Jason Jobson, Dallas Texas: Last month I spent a FREEZING weekend up in Litchfield County, Connecticut. I was a guest of a friend who has one of those compounds with staff, stables and Style by the acre. The whole area is fabulously chic in an un-hampton’s way. You know the crowd, they don’t chase after the latest "it" bag. In fact, they have more bank than bags. What they do buy is horses. No, actually they have horses bred for them. There are rolling hills of undisturbed country and you usually don’t think about a neighbor unless you get in your car and drive over to see one. I have to say, it is one hell of a place to snuggle up and have a good night’s sleep. It’s also a dream of a place to find antiques and super chic collectibles. One place to spend a few hours browsing and buying is Michael Trapp antiques in West Cornwall…. The owner and shop keep is a most interesting fellow who has created a fantasy world of stone, fountains, and decorating finds – a bit Italian loggia meets Miss Havisham – Great Expectations.
My gracious host planned for us to have dinner at another friends house on Saturday night. That’s what the Connecticut crowd does. They don’t throw on every piece of new clothing and line up for reservations at one of two hot spots in town to eat. They make plans and invite a small group of people to dinner at their home. Now I must throw in a disclaimer here. I grew up in a poor-cousin version of this Wasp’s nest known as Litchfield County. So it goes without saying that everything should be taken with a grain of salt. The somber serenity of rolling hills can cut like a knife day after day in the grey winter months. The bucolic aesthetic and lock-jaw attitude can be quite stepford like. It’s enough to send a boy running for a 3 day bender in the east village, desperate for a non homogenized experience! On the flip side, living in NYC can also send you running for a long walk on a country road in an L.L. Bean barn jacket and some knee high Wellies! So here I am – Range Rovering from town to town to have dinner with another group of refugees from Manhattan -all of us trying to forget the honking horns, and squealing garbage trucks that are too often embedded in the psyche of New Yorkers. Our dinner host had a cozy place decorated like a big white washed country lodge, with a great room filled with sofa’s and chairs all surrounding a humongous fireplace that crackled and roared with cool spurts of air from the flu. It was a perfect setting for a Winter Saturday night in the country.
The pleasant surprise of the evening was who was seated to my left at dinner -none other than the Queen of celebrity news and Hollywood chatter – Liz Smith. Yes, that Liz Smith, the syndicated columnist who has been reporting scoops on everyone from Liz Taylor & Richard Burton to Jude law & Sienna Miller.
I was in awe of this legend who was as personable as could be. This is someone who could hide behind her own celebrity – after all she knows EVERYONE. She had just had lunch the day before with Rupert Everett. On the contrary, she was friendly and funny and held court all night with stories that had us all laughing and at times gasping! After all, there are things that she just cannot print. Things that are worth gold to a captive audience of New Yorkers who thought they were in the know. Two things struck me the most. First how incredible Ms. Smith looks for her age. She just celebrated her 84th birthday! I’m not one to throw around peoples age, but I saw her on that Michael Eisner show “Conversations” talking about it, so I know she is cool with it. Half the room was half her age, but no one had a quicker wit! The second thing I noticed was her clothes. She was wearing the most beautiful Periwinkle blue leather Jean jacket that you would find on a 40 year old, and she rocked it! Paired back with a multicolored turtleneck and grey flannel trousers, the leather jacket was a shot of color that hit the spot. It was a great choice that drew her deeper blue eyes out and made them dance as she told story after story. I just had to ask her where she found this keepsake leather piece. I was thinking Armani, or Akris, - maybe Jill Sander… all wrong.
It turns out her entire outfit was all from the Carlisle collection. Doesn’t ring a bell? Well you know the collection, or at least you have seen it. It’s worn year after year by first ladies and Washington wives who have an eye for fashion but who might not have an oil heiress budget to keep them well heeled. It’s also the favorite of those I mentioned above who would rather buy a horse than a shearling from the latest runway show. The collection is only sold through appointments in representatives homes, so you won’t find it in any store. Which does add to the appeal. Fashionable clothes, well made, that don’t cost an arm and a leg, that won’t be seen coming and going all over Madison avenue!
This was the kind of weekend that makes living in New York so special. At any given moment, you have the chance to meet anyone! Liz Smith is an inspiration and a class act. I hope to run into her again, maybe next time in a warmer place!