My Favorite Things

C.Z. Guest in Mainbocher at her home Templeton in Old Westbury,NY

Opera Coats

There is nothing so elegantly extravagant in a woman's (or man's) wardrobe as an Opera Coat.
As is true of all design (being differentiated from art), the opera coat is essentially a utilitarian concept: a cover-up long enough to protect the wearer and their fine evening garments from the elements. But the beauty of the coat is how it goes about protecting. It does its job while retaining its own unique air of regality and decorum. And nothing makes for a grander entrance than a voluminous sweep of duchese, faille, ottoman, petersham, gazar, radzimir, brocade, matelasse, or tussah.

Far better than just a top coat and even more preferred than a fur (Hell just froze over!), an opera coat is so beautiful it can really stand on its own merits. But combined with a gorgeous evening gown or a man's or woman's tuxedo, it makes a striking complete evening look. Unfortunately, we don't see nearly enough of the opera coat these days. I hope to rectify that by including an opera coat in every collection I do. Its an essential for me, without which a collection would be incomplete.

Here are some of my favorite stylistas in some of my favorite examples true couture opera coats...

Deeda Blair in Chado Ralph Rucci in 2004

Hamish Bowles at the Met Costume Institute Gala

Andre Talley at the Met Costume Institute Gala

The Leontyne Opera Coat from Charles Lord's Principessa Collection (left) and Audrey Hepburn in a similar Givenchy number fromt he mid 60s (right

Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy

Marella Agnelli in Balenciaga

A Private Affair

Whatever happened to the dance? I don't mean the samba or waltz or tootsie roll. I mean the dinner dance, the private ball? No one has them anymore.

Last week I re-read Party of the Century by Deborah Davis, chronicling Truman Capote's famous Black and White Ball of 1966. I was carried away into a sea of invitations, decorations, jewels, and coiffure, the likes of which we rarely ever see today. At least not privately. Sure there's a ton of grand social occasions like the Costume Institute Gala at the MET, and other such institutional and charitable events, but its not the same. It lacks that special quality that only a private affair can have.

Marella Agnelli arriving at the Black and White Ball.


Gloria Guinness, Bill and Babe Paley at the Black and White Ball


Princess Lee and Prince Stas Radziwill at the Black and White Ball

Maybe its the idea of one host and/or hostess who orchestrates the whole thing. That singular vision of a very elegant man or woman and how that vision is made manifest in every detail. The nuance of the guest list, invitations, decorations, menu, music all say something about the host and what kind of world they want to create, if only for an evening. It doesn't even have to be a big to do. It can be very intimate. It doesn't have to be a ball, what about a dinner party for 10 or 12, but executed beautifully. The music doesn't have to be live , but stimulating- encouraging dance and/or conversation. Or having a musically gifted guest regale the party on the piano or with song. Something. Anything. Grand or simple, just as long as its beautiful and special

I know there is no dearth of stylish people people out there, so why are there no great hosts/hostesses anymore like there used to be? Or maybe its not that they don't exist anymore, just that they are not praised and celebrated publicly for their social achievements. More and more our society admires celebrity (i referring to the idea of fame moreso than the famous) and more and more celebrity goes to those (the famous) who are vaguely worthy of it.

I understand that American life has changed drastically in the last 50 or 60 years, but why? We still like to wear beautiful things and go beautiful places and spend time with interesting people, both familiar and new, so why has entertaining- and even larger, entertainment- become so... so ordinary, so mediocre. I say mediocre, because something can be casual and still be spectacularly extraordinary in style. Hanging out with 20 of your dearest friends and family is casual, but it can be beautiful because of the surroundings as well as because of the love.

And to go back to my point about entertainment, theres no place to go for a chic night out. I realize not everyone now or back in the day could afford to entertain in a grand style, but you could always get dressed in your finest and go to a supper club. Where are El Morocco, Cocoanut Grove, the Cotton Club, Tropicana, the Stork Club and all those other places where the decor was outstanding, the food was delicious, the music was sweet, and the crowd was dazzling??!!! You can't go to a restaurant now in black tie and evening gown, without looking sorely out of place. So what is an aesthete to do?


Lee Radziwill and Gianni Agnelli leaving Maxim's, Paris' chicest restaurant where one always dresses!

This could go on and on. I won't even begin to list the countless grand balls one could immulate like the Beistegui Ball, Proust Ball, Oriental Ball of Baron de Rede, the balls of Antonio Lopez-Wilshaw and Antenor Patino and Jacques Fath. Nor will I go on about how the Americans never learned how to entertain (or simply LIVE for that matter) the way the Europeans do and argue that the Europenas do it better than we. It would just take too long and get my blood pressure up (and as a black man, I don't need any more reason for hypertension!). So instead of writing a dissertation on the collapse of grandeur as we know it, I am just putting these thoughts and questions out there for you and the rest of the country to ponder. I just can't imagine living in a world where people's only memory of a formal is prom and maybe their wedding!! We have got to do something about this sad state of affairs and bring back the NORMALITY of elegant social life.

