining figure in the history of American silver, Moore played a pivotal role in shaping the legendary Tiffany design aesthetic and the evolution of The Met’s collection.

I was a little surprised when I read that Fotografiska has organized the “first major retrospective in the United States of invisible artist Vivian Maier’s extraordinary work” in Vivian Maier: Unseen Work. I could have sworn she had one over 10 years ago but then I realized what I was thinking about was the book Vivian Maier: Street Photographer that was published by my same publisher PowerHouse Books in 2011.

Vivian Maier has a pretty amazing back story. “Born in New York in 1926, Vivian Maier spent her early years in the Bronx. Throughout her time in New York City, Maier began to photograph the world around her and develop a visual language through the use of her camera, all while working as a nanny.” It wasn’t until local historian John Maloof purchased a box of Maier’s negatives from a Chicago auction house on a whim for $400 in 2007 and began collecting and championing her marvelous work just a few years ago that any of it saw the light of day. 

Vivian Maier: Unseen Work explores Maier’s complete oeuvre from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s through approximately 200 works: vintage and modern prints, color, black and white, and Super 8 films and soundtracks, offering a complete vision of the dense, rich and complex architecture of this archive that provides a fascinating testimony to post-war America and the hell of the American dream.

I haven’t heard much about Firebrand starring Jude Law as Henry VIII and Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr since it opened recently. It looks intriguing but I might wait to watch until it’s available to stream.

In Tudor England, Katherine Parr reluctantly agrees to become the sixth wife of the tyrannical King Henry VIII. Her consent to marry him carries great personal risk, given her predecessors are either vanquished, beheaded or dead. Perceived as a threat by Henry’s courtiers, they start to cast doubts about her fidelity and turn the increasingly paranoid king against her.

The Bikeriders just opened on Friday and captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy). Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

Emma Stone won all the major awards for her work with writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos and they have teamed up again on the recently released film Kinds of Kindness. The film is three stories, one revolves around a man who tries to take control of his own life, another a policeman whose wife seems like a different person, and finally, a woman who searches for someone with a special ability.

Yorgos Lanthimos films are always a little strange so this is probably not going to be for everyone.

I rarely get screeners so I was especially excited when I was allowed to watch the new six part Disney+ series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld before it debuted on Hulu earlier this month.

The series is adapted from the novel Kaiser Karl by Raphaëlle Bacqué published by éditions Albin Michel in 2020. It begins in 1972 when Karl Lagerfeld, played brilliantly by German actor Daniel Brühl, is 38 and not yet wearing his iconic hairstyle. He is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. While he meets and falls in love with the sultry Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), an ambitious and troubling young dandy, the most mysterious of fashion designers dares to take on his friend (and rival) Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), a genius of haute couture backed by the redoubtable businessman Pierre Bergé (Alex Lutz).

“Becoming Karl Lagerfeld plunges us into the heart of the 70s, in Paris, Monaco and Rome, to follow the formidable blossoming of this complex and iconic personality of Parisian couture, already driven by the ambition to become the Emperor of fashion. Between glamour and clashes of egos, grandiose parties and destructive passions, discover the story of Karl before Lagerfeld.”

The Becoming Karl Lagerfeld series feels most authentic since it was actually filmed on location in Paris, Monaco, and Italy, and shot in French and German. It is a must watch for any fashion lover but is for mature audiences and those not easily offended.

First, I have to say that I am so over the lazy Hollywood trend of remakes, so much so that I’m actually writing my own series treatment to pitch. I especially hate when they remake classics. I’m not here to tell you not to watch the new Presumed Innocent series on AppleTV+ but I am here to say that you should also watch the film Presumed Innocent starring Harrison Ford from 1990, the heyday of thrillers and fashion.

Both are based on the 1987 book Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow, which “tells the story of Rusty Sabicch, chief deputy prosecutor in a large Midwestern city. With three weeks to go in his boss’ re-election campaign, a member of Rusty’s staff is found murdered; he is charged with finding the killer, until his boss loses and, incredibly, Rusty finds himself accused of the murder.”

I did watch the first three episodes available now on AppleTV+ but find the acting in the Harrison Ford film to be much better. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts after you watch.

