My current favourite, 'Josephine' our Empire style nightgown. Why feel like a queen when you could feel like an Empress?
I recently realised that my closet was simply not luxurious enough for my nightgowns, but what to do? Some valuable paintings for the wall? There’s no wall space left between the hanging rails. It’s a difficult problem, I finally had to choose between a mural for the ceiling, or a brand new gold floor. Or aluminium. Or copper, or (heaven forbid) imitation gold leaf. And the best thing about all these choices is that each is available on sustainable and renewable hardwood, bamboo or engineered wood floors from ecolux.
Sounds good, and should look good too, but I’m wondering if gold is a little vulgar, or maybe too down market? Perhaps I’ll wait until the platinum version is available.
14 Saville Row, London, W1
I’ve no idea whether the Queen’s designer ever created nightgowns for her Majesty, but I am sure that if he had, they would have been very stylish. Not chic you understand because Hardy Amies despised chic as being too much of the present, whereas, as we all know, style is eternal.
An intelligence office during World War II, Hardy Amies set up shop in post war Britian chosing an uninhabitable mansion in Saville Row (where else?) where Sheridan had once lived. His early financial backers included Virginia Cherrill (once married to Cary Grant) and despite the post war regulation of, for example, the number of pleats on a skirt, built a reputation which lead to him becoming designer to Princess Elizabeth, later Her Majesty the Queen. He is said to have disliked the mini skirt, so it’s difficult to imagine what he would have though of grunge.
Why do I mention this? Anyone interested in fashion will be fascinated by the Hardy Amies archive, which has been opened at 14 Saville Row in London, to celebrate what would have been Amies’ 100th birthday. Entrance is free, but by appointment only.
Jenson Button's Bugatti Veyron
So, luxury yachts don’t take your fancy? There are other ways to get your luxury sleepwear from A to B, and of course the humble automobile (or car as we call it in the UK) comes immediately to mind. Or maybe not so humble. Those of you who watch Top Gear (and if not, why not?) will know the Bugati Veyron well from Jeremy Clarksons race, but did you know that for only nine hundred thousand or so (that’s about 1.5 million dollars) you could have not just a Bugatti Veyron, but one whose previous owner was none other than Fomula 1 World Champion Jenson Button. Apparently the car, which is black (and after all color is the most important thing) has only 2,452 miles on the clock and comes “complete with all usual refinements for a £1,000,000 supercar”. Which means of course that it’s a bargain at the price!
I would buy it, but there’s just not enough room for all my nightgowns.
Luxury Yachts
Now that everyone, their next door neighbors, their best friends and their cats have what at least look like Louis Vuitton luggage, how can you transport your luxury sleepwear?
There’s something to be said for having a wardrobe waiting for you at each locale, and don’t get me wrong we’d love to help you build it, but we know our clients love their nightgowns and robes so much they don’t want to be parted from them, so how do you get them from place to place?
Obviously one must be careful about one’s luggage, but here’s a company whose customization may fit the bill. T.T. Trunks provide luxurious personalized and specialized luggage of several kinds, from a complete mini bar to a vanity. Of course you may find that having perfect luggage gives you a yen to travel, in which case there can be no better way to see the world than luxury yacht. Check out project 1011 which is said to include (amongst a great deal) an underwater observation chamber, a mini submarine and an indoor swimming pool.
Well, now I know what I want for Christmas.
