The Bed, The Shoe, The Girl: A Style Profile

The mirrored bed set, now at L'Hotel in Saint-Germain, Paris, and the shoe, by André Perugia, both once part of the stylish world of Mistinguett (1875-1956), dancer of Folies-Bergère and Moulin Rouge fame, and once highest paid female entertainer in the world.

You might remember the Folies-Bergère from the Manet painting (1881-82):


What strikes me most is just how contemporary everything looks (well, everything except the Folies Bergèrge itself). That shoe could have walked right off a runway (and SHOULD walk right into my closet) and the bed set... Let's just say mirrored furniture has been everywhere for at least a couple of years and I haven't felt compelled to buy any, yet this makes me want to reconsider. I can't say I'd plop it in a room with extremely nondescript beige walls and curtains, but we can chalk that up to boring hotel design, right?

Scans from Beds by Diane Von Furstenburg and Shoes: A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers & More by Linda O'Keeffe.

Inspired By: Donald Deskey

Came across a fabulous article in the May 1987 issue of The Magazine Antiques about artist Donald Deskey's (1894-1989) screens:

Which were a source of inspiration in the creation of my closet doors:

Deskey was primarily a set and window designer, who created his graphic, art deco/streamline modern screens and paintings for everyone from Muriel Vanderbilt to Saks Fifth Avenue, and became famous for the decoration of Radio City Music Hall in the '20s. He also did ad work in his later years— Deskey was behind the Tide bullseye and the Crest toothpaste packaging. It makes sense considering the graphic nature of his designs but it's surprising nonetheless.

A quote from the article in Antiques:

As a reviewer commented in 1929:

Screens have many uses that are utilitarian; the concealment of passageways, the shielding from drafts, to mention a few, but as a rule their present day use is an artistic one. They shorten the too long vista of a great room; they deepen the shadows in the corners in which they stand, and their angled surfaces offer a peculiar variation of light and shade that in itself is decorative.

Well said, reviewer from 1929; that is positively the most poetic way I've ever heard someone address the topic of a screen! More people should use screens. Even though not all of us have the problem of needing to shorten a "too-long vista of a great room," most could probably benefit from that peculiarly modern pattern of light that screens cast. Or the sense of enclosed intimacy they create.