Grace Coddington And Liz Tilberis

First things first, I'm participating in the Mama Monday series over at Ava Grace's Closet today.  Head over and check it out!

 

This weekend I zipped through the book Grace: A Memoir by legendary fashion editor Grace Coddington.  Being as fashion magazine obsessed as I am, I must say I loved it!  I loved every story, tidbit, opinion, just everything.  I felt like she was chatting with me and telling me all these stories about all these legendary photographers/models/editors.  I just ate it up.  She is arguably the greatest fashion editor of all time, with her ability to tell a story and create a mood with the editorials she styles.  That being said, I was so happy that she devoted a chapter to her great friendship with Liz Tilberis the late Editor-In-Chief of Harper's Bazaar.  And while I adore Grace, I positively worship Liz. 

You see, Liz took Harper's Bazaar to another level back in 1992 when she took over as Editor-In-Chief.  Way back in the late 80's/early 90's Bazaar was sort of a garish, cluttered, very dated magazine.  I should know, I was a subscriber (well, my Mom subscribed for me - ha!).  It was never quite as sophisticated as Vogue.  It had cheesy features, the one that stands out the most was it's annual "50 Most Beautiful Women In The World", which while lovely felt so forced.  But when Liz took over she brought in some amazingly creative people (like Fabien Baron and photographer Patrick Demarchelier poached from Vogue), and in September 1992 this issue arrived in my mailbox and proceeded to blow my mind.

(and yes I still have it)

She and her team had created the most beautiful, well-designed magazine that felt both modern yet familiar in an almost retro way.  It was the best of every world.  So sophisticated.  I remember holding that issue up and saying to no one in particular "Well, things just got interesting."  I was obsessed.  Obsessed with every photo, model, layout, just everything.  It was genius in every way.  Her magazine created instant buzz in the publishing world, picking up award after award. Every month a new beautifully designed fantasy landed in my mailbox.  Her Editor Letters were fun and familiar (though not as good as Linda Wells at Allure - she writes the best ones in the business), she was enchanting and I was under the spell.  Liz was my girl!

And then Liz was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She bravely fought it for years and I rooted for her in every way.  She was so open and honest about her struggles.  So much so that in 1998 she wrote a really great memoir called No Time To Die.  Which I would highly recommend picking up, especially if you have read Grace.  She ultimately died in April of 1999 at the age of 51.  Too young.  And thus ended a most creative and inspiring period of fashion magazines, in my opinion. 

And to me, nothing seemed quite the same.  Certainly not at Bazaar, where Kate Betts (formerly News Director of Vogue) took over as Editor-In-Chief and changed everything, including the Bazaar logo (!), so much so that it felt like some weird publication that seemed to slant to a very young crowd.  I like Kate Betts, but it was just an ill fit.  But honestly, no magazine felt the same, the models all but disappeared from covers, the celebrity culture took over and the fantasy seemed to be pushed to the background.  It makes me sound old, but I do miss those days.

Images via Amazon.com

The pillow upon which I dream...

A few years ago I ran across this Manolo Blahnik pillow, pictured below, on one of those fabulous, obscure (at the time) second hand web stores. You know, the ones that sell barely used designer goods cast off by socialites, celebrities, and wealthy women who have more money than they know what to do with. What caught my eye was: #1 it was Manolo Blahnik (BIG fan), #2 it had Scottish Terriers on it (I collect interesting vintage Scottie knick knacks) and lastly I had seen these pillows in magazines and knew they were very hard to come by. Manolo had sold some in his stores, but mostly they were given as gifts for certain occasions. As you can see this one was clearly meant for Christmas 1997-98. I made note of the listing and kept my eye on it. When it was initially listed, it was a bit pricey. I checked on it a few times a week, hoping that no one bought it and that maybe it would go on sale. A couple of months later the site had a massive clearance to make room for new stuff. Behold my (I already considered it to be mine) pillow was on major sale - below 3 figures!!! I purchased immediately. A week later it arrived and it did not disappoint. It is a lovely pillow, you can tell it isn't cheaply made. The fabric is a lovely butter yellow linen, stuffed with feathers and has some very nice fringe. The image is carefully silk screened on the front - it's beautiful, the picture doesn't to it justice. I had my pillow and didn't think of it as anything more than a lovely item for my home, until...



I keep quite a few binders full of images/articles and the like that I have pulled from magazines throughout the years. If I find something interesting or inspiring I pull it and file it (more on this habit of mine in another post). Somewhere along the line I had pulled the editor's letter from Harper's Bazaar because it had pictures of then editor Liz Tilberis's office (see below - I'm unsure of what month it's from, but it's certainly during the late 90's). I love seeing creative people's working spaces, I find it fascinating. I really admire the late Ms. Tilberis. She reinvented Bazaar into a very graphic, fresh and visually stunning fashion magazine. The layouts, graphics and typography really made an impact (thanks to Fabien Baron - a genius that way). Sometime after I purchased the pillow, I was looking through one of the binders when this page caught my eye. If you look closely at her office you will notice (I know it's hard) 4 yellow Manolo Blahnik pillows - the same as my pillow - right on her sofa!! I did a double take. Now I'm not saying that I may have one of those pillows that once resided in her office (I'm sure more than 4 were made), but I can dream that it was. Right?! I can imagine in my head that the pillow I have once had a more glamorous life in NYC and had been a part of a very exciting time at that magazine. It may have overheard some very interesting conversations between very interesting people.


Sometimes I find myself staring at that pillow thinking "What if?" and "Maybe..." And it always makes me smile.