Champagne with Miss Havisham

Rough Luxe Interiors, Champagne and Ghosts....
It's a very late Champagne Friday post indeed this week! My apologies, but things are getting super busy at Fanantique right now in the lead up to our very first Spring Racing event, and then Christmas not long after that. Of course, I have been working away on our vintage fashion extravaganza coming up in about six weeks time, and it is shaping up to be a fabulous event with an amazing team of creative talent already involved..but more about that later. Right now, I am going to tell you about an event that Gabor and I attended last night.

Last night, we were invited by one of our suppliers to attend the opening of their new showroom. (It said 'Champagne served" on the invitation, how could I resist?)
With a name like "Vixen and Velvet" you can already begin to imagine the type of range they have. They bring gorgeous vintage furniture and decorator pieces from Europe. Most found in old manors and castles, that have long been neglected.

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have a fascination for fairy tales, ghost stories and Gothic literature, especially anything involving vampires...no, I am not talking  the pasty faced, angst ridden 'Twilight' vampires running around North of Seattle, but the real old school Eastern European variety. (Maybe that's why I ended up with Gabor, a real life Transylvanian, the poor guy I often ask him to repeat lines from Bella Lugosi movies just to hear the accent) It makes sense that pieces with such an interesting and mysterious past appeal to me. I love the romantic idea of looking at the piece and wondering about and all that has taken place around it, if it were not just an inanimate object I'm sure it would have a great story to tell.

(We ordered a gorgeous chandelier for the shop and are hoping to have it hanging in store next week. I also have some incredible Christmas decorations coming from them later in the year)
The showroom was beautifully set up and certainly inspired a magical feel. The style could be described as 'rough luxe' , old world luxury that has since deteriorated or been neglected, the grandeur remains but the pretentiousness is gone.

Along with ghost tales, this look conjured up thoughts of Charle's Dicken's character from Great Expectations, Miss Havisham. Of course it is a classic story that has been reinterpreted many times.  I particularly like the movie produced in 1998 starring Ann Bancroft as Miss Havisham (also featuring De Niro, Gywneth Paltrow , and the wonderful Ethan Hawke). I adored the depiction of Miss Havisham's delapidated mansion and it is exactly what the 'rough luxe' interior style is all about.

The costumes are also incredible, Bancroft's vintage attire is divine and Paltrow's character, Estelle, wears nothing but Donna Karan during the whole movie (look out for a stunning backless, velvet evening dress)

Another perfect example of this is the 'Rough Luxe" hotel opened in London not long ago. The interior designer combined luxery with vintage and industrial effects to create the look.

Of course if you want the real deal, I can recommend a fabulous website, where you can look at hundreds of heart-breakingly beautiful photographs of abandoned buildings that were once great.
Never mind the title, but click here  just watch out for ghosts!

For a touch of 'luxe' this week, add a splash of Chamboard to your Champagne.
easy and delicious!