Vintage Fashion

Thursday, January 27, 2011

House of ExtraLavanda

On the coldest winter morning of the season, a crew of fifteen sleepy, downtown New Yorkers boarded a JetBlue flight to West Palm Beach. We'd be joining a party of sixty other guests for a seated dinner organized by House of Lavande, a local vintage jewelry company owned by Tracy Smith. To show her fans and customers what the company's made of she coincided the party with the centennial anniversary of Palm Beach.

Dizzy from the 3-hour plane ride, Starbucks in one hand, event calendar in the other, we shuffled onto the mini-bus that would take us to the The Breakers Hotel. En route the driver suggested we make a quick stop at the House of Lavande store to pick up our pre-ordered jewelry for the party. After some light protesting and continued incessant yawning, we gave in, de-boarded the bus and entered the store. Suddenly everyone's eyes lit up. Gasps and shrieks resounded throughout the store. The shuffling turned into feverish, giddy bustling. We didn't know where to turn first. Drawer upon drawer, shelf upon shelf, revealing color or metal coordinated trays of vintage costume bracelets, necklaces, cuffs, rings, tiaras and more. House of Lavande is a lavish, shimmering paradise, a sensational feast of gold and silver. When he finally made it to the exit, an exasperated Mickey Boardman said: "I had to stay on the surface because if I had dug any deeper into those drawers I would've had a meltdown."

House of Lavande's beach-side dinner party kicked off on Saturday night just as the sun was setting. Guests included editors Amanda Hearst (Marie Claire) and Luigi Tadini (Paper), bloggers Jane Aldridge (Sea of Shoes) and Lindsay Gathright (W), local reporters and clients and New York City cool kids Jen Brill and Chrissie Miller. The dinner table was a rich tableau of lavender and purple flower arrangements, floating crystal chandeliers, lavender scented candles and place settings fit for a royal wedding. Everyone was in the best of spirits, bedazzled in House of Lavande designer jewels, sipping lavender vodka cocktails and yes, there was even lavender-colored cauliflower and ice cream! Dinner quickly turned into a full on dance party - DJ Chelsea Leyland played records without taking as much as a 5-minute break until the wee hours - ties and jackets came off and the waiters got frisky with the ladies. For a full report check out Billy Farrell's photos (http://www.billyfarrellagency.com/home/event/610); Caroline Giamari's Purple Diary (http://galleries.purple-diary.com/tags/house-of-lavande-miami-january-2011) or W magazine's blog (http://www.wmagazine.com/w/blogs/editorsblog/2011/01/27/the-jewel-of-palm-beach.html).
Thank you Tracey for an amazing night!