A Tantalizing Glimpse: Bunny Mellon's Plane

I was just speaking to a friend recently about Bunny Mellon's private plane and how curious we were about the interior of the plane.  Were there baskets, hats, a Rothko??  Here is a tantalizing glimpse at Mrs. Mellon's plane:

Bunny Mellon's private plane.  Image from Sotheby's.

xo, Juliana

Bunny Mellon's Well Appointed Desk

There are many wonderful things in the upcoming Bunny Mellon auction at Sotheby's but some of my favorite pieces are Mrs. Mellon's desk accessories.

Rachel 'Bunny' Lambert's very well appointed desk:

A group of gold and bamboo pens by Cartier:

A gold and agate bowl by Schlumberger:

A gold sea shell clock by Schlumberger:

A sodalite, gold and emerald letter opener with an agate and gold letter opener:

A gold sea urchin clock by Schlumberger:

A pair of gold and lapis lazuli picture frames:

A pair of Schlumberger pens, one with coral accents:

A gold pearl and diamond box inscribed ' Happy Anniversary Darling Bun, 1 May 1977'

and I believe Mrs. Mellon had this rock crystal and sodalite rhinoceros by Fulco di Verdua on a mantle but I would keep it on my desk:

Collection of Bunny Mellon.  All photos from Sotheby's.

xo, Juliana

Bunny Mellon Style

I am sure you know, Cristóbal Balenciaga did the complete wardrobe of Madame Bunny Mellon until he retired and Hubert de Givenchy took over - Mrs. Mellon even had her own atelier in Maison Givenchy.

"She was very shy, very timid.  I never thought she would order any clothes from me.  But the next collection, we sent off sketches and samples and she ordered a lot of clothes."

Givenchy

Givenchy even made her gardening hats - which is really the ne plus extra in chic don't you think...

"I made hats in denim, and jean, and cotton.  Because Bunny bought in quantity.  And sometimes I would say to her, 'Bunny why do you need so many?'  And she'd say, 'Because I might lose it.'"

Givenchy

So, as I was reading and looking through the catalogs last night, I saw a photo of Mrs. Mellon that I had not seen before and fell in love with how chic and classic she looked in this particular photo:

I was very fortunate to have bought a couple of Mrs. Mellon's Balenciaga's a few years ago for RARE vintage and you can see them here and here.

xo, Juliana

Bunny Mellon and I

Tomorrow the preview starts at Sotheby's for the Bunny Mellon sale and I am soooo excited to see Mrs. Mellon's collection!  Sadly, none of Mrs. Mellon's famed Balenciaga and Givenchy wardrobe is included in the sale but I did see a bag in the catalog that I am sure was custom made for Bunny Mellon by her great friend and couturier, Hubert de Givenchy.  

The bag has the name of the Mellon's Virgina home, Oak Spring Farm, and the reason why I strongly suspect it is Givenchy, because Givenchy made all of her wardrobe and...

This is my Givenchy bag which had belonged to my husband's grandmother.  It has always been my favorite summer bag and now I love it even more that I know the very discreet and very chic Bunny Mellon was carrying a similar bag.

xo, Juliana