The Object of My Desire: Fit for a Queen

All roads seem to be leading me to Paris this summer, even though I've solidly been on US soil for at least the last nine months. Not only have I devoured the book, The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, but I am also flying through My Live in France by Julia Child in anticipation of the film Julie & Julia's Friday release. To compound mon désir Parisien, I continue to be delightfully surprised by the French treasures that are plentiful in flea markets and thrift shops. One such specimen is this 1920s postcard I found recently in San Francisco of Marie Antoinette's bedroom at the Petit Trianon of the Versailles palace. This postcard shows the bedroom décor of a queen who had her king , Louis XVI, build just for her as a personal retreat just yards away from the royal residence.

The bedroom décor in the card was probably from the late 1800s, but you can see in the image to the right how it was updated during a recent and extensive re-do of the Petit Trianon, which reopened to guests last year.

While I was there in November, it was too late in the day to visit Marie-Antoinette's on-site getaway, but I did take in the controversial Jeff Koons exhibit that was installed throughout the rooms and the grounds of Versailles. I can understand how people might be disappointed to see Versailles taken over by Koons's contemporary work, but it was also an opportunity to see the centuries-old palace literally reflected in a different light.

While impossible to miss his in-your-face installations like the hanging lobster in the Salon de Mars or a porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, I walked right by this bouquet of flowers that was perched in Marie Antoinette's big-house bedroom.

It has a semi-naughty name that's not safe for family reading, so I'll retranslate it into "140 jerks," a term I'm sure could have described some among the the royal court who used to hover around the queen's presence almost 24 hours a day.

For more décor sure to keep your mind wandering, pick up The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Powell's.

Amusez-vous! Et à la prochaine!

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

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The Gift of Thrift: Virtually Versailles

As many of you know, I am not greedy with my thrift finds and love to give them away, especially if I discover an item of special meaning or is located in a particularly heartwarming locale.

Such was the case when I ventured out to an estate sale with my garage-sale pal Ruth Handel. While in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, we headed up into the Pacific Palisades to a spot that was clearly the home of a couple who was very much in love.

Of course, I immediately went into a thrift trance when I entered a room packed with ephemera -- old wedding albums, love notes sent via Western Union, invitations to birthday parties printed out by a ditto machine in purple ink, negatives from handmade Christmas cards, photographs of the couple at a Washington nightclub in the 1940s, and the list goes on. The husband was a well known doctor and patron of the arts and his wife quite the socialite and local tour guide.

I could have spent hours weeding through travel guides from around the world, brochures from far-away places, notes, letters and priceless photographs, but here is a sampling of some of the items I brought home, for about $15.

Of all the things I found on that magical day, a standout was this catalog, "Treasures of Versailles." It dates from 1962 when the some of the palace's finest objects went on tour of the United States. The tour, which made its way to (as they were called back then) The Art Museum of Chicago, Toledo Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum and The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, and was heralded as the largest collection ever allowed to leave France. The exhibition touched American soil at a time of disrepair for Versailles, and the French government was seeking ways to raise money for bringing the national treasure back to its former splendor.

According to an October 1962 Life magazine the offerings included "Gobelin tapestries, carpets, furniture, drawings, paintings and sculpture from the reign of Louis XIV to that of his descendant, Louis Philippe, 200 years later."

Almost 50 years later as I was preparing for my arrival in Austin chez LeAnn Stephenson, The Vintage Laundress, I thought this would be a fun gift for her, knowing that she, too, shares my love of everything French, especially the magical château where Marie Antoinette once lived. I wrapped my new treasure up in a Frenchy looking vintage scarf I found in a Long Island thrift shop, et voilà, one of my favorite gifts of thrift!

À la prochaine!

The Elegant Thrifter

Always Frugal, Always Fabulous!

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