vera wang

One of my favorite things to shop for at Christmastime is beautiful new holiday cards to send out to my friends and family (although finding time to write in and stamp them all is another matter). Vera Wang has captured the spirit of the holidays with a combination of traditional and contemporary images created with classic letterpress and engraving techniques that bring out the rich detailing, colors, and textures that she's known for. And in addition to the ready-to-send Christmas designs there are also several versions with slots for inserting family photos and other personalizations. $254-$456/box of 50

Former President Bill Clinton walked his daughter Chelsea down the aisle this weekend in Rhinebeck, New York. The lavish affair took place at the Astor Courts residence. Click through for more images of the day after the jump.

Vega Wang has had fashion lines in ranges from very expensive (her Vera Wang line) to discount (Simply Vera for Kohl's) but it's her mid-range line that is in trouble. WWD reports that Wang is taking a fresh look at her contemporary Lavender label after major department stores Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue appear to have dropped the line for spring and Neiman Marcus has reduced the number of stores that will stock the line of dresses and casual wear. Wang has said that the line was " in some cases overpriced for the landscape of contemporary" and that she is rethinking the line. As the retail world continues to shake out it seems that lines such as this which tread the lower edge of luxury are particularly vulnerable.

At $7,000 per night, the Premier Suites at the beachside Halekulani resort in Hawaii are among the world's priciest. However, the posh getaway has just added a luxurious new amenity that gets you a lot more bang for the buck. Called "Art in Motion," the program consists of a fleet of custom designed exotic autos, included at no additional charge as part of the Premier Suite guest experience. These include the Royal Suite, the Vera Wang Suite and the Orchid Suite.

The fleet features a Bentley Continental GTC convertible (above), Maserati Gran Turismo, Lotus Elise and Lotus Exige S. With the Bentley and Maserati guests have the option of being chauffeured around the glorious landscape in Waikiki, while the Lotus collection features GPS-guided thematic tours of the island, such as Culture, Adventure and Romance. Each car also comes with personalized leisure itineraries prepared by a Halekulani concierge.

Add Monique Lhuillier (at the finale of her Spring '09 show, at right) and Naeem Khan to the list of prominent designers opting to skip out on New York fashion week this February.

Designers like Vera Wang, Betsey Johnson and Temperley bowed out before the New Year, perhaps sparking a welcome trend for up-and-comers hoping to save the significant expense of showing at Bryant Park, an expense that can easily surpass the six-figure mark.

Lhuillier and Khan, who share a publicist, indicate that an intimate presentation as opposed to a traditional runway show is an appealing alternative for buyers and press with Energizer bunny-like schedules come early February.

Instead of a blur down the catwalk, guests will have a couple of hours during which to examine the clothes, talk to the designers and maybe even finish a whole glass of champagne.

[via WSJ]

Vera Wang & Arthur Becker, Alejandro Santo Domingo, Anne & Mario Grauso, Brian Atwood, Debbie Bancroft, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Eleanor & Jon Ylvisaker, Fern Mallis, Gigi Mortimer, Helen Lee & Tim Schifter, Kimberly Kravis, Lakshmi Menon, Marina Rust & Ian Connor, Melania & Donald Trump, Nate Berkus, Ralph & Ricky Lauren, Roopal Patel, Samantha Boardman & Aby Rosen, Somers Farkas, Steven Kolb, and Veronica Webb were all in attendance last Thursday at the opening of Vera Wang's new boutique in Soho.

While we all know Vera Wang is unmatched in bridal apparel, she is also making fragrance and beauty-related products (Coty Prestige, Inc.), eyewear (Couteur Designs, a division of the Kenmark Group), china, crystal, silver and gifts (Wedgwood), Vera Wang suite (Halekulani Hotel), fine papers (William Arthur), mattresses (Serta Mattress Company), Lavender Label handbags (Accessory Network) and Lavender Label shoes (Brown Shoe).

Her ready to wear designs and more are available for browsing in person at the new Vera Wang Fashion Flagship, located at 158 Mercer Street, 212-382-2184.

