Truman's Swans

  Marella Agnelli and Jacqueline Kennedy In Amalfi 1962

  Gloria Guinness 1961

“There is only one unpardonable sin- deliberate cruelty. All rest can be forgiven.” Truman Capote

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor (photographed by Philippe Halsman in 1956)

  "You gotta have style. It helps you get down the stairs. It helps you get up in the morning. It’s a way of life. Without it, you’re nobody. I’m not talking about lots of clothes." Diana Vreeland

Babe Paley and Gloria Guinness On the Guinness’ yacht, off the coast of Italy July 1967

Slim Keith with Bill and Babe Paley  "Babe became the best woman friend I've ever had. She possessed all the qualities that one looks for in a female friend-totally trustworthy, kind, thoughtful, and funny. I admired her more than any woman I've known, on every level. And I learned a tremendous amount from her about character, goodness, kindmess, manners-hers were the best of anyone's-and taste" Slim Keith on Babe Paley (excerpt from Slim: Memories of a Rich and Imperfect Life )

"The Bouviers were poseurs. They looked like money, breeding and power, but they weren’t. Believing themselves to be aristocrats, they felt and behaved like aristocrats" Truman Capote

FURIOUS LOVE  by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger  An account of the tumultuous and passionate love affair between the two Hollywood stars. Definitely a love full of passion in all its forms. It's the letters Mr. Burton wrote to the woman he loved that I find enthralling! A perfect steamy summer read!

  Truman Capote with his partner Jack Dunphy In Rome 1949

"Regrets? I think everyone has regrets, and people who say they haven’t are either liars . . . or narcissists. There have been many things in my life to have regrets about, in the sense I wish I could have changed them, or somehow made them not happen. What I don’t have is envy." Lee Radziwill

  Marella Agnelli At her home Villa La Leopolda in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera 1963

As well versed in the 'please' and 'thank you' as one can be, there are always certain tricky situations that can confuse even the fanciest of jet setting, highfalutin high society! Eating an artichoke has always been one of those situations for me. Tru is not a big fan of the artichoke or of the 'dirty little fingers feeling' while I eat so it must be some kind of fate that they happen to pop up a little too often for my liking. How does one peel away the never-ending layers of this blossom AND try to find nourishment somewhere in this pile of leaves you've created in front of you while still looking as fabulous as ever in front of your dinner partner, boss, friend, etc. who seems to know just what to do? ('seems to' are the operative words here). The proper approach to tackling different foods happens to be one of the most popular etiquette questions I get. No one wants to look like they don't know what they are doing, especially when t...

  Slim Keith with Diana and Reed Vreeland At Kitty Miller's New Year's Eve party in New York City 1952

C. Z. GUEST Did you know... 1. She was born Lucy Douglas Cochrane on February 19, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts. 2. Her brother Alexander called her "Sissy" and she eventually transformed that into "C. Z." 3.  On March 8, 1947, she married Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, the son of Frederick Guest (who was a son of Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne) and Lady Cornelia Spencer-Churchill (daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough). Winston's mother was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. 4. Ernest Hemingway was the best man at the wedding, which took place at Hemingway's home in Havana, Cuba. 5. One of the most photographed women in 20th century America, long considered one of the "beautiful people", she exuded an air of indifference when it came to her status as a stylish icon . 6. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1959. 7. The epitome of aristocratic American prep, she chose...

“Whatever the fashion, the important thing is time for upkeep. We take it for granted that a girl gets the best she can for herself. But, if she doesn’t keep it up, if it isn’t in beautiful condition, if the shoes aren’t cleaned before she wears them every day and her bag isn’t cleaned and everything in it cleaned, she’ll never look like anything.” Diana Vreeland (1903-1989)

Marella Agnelli 1967

Babe Paley and Margaret Hayes (Mrs. Herbert Bayard Swope Jr.) In the Crystal Room of the Sherry Netherland Hotel, New York City circa 1964