Nicky Haslam has found himself at the centre of the most interesting circles wherever he is--at parties, opening nights, royal weddings. In London in the late '50s he crossed paths--and more--with Cecil Beaton, Francis Bacon, Diana Cooper, Lucian Freud, David Hockney and Noel Coward. In the '60s, in New York, he encountered Dorothy Parker, Cole Porter, Andy Warhol, Jack Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe while working at "Vogue" and "Show" magazines, before decamping to a ranch in Arizona to raise Arabian horses, when he wasn't commuting to Los Angeles to decorate for the stars. Back in England in the early '80s, he attended the wedding of his cousin Diana Spencer and designed for everyone from James Goldsmith to Bryan Ferry. Haslam is a gifted and exuberant storyteller with an exacting eye for the telling detail. "Redeeming Features" is a fascinating look at our culture, a compelling and wholly singular document of our times.Nickly Haslam on cuff links:
"...I hate cufflinks. I think they're very ageing. And also, cufflinks were meant for when the cuffs of the shirt were stiff, and you couldn't do up the buttons; for evening wear. You should never wear cufflinks in the day time. It looks terrible."
The Observer, 11 May, 2008
4 comments:
Nicky is the uncle of a good friend I worked with in London. Also a man of great style, taste and humor. When I asked him, after reading Nicky's book on decorating, whether his uncle was 'Stoke on Trent' the nephew said, Of course he is, Tintin. You should've known that by page one."
At least I can start this book in the right frame of mind.
"Nicky Haslam says that cufflinks are common. I don't listen to him. He says everything is common. I think it's common to say things are common."
Jeremy Hackett interviewed in Telegraph Magazine 5 December 2009.
Hardy Amies hated cufflinks too. Nicky can hate them if he likes, but to say they were once only for evening wear and therefore can never be worn during the day is nonsense. By that standard, no one should wear a trench coat, or even a sport jacket, unless going out to shoot something, since both these items of costume have military or hunting origins. I love cufflinks. They represent an opportunity to make a statement of personal choice, however small, in a field bristling with absurd prohibitions. Don't you dare wear cufflinks, Nicky: I'm sure you would look horribly aged in them.
Haslam is so wrong about cufflinks. A watch, a wedding ring and cufflinks are the only appropriate jewelry for men...unless they have an actual family crest to wear on a signet ring.
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