Fashion designer Vera Wang is famous for her extravagant wedding dresses but the most expensive dress she ever made is one we never got to see. In an interview on CNBC's "Conversations with Michael Eisner" that will air Monday, Vera Wang said the that the dress she created for Jennifer Lopez's canceled wedding to Ben Affleck was the most expensive she ever made. The dress was made of couture fabric and had 18 tiers. Wang says that it was the most expensive and the most time consuming to sew. I wonder what ever happened to the dress, was it destroyed or is it somewhere in Vera Wang's archives?

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--The official listings for Julian Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi have hit the market. We covered these listings as our estate of the day recently but the listings have a few more pictures. The $32 million listing is here and the $27 million listing is here.
--Springsteen guitarist and Sopranos star Steven Van Zandt and wife Maureen have closed on a three-bedroom penthouse in a converted Methodist church at 135 West Fourth Street for $6 million.
--A townhouse at pricey Beekman Place that belonged to the late William Rupp is now listed at $25 million. It sounds like Rupp was a bit of a grump, he built a massive wall on top of his house which he refused to remove. Now the wall is being torn down. The townhouse is one of only nine on the river side from 50-51st Street. The 12-room townhouse also has plans for a three-story addition on top of the existing two-story extension which have been approved by the city and would add another 1403 sq. ft. The listing is here.
--Yankees player Bobby Abreu has listed two-bedroom condo at One Beacon for $7.9 million. The spare and bare apartment, shown above, is listed here.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Cameron Diaz has picked up a five-room renovated residence in a prewar doorman building, with an asking price just under $3 million.
--Brooke Shields has been spotted looking at homes in New York City. She and husband Chris Hency have been seen checking out a four-bedroom townhouse on West 20th Street with close to a $7 million asking price.
--Holly Speyer Lipton, the daughter of Rockefeller Center owner Jerry Speyer, has purchased a 12-room Park Avenue co-op for $12 million.
--Alain Levy, the former head of EMI Music, has paid $6.274 million for a two-bedroom, two-plus-bath apartment with Fifth Avenue views from the 18th floor.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--As previously reported by the Real Estalker back in November, Vera Wang has listed her family's Palm Beach oceanfront mansion for $19 million. In November, the estate, which belonged to her father Cheng Ching Wang, was listed for $23 million.
--Jason Brand, president of Merrill Lynch Pacific Rim, has bought a Hawaii oceanfront house for $15.9 million, which is a full 39% below its original listing price.
--As we mentioned in January, the former Atlanta estate of the late Robert Woodruff, longtime chairman of Coca-Cola Co., is for sale for $13.9 million. Check out pictures at the estate of the day post here.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--It's official, Richie Sambora has paid $4 million to purchase a Calabasas home from San Diego Padres starting pitcher Randy Wolf.
--Model and actress Kelly Van Halen (formerly married to Alex Van Halen) has listed her five-bedroom house in Encino. It is our estate of the day later today.
-TV talk show host and entertainment mogul Byron Allen has gone into escrow on the Hollywood Hills home that he had listed for $6.995 million.
--An Encino mansion that Macy Gray sold in December 2006 for $4,750,000 was listed at $11.7 million after a major rehab. It is now down to $9.96 million. The listing is here.
--Movie producer Gilbert Adler has listed his house in Beverly Hills for $7.9 million. The listing is here.


From the Real Estalker:
--Home makeover television host Ty Pennington has picked up a two-bedroom condo in the West Chelsea neighborhood in New York City. It had a $2.495 million asking price.
--Rumor has it that the nearly one-million-dollar two-bedroom apartment in New York that Nicole Richie and Joel Madden recently purchased may be back on the market soon.
--via Page Six, Jon Bon Jovi has sold his Upper West Side condo for $5.484 million.
--via Newsday, the home next to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's estate in Brookville, New York has been listed at $2.229 million. To get to the five-bedroom home you have to pass through the same "million-dollar gates" that Lopez and Anthony installed for protection. The listing is here.
--Also the nine-bedroom home next to Lopez and Anthony in Bel Air is also for sale for $6.995 million. The virtual tour is here.
--Jude Law has reportedly purchased the London house he's been leasing in the Maida Vale neighborhood for around £3,500,000.
--The Real Estalker Mama covers the real estate dealings of real estate agent Kurt Rappaport who sold his house on Calle Vista Drive in Beverly Hills to Tom Cruise for $30.5 million. He has now purchased a lavish home on N. Crescent Drive in Beverly Hills for $15.99 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--As the Real Estalker previously reported, actor Sean Hayes has listed his Hancock Park home for $8.95 million. We covered it as our estate of the day a few weeks back.
--Stan Jolley, a movie art director, a TV producer-director and one of the original designers of Disneyland has nearly completed his work on a Maya-themed home in Rancho Mirage. He bought the house for $7.7 million and spent another $3.5 million on renovations and furnishings.
--A home that once belonged to 1940s Oscar-winning actor Van Heflin is listed for sale for $6.595 million. It currently belongs to Barry and Kathy Silverton. She was named the 23rd District's Woman of the Year by the state Senate in 2005. The listing for the home is here.
--An Outpost Estates home that was built for actor John Barrymore and has also been lived in by orchestra conductor André Previn and actors James Coburn and Lee Marvin is listed for $3.2 million. I wish the pictures were larger in the listing because this is a real slice of old Hollywood and has some very quirky details.

