My High Note

Julia and Allison, the pretty blonds over at Tartans and Sequins, deserve an Oscar for verbal effects. Not only was I unbeeelievably flattered to be their Girl Crush of the Week but, they cleaned me up so well with their kind words that I'm thinking I should do like George Costanza and go out on a high note...

Long live the Queen!

We are most honored to introduce you to this week's girl crush, the ultra fab Alice Richardson of Summer is a Verb!  Can we be totally honest here? The opportunity to feature this week's Girl Crush feels a lot like having the Queen swing by our humble beach shanty for tea Diet Coke. Take a moment and bow to the Queen. Go ahead, we're totally bowing. Her effortlessly preppy style and eternally perfect tan initially caught our eye, but it was her wit and charm that kept us hooked (ex: she dressed her cats up like Big Edie and Little Edie. The pictures in that post are not to be missed). In addition to her good looks, charm and wit, she has the inside scoop on all the preppiest trends and brands, which we of course LOVE!

Her blog Summer is a Verb chronicles her fabulous life as "a tongue-in-cheek bon vivant living in Greenwich, CT with my globe trotting husband Babe and our nutty Himalayans, George and Lolly Rockefeller. Rendezvous with me, an old school prep, as I juggle aspirations of being on the "Best Dressed Parisienne Gypset List", endless summering, Hermès wish lists, Diet Coke and pretzel lunches, white bikinis, PTH's, sisters, nieces, bff's, all things Lilly, Mrs. Roper and the resurrection of the Jacques Cohen espadrille."

Basically, we pray five times a day in the direction of her Hermés vaults in Greenwich (wouldn't the security guards' outfits be amazing in the Hermés vault? I digress!).  Enjoy getting to know our favorite, (and soon to be your favorite, too!) the ever-so-chic Alice Richardson!

Style icons? Jackie O and my friend Dorli's mother, Coco. They exude thee most harmonious blending of sporty American and European élan that has taken me yeeeaaars to cultivate. It's that perfect storm of tan limbs, pearls and old khakis with Pucci, Canforas and Hermès kerchiefs. Toss in Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's love of the Petit Bateau tee and Mrs. Roper's fondness for the caftan and you'd have my ultimate fashion love child...

Design philosophy?

1. Art takes priority over furniture in our house. A Kevin Fitzgerald feeds our soul way more than having enough seating ever could.
2. I'd rather go without than settle. Which would explain why my bedside RL lamp is sitting on the floor while I continue my search for the perfect nightstand. 
3. Learn to live with your beautiful things. Lolly has made a p/t job of perforating our linen headboard with her nails but, I far prefer being awakened each morn by her sweet, post scale crowing to having a hole-less headboard.
4. Don't invest in large pieces if there's still some apartment dwelling in your future. We learned this the hard way when our over sized white sofa wouldn't fit through our G'town front door.

Babygirl working those Roger Vivier flats with the perfect accessory...a killer tan!

Favorite book of all time? While most kids were getting Fun With Dick and Jane before bed, my Mother was reading to me from Kipling and Jane Eyre. Little Women is the first book I recall her reading that I got completely lost in and, it also led to my attempt to sleep with a clothes pin on my nose.

Best advice you ever received? All those morsels of wisdom my Mother trotted out ad nauseum growing up, or as my sister fondly says, Mom thinks she's sitting on a mountain top;  What goes around comes around, Don't blow out someone else's candle to make your own burn brighter and the perennial fav, This too shall pass. It always does, doing so gets you no where and, oh, I guess it did.

Praying to the Scarf Gods that Babe lets her go in the Paris Hermés store unsupervised.

Favorite stores? That'd be the HermèsRalphLaurenLillyPulitzerCalypso store. Know of it?

Dream place to live? Oceanfront with our families and bff's all living on the same street. Especially if that street happened to be Gin Lane.

I mean...is she serious with that hair and that tan? Keeping people safe never looked so good!

The one product you're obsessed with right now? Mario Badescu's Seaweed Night Cream. I've received so many compliments on my skin since using it that I've started slathering it in the morning as well. Next up, rolling in it.


Biggest indulgence? Yves Delorme 500 thread count bed linens and botox. Both cost a king's ransom, require a lot of maintenance and once you've indulged, there's no turning back. 


Girl crush? Oh, I've already put in my request to come back as Gwyneth Paltrow in my next life. She's the whole pretty, smart, refined, funny, talented package. Not to mention best buds with Valentino and Reese.

Favorite song? The bff is gonna scream foul if I don't cop to Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love. That song played on a loop for so long when we were living together in our early 20's that I'd place money on her insisting it be worked into my funeral procession should she outlive me. I'd like to take this opportunity to request she also add Skynard's Tuesday's Gone and The Ballad of Curtis Loew to the lineup.


Prized possession? Well, I've experienced a plane losing it's lift and several, middle of the night fire alarm awakenings so, I know firsthand that your true prized possessions, where your immediate thoughts land, are your loved ones and pets. Buuut, just in case my luck should run, out I formally bequeath my 13 pair of Canfora sandals to my size 9 niece Emma.

Nothing better than a blonde with a dark tan wearing an armful of pearls and gold!

Current hangout? At my desk in the guest room with Pilgie and Lolly just a pinning away.


Motto? It's the accumulation of many small decisions over time, more so than the few big ones, that ultimately chart the course of your life.

Being so fabulous is exhausting!

Best place on earth? In bed with Babe and the Ti-Babes on our freshly ironed, a buck for every thread count sheets, right before we all fall to sleep.


Favorite drink? Water. Such a surfer answer. 

If this were a picture of either of us, we'd blow it up to life size and hang it in our homes in the path of maximum foot traffic. It would also be every year's Holiday card, forever.

Be sure to check out The Divine Ms. Alice's blog, Summer is a Verb (as if you're not already reading it religiously)! We'd like to give a huge thank you and many xo's to Alice for being so gracious, funny and sweet - and for not being weirded out that we emailed her re: our crush on her. You're the best in the biz, Alice!


Kindness of West Coast girls, Julia and Allison of Tartan & Sequins. Weirded out, are y'all for realz? It was an honor. A feather in my cap. A cap that I will no longer be able to leave the house without if I want to keep your hip rendering of moi intact. I'll become the Greta Garbo of the blogger world. All incognito in my Hermès kerchiefs and Jackie O shades, making Diet Coke and Megamillion ticket runs just to keep the myth alive...XXOO