Truman's Swans

"I’d rather have bad things written about me than be forgotten" Pamela (Digby Churchill Hayward) Harriman

Darlings, it's just one of those things. Everyone needs to know how to properly open a champagne bottle. Champagne moments tend to be a pretty big deal and who wants to feel extra nervous and uneasy when there is a potential for exploding corks and a shower of bubbly that is not as glam as one might think. But before we even get to the mechanics of the opening, there are a couple of things to take note of that are key to the smooth moment. Champagne is much like a beautiful French girl with a secret, neither should ever be agitated. Make sure the bottle has not recently been rattled during transit or that it hasn't been shaken by the self-titled 'funny guy' in your party. Ideally your bottle should have rested for at least 30 minutes before trying to open it. An agitated champagne bottle will never, ever be your friend, trust your friend Tru on that one. Your champagne should also be chilled; room temperature bubbly is never in vogue. Step 1 Remove the foil t...

When Truman Capote went on tour with The Rolling Stones, it turned into one of the strangest and most uncomfortable episodes in rock-and-roll journalism. It was 1972. The year of swagger and excess. Of stadium lights and packed arenas. And into that haze… stepped Truman Capote, armed with his little notebook, and Lee Radziwill to boot. He had signed on to chronicle the Stones’ 1972 American tour for Rolling Stone magazine. The idea was to capture the decadence and cultural power of the band at their peak. Capote, then in his late 40s, known for ‘In Cold Blood’ and high-society Manhattan circles, was dropped into the chaotic, drug-heavy, sexually charged world of early ’70s rock and roll. So there stood Capote. Observing. Judging. Absorbing. Or at least trying to. Yes, he was fascinated, but he was also appalled.  He found the band crude and uninteresting, later describing them in unflattering terms, mocking their intelligence and manners. Capote reportedly described them in ways th...

“ I may sound old-fashioned, but I want to think all women should be treated like I want my wife, daughters, and granddaughters to be treated. I notice today that good manners—like standing up when a woman enters the room, helping a woman with her coat, letting her enter an elevator first, taking her arm to cross the street—are sometimes considered unnecessary or a throwback. These are habits I could never break, nor would I want to. I realize today a lot more women are taking care of themselves than in the past, but no woman is offended by politeness." Frank Sinatra 1915-1998

  The lovely Livanos sisters, Eugenia Niarchos and Athina Onassis, 1956 At the time, the sisters were married to two of the world's richest shipping magnates, Stavros Niarchos and Aristotle Onassis

Lee Radziwill, kicking it with Mick and Bianca Jagger in Montauk, New York, 1972