Author Archives: Cristopher

Oscar de la Renta: Punta Cana, c1990’s – 2014

Posted November 11, 2014. Filed in British Colonial Style, Caribbean Style, Oscar de la Renta, Palladian-Style, Tropical Style

Over thirty years ago Oscar de la Renta developed the sleepy town of Casa de Campo, his homeland in the Dominican Republic, into a luxurious resort where he entertained the jet set at his retreat Casa de Madera (the Wood House – see my post Oscar de la Renta: Casa de Campo c1970’s). The development’s […]

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Oscar de la Renta: New York, c1990’s – 2014

Posted November 10, 2014. Filed in Anglo-American Style, English Country House Style, Oscar de la Renta

Today’s post is a continuation of several posts I promised to write on the homes of Oscar de la Renta following his passing in October, beginning with Au Revoir, Oscar. After marrying Annette Reed in 1989 Oscar moved from  his previous opulent apartment designed by Denning and Fourcade (Oscar de la Renta: New York, c.1980’s) […]

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Oscar de la Renta: Connecticut c1990

Posted November 7, 2014. Filed in English Country House Style, Oscar de la Renta

Oscar de la Renta reopened the doors of his country house, Brook Hill Farm, in Kent, Connecticut, again to House & Garden in the later 90’s (I covered the first publication of this property in Oscar de la Renta: Connecticut, 1986). After the death of his first wife, Françoise de Langlade, in 1983,  he married […]

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Oscar de la Renta: New York c1980’s

Posted November 6, 2014. Filed in Denning & Fourcade, Opulence, Oscar de la Renta, Vincent Fourcade

As Oscar de la Renta’s career skyrocketed in the 1970’s so did his lifestyle. Sometime around 1980 he and his then-wife, the late Françoise de Langlade, traded up from their previous apartment, which I featured in Oscar de la Renta: New York, c1970’s, to this much grander apartment overlooking Central Park on the Upper East […]

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Oscar de la Renta: Connecticut, 1986

Posted November 5, 2014. Filed in English Country House Style, English Style Eclecticism, Oscar de la Renta, Vincent Fourcade

In 1986 Oscar de la Renta invited House & Garden into the Kent, Connecticut, country house he had shared with his then-wife, the late Françoise de Langlade, who passed away in 1983. Françoise had been the Editor-at-Large for House & Garden, so it came as no surprise that the rooms she crafted were as elegant and magical […]

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Oscar de la Renta: Casa de Campo, c1970’s

Posted November 4, 2014. Filed in Oscar de la Renta, Tropical Style

The Dominican Republic retreat Oscar de la Renta shared with his then-wife, the late Françoise de Langlade, was designed with pure relaxation in mind. Photographed by Horst in 1974, simple wood construction and a mostly neutral color scheme of wicker, bamboo and batik textiles lends a sense of ease and calm. “Everything costs the minimum, […]

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Oscar de la Renta: New York, c1970’s

Posted November 3, 2014. Filed in Chinoiserie, Eclectic Tradition, Oscar de la Renta

As a follow-up to the prior week’s last post I will be featuring over the course of this week, as promised, the homes of Oscar de la Renta, who passed away on October 20th after an eight-year battle with cancer. The elegant fashion maestro and his family have inhabited homes in New York, Connecticut, and […]

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Au Revoir, Oscar

Posted October 22, 2014. Filed in Denning & Fourcade, Oscar de la Renta

As with so many, my heart sank upon hearing the news that Oscar de la Renta, the doyen of American fashion, passed away at the age of 82. With verve, wit, candor, style and grace the impeccable gentleman from Santo Domingo made a splash on American soil with his glamorous fashions that become the envy […]

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What Goes Around, Comes Around

Posted October 20, 2014. Filed in John Dickinson, McMillen Inc.

  Are you an interior design junkie like me? Then chances are you did a double take when your eyes fell on this room designed by Ann Pyne, of the venerable American design firm McMillen, Inc., featured in the November issue of Elle Decor.  My first reaction was “This is daring … creative … whimsical […]

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Le Galerie des Cerfs

Posted October 15, 2014. Filed in Chateaux, French Country Houses, Hunt Country Style

The Galerie des Cerfs (Trophy Gallery) at Château de Fontainebleau was conceived by Henry IV in c1600 as a paean to hunting, consisting of a promenade of semicircular arches forming an arcade. Its plaster walls were painted by Louis Poisson with murals depicting bird’s eye views of royal estates, set into grey wood paneling in the […]

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Hunt Country Simplicity

Posted October 13, 2014. Filed in Anglo-American Style, Antony Childs, Hunt Country Style, Understated Luxury

The hunt season is in full swing. In the states Virginia is the center of this long-standing tradition, which begins as early as September – a tradition carried over by our forefathers from Great Britain, where it originated in the 16th-century. You can read about its history and traditions in my post Hunt Country Style. […]

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Favorite Vintage Ads Friday: Perry Ellis for Martex, 1984

Posted October 10, 2014. Filed in Favorite Vintage Ads

Today’s Favorite Vintage Ad features a line of bedding designed by the late clothing designer Perry Ellis for Martex in 1984. His inspiration for this line was Africa, for which he created three distinct patterns based on animals found in the bush: the tiger, zebra and jaguar.  The first pattern features “Night Tiger” on a […]

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