The Beach Bash

This week, I received my save the date for the 2011 Red Cross Beach Bash, a fixture on any young Palm Beacher's social calendar and a great way to celebrate the end of one year and the start of the next. Sponsored by Lilly Pulitzer, the fete draws about 400 guests clad in company's bold prints. Last year, I used the opportunity to break out one of my favorite vintage Lilly pieces, a pristine 1960s Lilly Men's Stuff blazer which featured a vibrant zoo scene. Check out the blazer and more pics from last year's Bash below. 

Red Cross Beach Bash, December 29, 2011, tickets ($125) available here. 

Lord Lillypants

Picked these bad boys up a while ago at my favorite Palm Beach thrift store. Circa 1970s Lilly Pulitzer "Men's Stuff," they needed a few trips to the tailor before they fit correctly (bye bye, bellbottoms), but it was well worth it for the print. Toned down (a bit) with navy velvet Stubbs and a white Lacoste.

Photo Op | Palm Beach Punch

Stubbs and a rum punch, poolside, at the Breakers in Palm Beach.

Strong Island

With the mercury today reaching near-tropical heights (compared to the past few weeks), it's become clear that summer is around the corner. That means it's time to make sure you've got all the essentials for a beach trip, whether it be to the Eastern Shore or East Hampton. This (obviously) includes swimwear. If you're still sporting some baggy, cargo pocket-ed trunk, ditch 'em for a suit from Strong Boalt, by Palm Beach native (and Ralph Lauren alum) Amanda Boalt. Now in her second season, the suits are well cut and sport some gorgeous prints inspired by South Florida and the Bahamas. (And they look adorable on girls, too!) Throw on a white linen shirt and you're set for an après-beach cocktail.

Flying Fish Swim Trunks (Papaya), $145, Strong Boalt

The Lilly P. Jungle

Each trip I take to Palm Beach, I stock up on secondhand preppy essentials at Fiore Menswear, a store near Sunset Avenue in a section of the island devoted to thrifting and designer consignment shops. It's chock full of finds, including Loro Piana cashmere outerwear, vintage Hermès ties, shirts from Turnbull, and the like (all at quite reasonable prices). My favorite, though, is the extensive selection of vintage Lilly - they've literally plastered the walls with it. This trip I returned with two pairs of "go-to-hell" pants (a la Tom Wolfe): a blue and white cotton batik-esque print (left), and the very loud ostrich print ones on the right in, gasp, polyester. Some alterations were needed to take these pants into this century - removing the flared leg and taking in the waist and seat - but the finished product will be 100% unique, pants not likely to be seen on anyone else from Bar Harbor to Winter Park (not in this print, anyway). Pictures of the final product to come once the tailor is done with them.
N.B. - There is not a "go-to-hell" shirt. Save the Hawaiian short sleeve numbers for the fanny pack toting tourist masses.

Ebay Find | Purple PL Silk Blazer

Yeah, it screams "I am Chuck Bass," and you can probably only wear it once a year, but... I do love this blazer. Purple silk shawl DB Purple Label. Buy it Now for $488.

Seven Days of Fall | Day 6

The Custom Slipper

I'm a sucker for a good slipper. Not the fuzzy kind, mind you, but the velvet variety with a leather sole and grosgrain trim. (You can even wear them out of the house!) It's a great way to express one's personality in a subtle, or not so subtle, way. Stubbs and Wootton, a brand once favored by crusty Locust Valley types, has become something of a crossover hit with a younger generation. They've supplemented the traditional family crests and floral motifs that adorned their shoes for designs a bit more subversive - NYC manhole covers, for instance, and ones that read "Screw You" in clip art (aptly named "College"). Of course, the old styles are still there; we wouldn't want to offend the Upper East Side too much, would we? My favorite new feature, though, is their new virtual bespoke service, where you can pick out your own colors and designs and preview them online. Here are a few of my own designs:

These are probably what Tom Wolfe would refer to as "go to hell shoes" - perfect for Palm Beach:

Stubbs and Wootton Bespoke, $550, stubbsandwootton.com

A Palm Beach Institution

Photo: Palm Beach Grill


The Palm Beach Grill is one of the few things on this tiny toothpick of an island that everybody can agree on - the old guard stalwarts and the young transplants; the Jews and the WASPs; the moldy old money and the parvenu arrivistes - mostly because the food is simple and delicious. The restaurant is actually a somewhat tweaked Houston’s, but the PBG is known as such because of the restriction on chain restaurants in Palm Beach proper. Had the restaurant been named Houston’s, I can’t believe it would have been nearly as popular with the moneyed locals. And popular it is. In season (that would be late November until late April) the place is booked solid a month in advance. A friend said her parents have a standing reservation for every other night at the place, which probably isn’t an exaggeration. Even the bar area, which is really just an extension of the dining room, usually has it’s own waiting list stretching to an hour or more.

The energetic dining room, open kitchen, and great menu are a welcome respite from the other culinary options on the island: upscale Italian, with varying degrees of success (Bice, Renato’s, Amici, Trevini, the list goes on) and bland country club food that one would expect in a country club town. Once you get a reservation or score a seat at the bar, dig in to a grilled artichoke with house-made remoulade ($12) or a chicken Waldorf salad with bacon and egg ($15) before your main dish, which could be anything from a silver-service hot dog ($12), the delicious and moist rotisserie chicken ($18) or a center cut filet ($35). Dessert offers the usual options, but ask for the tres leches cake. It’s an off menu item, but when they have it, the sweet milky concoction usually sells out fast. Service is delightfully free of the usual PB ‘tude; the servers, clad in Ralph Lauren oxfords, are affable and eager to please. Next time you’re heading this way, it’s probably a safe bet to book a res at “the Grill” before you book your plane ticket. Just don’t call it a Houston’s.

Palm Beach Grill, 336 Royal Poinciana Way, (561) 835-1077

Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter Sunday to all...it was another gorgeous day in Florida. I decided to dig out the customary bunny tie for Sunday brunch at the Breakers. Linen jacket, Ralph Lauren; tie, Hermès; shirt, A. Sulka & Co.; pocket square, Brooks Brothers. Paired with white linen pants and brown slip on shoes. Now, off to the beach to work on my tan.

Bermuda Breeze

One of my favorite old-school fragrances with a distinctly Palm Beach feel is Royall Bay Rhum (yep, it's actually spelled like that). Imported from Bermuda, the label describes the tonic as a "secretly proportioned mixture" containing "oil of Bayleaf and the purest menthol crystals," whatever that means. Also available in Lyme and Mandarin (that'd be lime and orange, in case you're not getting the Royall spelling), it's exactly the kind of scent you want to splash on after a long day in the sun. While Brooks Brothers has carried it for years, you might also find it, as I did, at a vintage drug store, its trademark wax-sealed paper packaging nestled between the shaving soap and Mason-Pearson hairbrushes. Dab some on, throw on a linen shirt, and get that island spirit going (even if you're landlocked).

Royall Bay Rhum, $39.50, available at Brooks Brothers.

Under the Royal Palms

I'll be on vacation for the holiday weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, which has the distinction of having the most Rolls-Royces per capita of anywhere else in the world. More to come from the land of G&Ts and go-to-hell Lilly pants...