I'm officially over summer and all I can think of is autumn with it's crisp cool weather and beautiful clothes. I also think this amazing sepia toned tableware "Les Maisons Enchantées" from Hermès would be perfect for fall feasts and even more spectacular at Thanksgiving! You might just want to keep it away from the kiddie table! It's available now at Barneys in New York (seen here) or Hermès.
Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic
As much as I like Chanel, my heart belongs to Hermès since we share an initial. Although these Crocodile suitcases that were posted on Luxist don't have an H on them, they still have me seriously swooning! They were made in the 1930's for Karen Blixen who wrote Out of Africa under the name Isak Dinesen. Hermès unearthed them in their archives and they think that since they were never used they must never have been sent to her in Kenya. The sterling silver and tortoiseshell pieces are engraved with a crown and the initials DBF which stands for Dineson Blixen-Finecke, a combination of her maiden and married names. If you also happen to have the same initials, word has it that they can be yours for the right price. I'd actually be willing to change my initials to own such beautiful specimens of craftsmanship! They certainly put most people's beat up roller bags to shame. But, as we all know, travel is definitely not what it used to be. Le sigh.
Hermes is synonymous with Paris and the shops are always packed with tourists looking to buy a bit of French-ness to bring back from their trip. I was surprised that the saddles cost less than the Birkins but I guess that is due to the simple economic principle of supply and demand. I don't think Koto Bolofo's upcoming book La Maison will address that issue but he will give you a glimpse behind the scenes at the workshops and how the tres cher bags and other leathergoods are made as well as a peek into the museum and archives.
Apparently the rumors about the demise of the recession might actually be true, or at least on Madison Avenue, where Hermes is building a new men's store across from their flagship boutique. I always knew women weren't the only ones who liked to open those fabulous orange boxes! C'est magnifique!
I saw this Samuel Weekender bag from Club Monaco on Vogue's Most Wanted feature today and thought it looked a little familiar. It has a similar style to the Hermes Plume bag but costs a couple thousand dollars less. If you buy it, you can use the money you saved on a trip to Paris! Bon voyage!
Another great marriage of art and fashion are the limited edition Homage to the Square scarves from Hermes that depict six of artist Josef Albers paintings from 1964 and give new meaning to the phrase "wearable art." The German born Albers, is most well known as a Bauhaus artist but he also designed furniture and typography, accepted architectural commissions, published poetry, articles and book on art, in addition to lecturing and teaching.
"Albers became a prolific artist, known primarily for his "Homage’s to Squares." Although he disavowed style category labels, he is credited with influencing the movements of Geometric Abstraction and Minimalism. He was also one of the first modern artists to investigate the psychological effects of color and space and to question the nature of perception. Indicative of the impact of his work is the fact that he was the first living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York."
"The square was the ideal shape for Albers’ "Homage’s," series. Squares were mathematically related to each other in size, perfect for superimposition, shapes that never occur in nature--thus assuring its man-made quality. Albers intended that the colours in his "Homage’s" series react with each other when processed by the human eye, causing optical illusions due to the eye's ability to continually change the colors in ways that echo, support, and oppose one another."
Is everything from Hermès ridiculously expensive? I'm going to have to say yes and I'll tell you why in a second. I was reading the New York Times online and found a story about Kelly Wearsler shopping for hard to find design books which included "The Hermès Shop Windows" by Leila Menchari, who has been the sole creator of window displays at the Hermès store in Paris since 1977. Later that same day, I happened to pop into William Wayne and what did I find but "The Hermès Shop Windows." If you are interested, it can be yours for $1,000. Or you could save that and put it toward a Birkin. Your call.
I went to the Hermes website last night just to check their store hours and ended up finding all sorts of surprises including the beautiful portraits of horses by South African born, British raised photographer Koto Bolofo. They are a testament to his skill and patience as a photographer. Enjoy. 
