(forgive the scan of the free brochure, it didn’t travel well…)

I often mine movies for tips on dressing well and bon-mots to drop into cocktail conversation. But An Aesthete’s Lament has just reminded me that they are a good source of design inspiration as well.

Well, the worldly Mrs. E. and I have been lucky enough to step foot on some real life “sets” — at least they looked movie-perfect. I thought it might make a good subject for a post or two.

We arrived at the first “set” despite my best efforts at being doggedly uncomprehending at the ticket window of the train to…. “Edgewhere” (Not “Edgewater” as it turned out. Ah, England and the USA. Two countries separated by a common language.)

Have you ever approached a place or stepped through a front door and felt utterly at home?

Eltham Palace has been used in two movies: “The Gathering Storm” (Albert Finney as Winston Churchill!) and “Bright Young Things” directed by Stephen Fry. Several episodes of “Poirot” starring David Suchet have also been filmed there. Mr. Suchet has just recorded the audio tour for the property. Interestingly enough, one of Eltham’s owners was, in addition to being a “textile magnate,” a director for England’s Ealing Film Studios. Which may account for its theatricality.

Of course, Eltham didn’t start out as an Art Deco masterpiece. A glimpse at the exterior, the bridge over the dry moat bed, nineteen acres of garden, and a quick visit to the Great Hall will confirm your suspicions that it is much older than that. How old? It was built for Edward IV and became Henry VIII’s boyhood home. In fact, the house was first mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086*

Entrance to the Great Hall is gained by stepping through an 18th Century Chinese screen and suddenly you find yourself in medieval England, where the banners of the Tudors hang from on high and the stained glass windows depict Edward IV’s coat of arms.

The Great Hall was restored (having survived a Nazi bombing), but it doesn’t feel at all “new.” It’s very easy to imagine yourself part of a hunt feast, here, surrounded by wooden beams and a choir loft. The palace eventually fell out of favour with the royals and a civil war didn’t help matters much. In the 1800’s Eltham was a picturesque ruin, painted by the likes of JMW Turner.

Then along came the new money … and a lemur.

(Mr. and Mrs. Courtauld and pet lemur Mah-Jongg, as painted by Campbell Taylor. Image via KentOnline and British Heritage)

The Courtauld’s were granted a lease for Eltham in the 1930’s and engaged architects Seeley and Paget to marry a new wing to the Great Hall.

(Via Londontown.com)

The result was, for the time, ultramodern. The new entrance hall (seen here again with your faithful correspondent perspiring profusely therein) was created by Swedish designer Rolf Engströmer. The inlaid wood walls show a Viking and a Roman soldier as well as buildings that the Courtaulds admired.

Inside, Art Deco reigned supreme, with an ocean liner style dressing room for Mrs. Courtauld, an aluminium ceilinged and birdseye maple paneled dining room.

(Forgive the clothing. It was the hottest summer on record and we hiked from the train station.)

The library with a sofa designed with an eye for convenience… built in shelves and a place to put your drink. Mod cons, indeed.

(image via Londontown.com)

As far as home offices go, there might be something to be said for the world map, paneling… oh, and an entire room dedicated to housing your desk. An interesting note, Stephen Courtauld didn’t like the telephone. In his office there is a wall mounted one inside a little cubby hole. It could only be used for internal calls. My kind of man.

His bedroom was also nicely paneled in bird’seye maple (I think), and featured hand-painted wall treatments. There was even “hidden” door that led into his bath.

Her boudoir, bed and bath were very liveable.

I love the lighting that is hidden under the tray ceiling, and half-Greek that I am, I find it hard to resist gold tiling and a bust or two hanging around the joint.

There is much that we loved about Eltham. Although, situated as it is eleven miles from London, it would be a bit too far out for us. We did take away a lot of good interior decorating ideas. Really the only thing that we are lacking, here at the Easy and Elegant manse, is a spectacular pile of money to have it done correctly. But that’s the thing about movie sets, real or not, they continue to inspire.

* Source English-Heritage.org

We have so many stylish gentlemen to whom we may look when learning to dress. It is a shame that most of them were filmed in black and white, were illustrations in a trade magazine or are dead. The glory days of men’s haberdashery were, in my opinion, the 1930’s. There can be some argument for decades earlier or later, but I think that the 30’s were …er… swell for swells.

Which begs the question: if those were the days during which men dressed their best, could we wear those classic styles today without looking like we are in costume?

Yes.

And no.

The suit is one that I recently purchased from an eBay vendor and is very a nice Gianluca Barbera. While it is a navy flannel with a windowpane pattern, it is not as aggressively patterned as the Duke’s, above. Neither is my shirt, which is a blue tattersall with a cut-away collar. But what helps tone down the pattern on pattern (and keeps it away from costume, in my case) is the solid silver-blue tie (Ben Silver.) I could have chosen a solid navy (even knit) tie, but I like to wear a silver tie whenever I can get away with it. The shoes are also toned down Church’s suede brogues — the light deadening quality of the Cape Buck may have been a poor choice against the soft nap of the flannel, but the Duke was credited with popularizing the suede shoe and so I felt it a fitting tribute.

Cultivating a eye for the classic styles of the period between the wars requires some study, some luck and a willingness to stand out a bit. The trick is to stick with well-tailored clothing (the drape cut favoured then will look very loose to us –see the Flusser post, previous.) Hew to the spirit of the look without slavish imitation.

Unless you’re being photographed for “Vogue.” In which case, you may do anything you want.

To the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines of The United States of America and those of you among our Allies. Whether you are serving on active duty or are no longer a part of the uniformed services, thank you.

Thank you for volunteering to serve so that I never had to face a draft. Thank you for your dedication to your duty. Thank you for relocating at the drop of a hat. Thank you for deploying. Thank you for putting yourself in harm’s way regardless of your personal feelings about the matter. Thank you for making my world a safer place. Thank you for continuing to espouse honor, duty, Country. Thank you for remembering and honouring your fallen comrades.

Today, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 90 years after the guns of “the war to end all wars” fell silent, we honour you for all that you are doing and have had to do for the collective good.