The new documentary Federer: Twelve Final Days debuted this week. “Originally a home video never intended for public viewing, this film captures the final chapter in Roger Federer’s legendary tennis career, featuring Roger, his family, and his three main rivals: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.” I want to preface this by saying I love Roger Federer but it makes sense that this documentary was home video never ended to become a film because it’s rather boring. It’s still worth watching though if you are a tennis fan who misses Roger.

If you grew up watching John Hughes movies and the coming-of-age films of the 80s, you will appreciate the new documentary Brats by Andrew McCarthy on Hulu. The Brat Pack moniker was coined in Hollywood’s Brat Pack, by David Blum in the June 10, 1985 issue of New York Magazine. The Brat Pack includes McCarthy, Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson who starred in St. Elmo’s Fire together but includes a few Brat Pack adjacent stars as well. The documentary looks at how it ended up haunting some of them and in some cases hurting their careers. It also includes an interview with the writer David Blum, who honestly seems like a bit of a jerk.

“We sort of instantly had the narrative of our careers taken from us. That’s how it felt, at least. The great irony of ‘the Brat Pack’ is the minute that name became a label, it ended. Because the people who were in it no longer wanted to be associated with it, and the people who making those kinds of ensemble films with young actors no longer wanted to make ‘Brat Pack’ films.”

– Andrew McCarthy

Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge which will air on Hulu on June 25 is an unprecedented look at the non-stop life of a cultural luminary. At a time when gender equality and women’s issues are at the forefront, Diane von Furstenberg’s life exemplifies empowerment, resilience, entrepreneurship and style.

As she approaches the eve of her retrospective exhibition, marking a 50-year distinguished career, Diane von Furstenberg contemplates her pioneering path in a male-dominated realm to erect a multi-million-dollar fashion empire – as an early visionary, and influencer, she challenged the status quo with the bold inquiry, “Why can’t a woman do what a man does?”

Escape the heat and stay inside to binge watch all 10 episodes of The Bear season three when they drop on Thursday, June 27. This series gives me anxiety but I can’t wait to see what happens to Carmy’s new fine dining restaurant and his love life in season three. You can watch the trailer here.

The Italian Interiors of Elsa Peretti

Every time I buy another book, all I can think of is how I’m going to have to ship it to Paris when I move there in a few years. But I think it is worth it to buy, The Italian Interiors of Elsa Peretti from Apartamento. “It’s the first book exclusively dedicated to her interiors and homes in Italy, offering a privileged view into spaces not open to the public. Still brimming with Elsa’s personal collection of clothing and artwork, the Rome apartment was photographed the day before it was sold, making these images the last to capture how she translated her artistic sensibilities into her private world.”

Daylesford Living: Inspired by Nature: Organic Lifestyle in the Cotswolds

I haven’t seen a copy of Daylesford Living: Inspired by Nature: Organic Lifestyle in the Cotswolds but everything Lady Carole Bamford touches turns to gold so I’m sure her book is fabulous too.

Here, Bamford opens the doors to never-before-seen parts of the estate, the restored cottages and their stylish interiors, and the gardens, and provides readers with decorating and entertaining ideas, themed by seasonal flowers and featuring accessible tabletop ideas. This rare view into Bamford’s way of life shows why she has become a key tastemaker of her generation. With insightful text on creating a wholesome lifestyle and specially commissioned photography throughout, this is a quintessential guide to stylish English country living.

How Directors Dress

The book getting all the buzz this week is How Directors Dress from A24 which “uses clothing to tell exciting new stories about directors, their lives, their movies, and the times in which they were made”. It features over 200 photos of the off-camera style of directors Sofia Coppola, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Pedro Almodóvar, and more.

Tony Caramanico: Montauk Surf Journals

Tony Caramanico: Montauk Surf Journals was released this spring but I just learned about it. His inspired by Peter Beard book chronicles Caramanico’s life in surf, presenting a considered selection from his thousands of journal entries. It will make the perfect hostess gift when you are staying in out east this summer.

