Kenneth Battelle at Home

"The top". "An institution". The "Secretary of Grooming". These were just some of the titles and accolades given to Kenneth, the legendary hairdresser who tended the locks of Jacqueline Kennedy, Lee Radziwill, Brooke Astor, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe, to name just a few of his high-profile clients. Although Kenneth did have a last name (it was Battelle), he became so famous that he was always referred to by his first name only. You'll recall that it was Billy Baldwin whom Kenneth hired in the early 1960s to decorate his Manhattan salon, a Brighton Pavilion fantasy of bamboo and tented rooms.  Baldwin once wrote, "I'm  told a woman will keep dentists and dinner dates waiting before she'll miss an appointment at Kenneth's." But for all of the glamour and celebrity surrounding his salon and his clientele, Kenneth never seemed to lose his head, saying, "What I do is only a shampoo away from being nothing."

His lack of pretension comes across in these photos of his East Side penthouse, which were published in the February 1989 issue of HG. (Incidentally, the following year brought Kenneth much grief when his salon burned to the ground; receiving no insurance money for his loss and unable to rebuild his salon, he moved his business to the Helmsley Palace Hotel first and later the Waldorf-Astoria.)  Although elegantly appointed, his home was neither grand nor overblown. I'm intrigued by Kenneth's curious blend of styles and furnishings. The apartment's finishes were sleek, modern, and very suited to the night: dark-brown walls in both the living room and bedroom; what appears to be a polished brass fireplace mantel; and a kitchen entirely sheathed in mirror and lit by track lighting. And yet, the apartment was furnished rather traditionally, too, with French chairs, displays of antique boxes, and a Brunschwig chintz used throughout the bedroom. It was an apartment of a man who had confidence in his taste.

The best shot of the entire feature, however, has to be that of Kenneth reading the morning paper in his garden and wearing a dressing gown, which kept his work attire, a suit, pristine. If that photo doesn't perfectly capture the immaculate ways of a bygone generation, I don't know what does.

All photos from HG, February 1989, Eric Boman photographer.

The World of Jerry Zipkin

Walker of walkers.  Social moth.  Humpty Dumpty.  If you read W back in the Eighties, you will likely remember these now-classic zingers that the magazine's editor and publisher, John Fairchild, frequently hurled at Jerome "Jerry" Zipkin, one of Nouvelle Society's more memorable figures.  Perhaps best known for his friendships with Nancy Reagan and Betsy Bloomingdale, the often acid-tongued Zipkin seemed to frequent all of the Eighties' most fashionable spots, including Le Cirque, Mortimer's, and the Reagan White House.  It seems like only yesterday that I, a young teenager in Atlanta, anxiously awaited the latest issues of W in hopes of finding out what Zipkin, Nan Kempner, Pat Buckley, Georgette Mosbacher, and Manhattan's other leading socialites had been up to, where they had been, and which ones had made W's infamous "In and Out" list.

Although Zipkin died in 1995, his name continues to crop up in articles about Eighties' society.  For years now, I've been searching for photos of Zipkin's Park Avenue apartment, where he resided his entire life.  (His real-estate-developer father built the building.)  And thanks to my good friend from Macon, Carey, I now have the 1987 issue of House & Garden that features two rooms of his apartment: his sitting room and bedroom.  To say that he packed a lot of stuff into these two rooms is putting it lightly.  But instead of finding the dizzying array of objects and art a turn-off, I'm taken with these rooms because of their personality.  Zipkin was an enthusiastic collector, and his myriad collections and interests- Meissen leopards, shells, snakes, and needlepoint- were on full-display.

So what explained his popularity as a walker?  According to everything I've read, he was cultured and attentive, though quick to give his lady friends unsolicited advice on their clothes and their appearances.  But he was supposedly discreet, too, something which gained him his friends' trust.  According to his New York Times obituary, written by the great Enid Nemy, Zipkin chalked up his popularity among females to the simple fact that he was a man.  "A woman cannot have a best woman friend.  A best woman friend will do her in."

The red sitting room was massed with objects, mementos, and art.

The bedroom's yellow walls were a zesty counterpoint to the adjacent sitting room's red palette.  Even his bedside table was laden with objects.  Dusting and tidying up must have been a nightmare for his poor maid.


All photos from House & Garden, October 1987, Eric Boman photographer.

The 1980s and its Glorious Food

There are those people who cook from cookbooks and those who just read them. I fall somewhere in between. Lately, I've been obsessing over cookbooks from the 1980s and truth be told, I haven't read them nor cooked from them- yet. What I've taken delight in are the photos.

I think that those wonderful Tiffany books got me started on this kick a few years ago- Tiffany Taste, The New Tiffany Table Settings (a book that must be prized by others as one listing on Amazon has it selling for $99,999*), and The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook. Then I moved on to Glorious Food upon the recommendation of Chris Spitzmiller who, by the way, is captivated by the cover photo (see above). More recently I've devoured Lee Bailey's City Food and Lee Bailey's Good Parties.

So why the fascination with these cookbooks? I think it's because their authors placed as much emphasis on the tables, the background, and the atmosphere as they did the food. The photos are so darn styled...and they look marvelous. When I look at these photos, they make me want to host a dinner or drinks party with the same look and feel. I do think that it's a relief that today we don't have to serve four courses to our guests, nor do our dishes have to be complicated. (I mean, aren't we all eternally grateful to Ina Garten that she made hosting a dinner party so easy?) I also believe, though, that we need to see more photos that go beyond a basic table setting or a closeup shot of the food- photos that get the creative juices flowing and that inspire us to want to entertain at home again.

Today I'll show some photos from Glorious Food, and tomorrow is reserved for Lee Bailey. And if you don't cook, not to worry. The decorating in these photos is really pretty good.


*I do realize that the $99,999 listing is a typo...or perhaps a joke. At least, I hope it is.















(All images from Glorious Food by Christopher Idone)