STYLE: Marylou Whitney R.I.P.

Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson




Style and grace, she had it...Marylou Whitney !

David Bowie, Iman Redux

Iman

The designer Tory Burch inspired me to recall my time at Bergdorf Goodman, when beautiful, famous people like Iman, would come in to shop and to browse. 

I was, like everyone else, saddened to hear of the loss of David Bowie at the young age of 69, and while I never saw him perform, he was a huge influence on me and my friends back in the late 1970's. 

I can't even begin to imagine anyone more beautiful, graceful, or elegant than Iman.  The staff at BG was pretty much numb to seeing celebrities and selling to them, so we really never fawned over them.  We just tried to treat them like anyone else.  DB r.i.p.  DF *****  

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Carson Kressley in Naples!

We had a blast last night toasting the Miromar  Design Center "Designers of Distinction" ~it was such fun to have Mr. Carson Kressley as our master of ceremonies, and getting to meet him as well. Read more here !

Mary Meghan Fisher, Carson Kressley, Dean Farris

Alicia del Toro, Dean Farris, Marine Linard

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You Decorated My Life

Lions Gate, 1938, Paul R. Williams, Bel Air, CA

I was most interested to hear that singer Kenny Rogers, had recently sold his Bel Air house, called Lions Gate, completely furnished~and for a mere $46 million!  Adding an extra sheen of polish to this property is that it was a Paul R. Williams design...

One of the many books about and by Paul R. Williams

 You must read up on this iconic California architect, for his life and work were truly amazing...

Lions Gate foyer

Living Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom Suite (3,000 sq feet)

Paul Revere Williams, FAIA (February 18, 1894 – January 23, 1980) was an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. He practiced largely in Southern California and designed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Lon Chaney, and Charles Correll. He also designed many public and private buildings.^[1][2] 

via Wikipedia

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Valentino Garavani for Christmas

New Book I want from Santa

Dear Santa, I would like this book  very much~ click here

From Valentino The Emperors Table, by Andre' Leon Talley

Andre' Leon Talley

Valentino, Gwyneth, and Bruce

Here's Valentino with pal Gwyneth Paltrow ~ and (his) boyfriend Bruce Hoeksema~

Valentino and Bruce out on the town

P.S. Santa dear, if you want to throw in five homes and a yacht~ (like Val has) it's ok ! :)
Enjoy!  DF *****

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Monday Is For Mario

Mario Buatta, The Prince of Chintz, via NYSD

Mario Buatta, New York Magazine

There's only ONE Mario~ and what a great guy he is!  Monday is his birthday, so we thought of posting a tribute to the master on today's DFS...
Mario creates magic for his fortunate clients, and his talent and energy knows no boundaries.  
Lucky me !  I get to call him a friend~ !  Happy Birthday MB you devil !  What a great guy!  DF *****

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Las Palmas Star Homes

Kaufman House, 1946 by Richard Neutra

Thanks to our Desert Adventures tour, we were able to view some of the spectacular properties located in Palm Springs- in Vista Las Palmas, and the Las Palmas estate section.  The mid century beauty above, has been reportedly extensively restored, and last sold in 1992.  This house has been associated with the singer Barry Manilow.  The Kaufman family also worked with architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Dinah Shore, 1963

 The sprawling estate shown above, belonged to Ms. Dinah Shore- I always loved her television show as a child, and the Dinah Shore Golf Tournament is a huge draw every year in the Palm Springs area.  Our guide, Bob, was particularly fond of this house, which last sold in 2011, for the handsome price of 4.9 million.

Elizabeth Taylor, 1937 

One of my personal favorites, above, the Liz Taylor house, is on the same street as Dinah's and had the most beautiful white roses all around the stucco- this one can be rented for weddings, etc.  Check out Billy and yours truly posing in front of the entrance gate (below).

Billy and Dean, 2013

 I was totally entranced by the fabulous shadows cast by the intricate filigree iron work of the Liz Taylor gate...while having a somewhat bad hair day! Tee hee.  What would Liz think? Probably no worse than Larry Fortensky.

Marilyn Monroe, 1961

You may have heard of the Alexander homes? The Alexanders were big builders in the hey day of Palm Springs, and created many of the so-called "mid-century" houses still standing today.  Marilyn's house was constructed in 1961, with an estimated square footage of 2,978 - it's not far from the other Alexander house we saw, where Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon.  Perhaps Lisa Marie was even conceived there?

Lucy and Desi Arnaz, 1926

  The house above, formerly owned by Lucy and Desi, intrigued me with its very adobe look- it's also located near the former Liz Taylor house.  I think I look pretty tough here, don't you agree?

Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner, 1952

Above, this was the best shot I could get of the former home of Lily Tomlin and her partner- there is even a plaque noting the provenance- which we also saw on several other of the properties we viewed.  Obviously, privacy was a priority for these fabulous celebs.

Cher, 1938

The former home of fabulous CHER, was extensively remodeled by the star- and last sold in 2007 for around $1,950,000.00.  The gate standing open seemed very inviting, and you could glimpse the pool through the tall glass/wood entry doors, which I found very sexy.

Liberace, 1952

I saved the best for last!  Above, the "Piazza di Liberace" was used as a guest house- sometimes his mother stayed there- this one evokes a misty Hollywood Regency style- with some cute kitsch touches, such as a piano shaped mail box.  Neighbors reported hearing music coming from the house too.

detail of plaque

  We also saw the old Liberace house in Las Vegas, which sadly, was in a state of ruin. I decided not to photograph that house, located on Shirley Street- since it had seen better days.  The Cloisters house, in Palm Springs - has been bought and is being remodeled into a guest house- so I chose not to shoot that one either, but I did get the charming "Our Lady Of Solitude" chapel located directly across from The Cloisters house, which was shown in the recent film "Behind The Candelabra" (now on DVD). 

Our Lady Of Solitude, 151 W, Alejo Road, Palm Springs, CA

Well dear readers, I certainly do hope that you enjoyed my little old blog post today, and who knows, there might even be more tomorrow! Enjoy the day- DF *****