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

I have to finish some of the other books on my stack before I’m allowed to buy When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion but “this glittering portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza” sounds intriguing.

Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of ’70s New York

My friend Bonnie Morrison recommended Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of ’70s New York and I trust her recommendations, especially when they are New York related.

Born in the Bronx, Guy Trebay was raised in an atmosphere of privilege on Long Island’s North Shore after his entrepreneurial father struck business gold with Hawaiian Surf, a wildly successful cologne company that capitalized on the optimism of the 1960s as marketed to “an adventurous new breed of men.’’ But behind the facade of material prosperity lay the emotional disarray of a household dominated by a charismatic, con artist father, a glamorous yet lost and careless mother, a family haunted by tragedy. By the time Trebay established a foothold at the fringes of Andy Warhol’s Factory and the diverse artistic tribes that thrived in Manhattan in that pre-digital era, his father had lost his fortune, his younger sister had been arrested for armed robbery and fled underground, the family house was in ashes, and his mother was dead.

Unschooled and on his own, Trebay became a striver, wending his way through a seemingly apocalyptic landscape populated by a vibrant cast of characters, including washed-up Hollywood screenwriters of the ’30s; Warhol superstars like Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling; fashion geniuses like Charles James; and emerging artists, filmmakers, writers, designers, photographers, and deejays who would powerfully influence mainstream culture in the decades to come.

The Friday Afternoon Club

Younger followers might not know Griffin Dunne but he’s a famous actor, producer, and director born into one of the most famous literary families. His aunt was writer Joan Didion and his father was writer and investigative journalist Dominick Dunne who wrote many great features for Vanity Fair.

Griffin’s new book The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir was just released and recounts life “growing up among larger-than-life characters in Hollywood and Manhattan finds wicked humor and glimmers of light in even the most painful of circumstances”.

The Uptown Local

The Uptown Local: Joy, Death, and Joan Didion: A Memoir by Cory Leadbeater was just released this week too and tells of his working for novelist Joan Didion.

As an aspiring novelist in his early twenties, Cory Leadbeater was presented with an opportunity to work for a well-known writer whose identity was kept confidential. Suddenly, he found himself the personal assistant to a titan of literature: Joan Didion. In the nine years that followed, Cory shared Joan’s rarefied world, transformed not only by her blazing intellect but by her generous friendship and mentorship. But secretly, Cory was spiraling. He reeled from the death of a close friend. He spent his weekends at a federal prison, visiting his father as he served time for fraud. He struggled day after day to write the novel that would validate him as a real writer. And meanwhile, the forces of addiction and depression loomed large.

In hypnotic prose that pulses with life and longing, The Uptown Local explores the fault lines of class, family, loss, and creativity. It is a love letter to a cultural icon—and a moving testament to the relationships that sustain us in the eternal pursuit of a life worth living. 

If you need a playlist to listen to on the Jitney or play at your next outdoor party, I highly recommend my Habitually Chic Summer 2024 Spotify Playlist. I always made Apple Music playlists but moved them to Spotify in 2020 as a gift to everyone working from home.

Diptyque’s new limited edition Citronnelle Collection has just debuted in time for summer. The “notes of Ilio and Citronnelle (lemongrass) tinge the balmy air” and hopefully repel unwanted guests. The collection includes candles, body spray, eau de toilette, and hair mist. These would make great hostess gifts this summer so stock up before they sell out.

I appreciate that while Rhode is probably marketed toward a younger demographic, the packaging isn’t juvenile so I don’t feel embarrassed using the products. The Hailey Bieber led brand just released their highly pigmented Pocket Blushes which are a great alternative for anyone who finds Westman Atelier too expensive.

Once you start taking your skin seriously and paying for laser treatments, you will no longer tan and therefore, you will need blushes and bronzers to help add some color to your pale visage. Chanel just released their new Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sun-Kissed Powder which combines blush and bronzer in an easy to use palette. I bought Medium Rose Gold but there are four other color combinations, although one is already sold out, so don’t snooze on ordering. Just to warn you, it is a larger size compact so it’s not going to fit in your smallest clutch but is perfect for throwing in your summer beach bag.

Happy Summer!

XOXO,

HC