Photographs and stories of the legendary hostess’s extravagant parties and glamorous guests in the final months before the Nazis invaded France. The American decorator Elsie de Wolfe was the international set’s preeminent hostess in Paris during the interwar years. She had a legendary villa in Versailles, where in the late 1930s she held two fabulous parties—her Circus Balls—that marked the end of the social scene that her friend Cole Porter perfectly captured in his songs, as the clouds of war swept through Europe. Charlie Scheips tells the story of these parties using a wealth of previously unpublished photographs and introducing a large cast of aristocrats, beauties, politicians, fashion designers, movie stars, moguls, artists, caterers, florists, party planners, and decorators. A landmark work of social history and a poignant vision of a vanished world, Scheips’s book “culminates with de Wolfe’s final grand fête, the second Circus Ball, which defined the glamour and decadence of international society before the lights went out all over Europe” (Gotham magazine).

A witty and charming account of the wildly entertaining Elsie de Wolfe in 1950s Hollywood, recounted by her dear friend, the beloved creator of Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans’ charming intergenerational friendship with the late-in-life “First Lady of Interior Decoration” provides an enormously enjoyable nostalgia trip to the sun-soaked glamour of Los Angeles, where de Wolfe surrounded herself with classic movie stars and a luminous parade of life's oddities. With hilarity and mischief that de Wolfe would no doubt approve, To the One I Love the Best lifts the curtain on 1950s Hollywood--a bygone world of extravagance and eccentricity, where the parties are held in circus tents and populated by ravishing movie stars. Bemelmans, who was working at MGM, had originally come to the California home of de Wolfe just for cocktails but by the end of the night, he was firmly established as a member of the family: given a bedroom in their sumptuous house, invitations to the most outrageous parties in Hollywood, and the friendship of the larger-than-life woman known to her closest friends simply as 'Mother'. To the One I Love the Best (which refers to de Wolfe’s dog) is a touching tribute to a fabulously funny woman and an American icon. Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you. - Elsie de Wolfe

Lewis follows the lives of four trailblazing women whose intertwined worlds span a century. Detailed, in-depth portraits highlight Elizabeth Marbury, a pioneer theatrical agent; Elsie de Wolfe, an interior designer; Anne Vanderbilt, a wealthy debutante who worked with the poor and sick; and Anne Morgan, daughter of tycoon J.P. Morgan and early women's advocate.

Delves into the personal life of this American designer known for his fantastic interiors and fabulous parties. It takes the reader beneath the surface, into Duquette's social habits and the intimate circle of his accomplished friends.

The history of interior design is punctuated by a few legends-Billy Baldwin, Sister Parish-and should include trailblazing decorator George Stacey. When George Stacey shot to prominence in the 1930s with projects for socialite Frances Cheney and style priestess Diana Vreeland, the audacity of his work caught the eye of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Town and Country, and House & Garden. An appealing nonchalance and irreverence, combined with erudition, a flair for color, and an innate grasp of balance, scale, and proportion, produced rooms that were surprising as well as sophisticated. Balancing modern aesthetics and modern living with a lifelong passion for French classicism ensured that Stacey designs were both of the moment and enduring. For the next forty years, he deftly produced a string of stylish rooms for his stylish clientele. While the ground rules of Stacey's approach remained constant, he captured the nuances of mood and culture of an exceptionally dynamic era and established a design vocabulary that defined American chic in the American century and that endures, glitteringly, to this day.

Designer Tony Duquette’s legendary Dawnridge, located in Beverly Hills, is one of the most creatively designed private homes in America. Built in 1949 by Duquette and his wife, Elizabeth, the original structure was a modest 30 x 30 foot box. Hutton Wilkinson purchased the home following Duquette’s death in 1999, and he has since breathed new life into the estate, broadening the property, adding houses of his own design, and incorporating remarkable objects designed and created by the Duquettes. Written by Wilkinson, Tony Duquette’s Dawnridge chronicles the luxe and historic home’s transformation. The book is organized by the three main houses, and Wilkinson elaborates on the spectacular design elements in each room and shares the stories behind the spaces. Tim Street-Porter’s photographs show both the original and redesigned rooms.

Combines a colorful overview of contemporary interior design with the riveting life and times of the founding mother of the decorating profession. In a fresh format, engagingly written, and chockablock with photographs and color renderings of de Wolfe's own work and of contemporary rooms that echo her ideas, this book presents a stylish view of a truly unique woman. Illustrations.