Semper Chic!



Here a picture of Bill and Babe Paley from 1952 going to their in-laws Jock and Betsey Whitney's home Greentree (which was next door to the Paley's Kiluna Farm) for what is obviously a very elegant evening. Can you imagine going to your sister's house for dinner in black-tie today?? That's whats up! And I bet it wasn't even that out of the ordinary for them; just another evening at Greentree. You can't even get people to dress for dinner these days!


C.Z. and Winston Guest on their way to a ball in Palm Beach 1958


Gianni and Marella Agnelli having a glamorous night out.


Patricia, Mrs. Arturo Lopez-Wilshaw, in repose in her chateau in Neuilly, France. Probably thinking about the many glamourous moments she will spend in this couture confection!

1,2,3, SHIFT!

I am mad about the shift dress! Its so easily chic and effortlessly elegant. Now, when I say shift, I mean a true shift in the traditional sense. I think of the 60's shift that skims the body with maybe an inch and a quarter wearing ease that allows the dress to hover lightly over the bust and hips. It doesn't swallow the body the way a chemise does, nor confines the way a sheath does. All these dresses are wonderful and have their place consistently in the chic woman's wardrobe, but there's just something so alluring in its simplicity.

The best shifts have no or very little applied details or construction tricks. Dartless or just French darts; collarless with a bateau or jewel neck; sleeveless or cap-sleeved. The best shift has no waist- not empire (like the baby doll) or dropped (like th flapper). The shift allows for the beauty of the fabric to speak and receives its casualness or formality from the fabrics natural body. A shift in linen or silk crepe is perfectly pulled together, while a shift in moire' or faille or matelasse is the height of classic elegance.

One of my all-time favorite sketches. A shift in silk zagar, a stiff sheer wiry fabric created by Abraham of Zurich textile manufacturer for Balenciaga.

The shift is a master of versatility. You can accessorize it endlessly. A day shift with a matching a-line stroller is sublime. An evening shift with a stole of ermine and sable is rafine'. For an instantly more fitted look, you can throw on a wide belt , without gathering too much fabric at the waist, turning it into a instant sheath. Or wear it with a whip thin belt , worn loose between the natural waist and high hip for the look of a 50's shirtwaist. Don't even get me started on the plethora of shoe styles to be worn! Kitten heels, D'Orsay pumps, Stiletto Mary Janes or knee-high boots. And the shift is the perfect backdrop to show off interesting jewels because it doesn't compete for attention. You can wear a single strand of emerald green South Sea Tahitian pearls or ropes and ropes of diamonds like the rapper Nelly! The possibilities are absolutely endless.

"Alex" shift dress from Charles Lord's "Principessa" collection

My personal recommendations and observations:
The shift looks great when doing the Twist! Or while wearing a bouffant coif!
Wear a white shift with a half-dozen small rhinestone brooches of varying color or in brown flannel tweed with a massive 60 carat citrine deco clip brooch.

Who wore them best:
So hard to say. The shift is hard not to look good in. But I nominate Babe Paley as the Queen of the Shift. She wore them often and she is simply flawless, so... A very very close second would be Jackie Kennedy. If it were a contest of frequency or quantity, I think Jackie would win. But for me, if theres ever a toss-up between Jackie and Babe, Babe always wins. I am biased...as biased a Vionnet gown!

Babe Paley, with husband CBS founder Bill Paley, after lunching at renowned society restaurant La Cote Basque. Truly the lady who lunches in the beautiful polka dot shift with asymmetrical neckline

The most iconic shift:
YSL's Mondrian. Hands down. Some may argue that Givenchy's little black dress for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's is more famous, but I question the purity of that shift. It had a self-belt and fringed hem. It may have even had a waist seam, but I'm not sure. In any case, it may be more famous, but for the purposes of purity of line and hidden elemental structure, its gotta be the Mondrian shift by St. Laurent. In Givenchy's defense, he did make the meanest shifts of all! Maybe even better than King Balenciaga.

Isabel Eberstadt in YSL Mondrian Shift, 1965 (Isabel always looked great in shifts. I have another photo of her in the book Fashionable Savages by John Fairchild looking ultimately chic in a black shift, gloves, and a brooch!)

What would Diana Vreeland do?
She would tell you to have one made in 8-ply cashmere and lined in mink sheared as thin as moleskin to wear without a coat in St. Moritz. You'll be as warm as all the other ladies, but free of the worry of keeping a mantle.


Marella Agnelli in Courreges shift, 1967