Paris bedroom by JANSEN
In this amazing work, published in 2003, Suzanne Slesin documents the story of a truly inspiring woman, Helena Rubinstein. (1870-1965) In 1960, Suzanne's mother, Niuta, married Roy Titus, the elder son of Madame Rubinstein...and Suzanne was drawn into a fabulous world of wealth, art, fashion, and originality. This book has been in my collection since it was published, and I refer to it often for inspiration and ideas. Madame, you see, was a total iconoclast, a self created persona, and a force to be reckoned with. Since she was worth about 100 million in 1928, she was able to collect major art, wear major designers, and have glamorous homes all over the world. (at age 94, she attended YSL's first show, and bought one of his most major ensembles) She created all of this from scratch, in one generation! I find her endlessly fascinating, and she was a major contributor to many charities, as well as a competitor of Elizabeth Arden's. She hired Jansen and David Hicks, she loved elegance, fashion, and richness, plus art, and living the good life. What a woman! What a force! I can only imagine how fabulous she must have been in person. I hope that if you didn't know about this book, this post will pique your interest, and perhaps find some of the other books about Madame as well...check out her profile on Wikipedia too, most interesting. ENJOY! DF*****
