Posts from ‘February, 2011’

Rembrandt at The Frick

Feb 28th, 2011

James Andrew at The Frick - photo Matthew Dean

In an effort to hone my own personal aesthetic, I’m constantly looking at fine art, architecture, and design; one of my greatest resources for this endeavor is The Frick. With its combined setting, exquisite interiors, and world class art exhibitions, the Frick never fails to engage my curiosity. Their latest exhibition, Rembrandt and His School; Masterworks from the Frick and Lugt Collection, is no exception. It’s a truly ravishing show representing Henry Clay Frick’s collection of important paintings, drawings, and etchings by the artist, his pupils, and followers, along with 66 works on paper by Rembrandt and his school on loan from the collection of Frits Lug.

As you may have gathered, I’m a bit fond of playing the dandy, and it’s clear our friend Rembrandt created many fanciful roles for his self-portraits as well: from prince, to nobleman, to courtier, to soldier. We were particularly taken with his etchings, Self-Portrait with Raised Sabre 1634, and his strangely contemporary and rather intense looking Self-Portrait, Frowning: Bust 1630 from the Lugt Collection—seems the master precursed our WIJW concept by several centuries. The question is WIRW?

Inspiring, entertaining and enlightening, this is one of those not to be missed exhibitions. The show runs through May 15, 2011.

Admiring the very elegant reception hall and the fantastic views of the Russell Page garden, I’m sporting a Tom Ford “Country Jacket” in a dark brown wide wool check, dark brown cotton corduroy pants, purple and brown silk polka dot pocket square and brown suede with brown crocodile cap toe shoes, purple and white stripe shirt with contrast white collar and cuffs by Gucci, Ralph Lauren brown silk satin tie and purple alligator belt with sterling buckle, Seaman Schepps black pearl cuff links and my fragrance is Creed Royal Water.

A Joyful Jaunt

Feb 25th, 2011

by WIJW.

3 comments

James Andrew at Lords South Beach Hotel.

As you have probably gathered from our previous posts, we had a rather fantastic mini holiday at Lords South Beach Hotel. They provide the perfect staging for a South Beach weekend—with their super fun vibe, and very well priced rooms, you’ll feel compelled to assemble a group of your most fascinating friends to join you there! And incidentally, one needn’t feel guilty for indulging, since the hotel donates a good portion of the price of your room to its “give-back groups:” The Hetrick Martin Institute, The Point Foundation, and Care Resource.

Lords South Beach Hotel

We’ll be visiting Lords again in the very near future—hopefully before we lose our Miami bronze to NYC’s winter shadows!

Enjoying the “Brokedown Palace” beauty of the lush tropical garden and pool area, I’m sporting a white cotton pinstripe suit by Gucci, TurnBull and Asser turquoise herringbone weave cotton shirt with contrast white collar and cuffs, Charvet turquoise silk pocket square, Seaman Schepps precious turquoise cuff links, Hermes “blue jeans blue” leather belt with silver buckle, Lanvin teal suede sneakers add a more playful feel to my ensemble, white sunglasses by KVA for Oliver Peoples and my fragrance is Creed Erolfa.

Brian Gorman – Hotelier

Feb 23rd, 2011

by WIJW.

10 comments

James Andrew and Brian Gorman - photo Scott McBee

On our recent trip to Miami, my dear friend, the super chic hotelier Brian Gorman, and I co-hosted a fabulous cocktail fete at his ultra glam Lords South Beach Cha Cha Rooster Bar. I had the great pleasure to connect with old friends as well as some fabulous local WIJW fans over drinks—do try the Cha Cha’s mojitos when you go, they’re simply superb! While there we took the opportunity to chat with the brilliant Gorman about his latest venture, Lords South Beach Hotel.

WIJW: What do you mean when you say Lords is “an appropriately orientated hotel?
BG: The hotel is a place for all to feel comfortable, relax and have a good time. It means you don’t have to be something for us; we will be something for you.

WIJW: What were some of your core design concepts when creating Lords?
BG: We wanted the hotel to encourage people to have fun and for this to be communicated in the spirit of the design. The décor is deliberately playful with bold colors, cabana stripes, and quirky details throughout – such as our lobby polar bear and the vintage photos in our restaurant of the old ladies of Miami Beach. We liked the idea of mixing-in these unexpected touches.

WIJW: I also liked what you said about bringing your own cool to a place – can you elaborate on that? You had likened the idea of a studio 54 kind of place where people felt free to be themselves- gay – straight – etc.
BG: Being different, being happy, being comfortable – this is cool. It’s the people that make a place cool and we like to celebrate their differences. That said, we do seem to have an unusually high demographic of handsome people hanging out by the pool and eating in the restaurant! (Laughs).

WIJW: What are some of your aspirations and fantasies as a hotelier?
BG: To continue creating environments where people enjoy spending time and feel part of a community. We believe the Lords brand could work in many cities throughout the country and we are actively exploring these opportunities.

WIJW: I’m sure it would please our WIJW audience if you’de tell us a bit about what you are wearing.
BG: Jeans, always Prada. Jacket and tie, YSL. Shirt, Charvet. Shoes Louis Vuitton.

Glitter Stairway at Lords South Beach Hotel.

A kiss with the super chic Brian Gorman (top), I’m sporting a “Spencer” sports jacket in rose silk linen basket weave and a white cotton shirt with french cuffs by Tom Ford, Seaman Schepps coral and shell cuff links, shocking pink jeans by Dior, silk floral print pocket square and ivory suede loafers both by Tom Ford, python belt with silver buckle by Gucci and my fragrance is fragrance is Creed Erolfa.