From the Times Online:
--8 St. James Square in London has set a new property record, with a price expected to be between £115 and £120 million. The property will be turned into six lavish apartments.

It was this same week two years ago that we first heard about the opening of Vera Wang's first lifestyle boutique at the Halekulani resort in Waikiki. The small 600-suare-foot boutique sold clothing, sunglases, jewelry fragrance, china and crystal but will now close after selling off the store's inventory. In an article by Fashion Week Daily, Donna Bebber, the boutique's owner said that Wang's decision to discontinue her high-end jewelry line led to a drop in sales. Bebber has three years left on a five-year lease with the hotel that says she can only stock Vera Wang merchandise but hopes to change the lease so she can add other products. If not, the boutique will be permanently closed. In the two years since the Vera Wang boutique opened, the brand has spread all over the place including a low-priced fashion line at Kohl's and Bebber mentioned that some customers may have felt that she is spreading herself too thin.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton has listed his West Virginia home, shown here, for $3.65 million. Caperton, who was governor of the West Virginia for two terms starting in 1989, is currently the president of the College Board and has overhauled the SAT system, adding writing component to the test. . This home built in 1997 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia has a decidedly wacky bent. It hasa lookout tower and is painted red, blue, yellow and gray. Check out the listing here.
--A penthouse located at South Beach's Setai condo-hotel has gone to contract for $24 million, breaking the city's record for a condominium.
--"Friends" supporting actress Jane Sibbett has put her Topanga, California home, known as Trust Ranch, on the market for $7 million. Sibbett, who played Ross's lesbian ex-wife, Carol, on the sitcom,and she and her husband writer/producer Karl Fink are buying a farm in Hawaii for about $2 million. The four-bedroom home sits on 17 acres and the design is based on the golden ratio, a mathematical proportion considered aesthetically pleasing. The listing is here.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Conflicting figures about regarding Leonardo DiCaprio's penthouse apartment in the Hudson Blue building in New York. The latest is that DiCaprio's new abode will be a one-bedroom condo with a private 800-square-foot rooftop terrace with a hot tub which cost the actor under $3 million.
--Aw, Martin Scorcese is a good dad, he's helping eldest daughter, Catherine, purchase a condo with a $799,000 in Williamsburg.
--Model and actress Emma Heming has paid $1.85 million for a two-bedroom condo in Chelsea.
--Broker, Melanie Lazenby, whose father, George Lazenby, played James Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" has listed a rather Bond-like $11.5 million duplex penthouse condo. The listing is here.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--The widow of real estate developer Charles Evans( brother to producer Bob Evans and the producer of the 1982 drag classic Tootsie) has sold their triplex apartment which was listed at $29.5 million.
-- Broadway producer Marty Richards has accepted an offer for his co-op at the iron-gated River House on East 52nd Street. The apartment, which we mentioned recently has been on the market off and on for around seven years was listed for $22.7 million.
--André Balazs, the hotelier turned condo developer is making great deals on the William Beaver House. Over the summer he reportedly sold the penthouse for $4.7 million, now he has sold the 47th floor's A and B apartments for $5 million.
--Octogenarian photographer Frederick Eberstadt has sold his longtime apartment at 791 Park Avenue to Alexandra Heyman Nash, a children's photographer for $6.7 million.
--Ex-White House senior staff member Dina Habib Powell and her husband, Richard have spent $3.85 million on an apartment at The Metropolitan.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Wayne Gretzky has paid $875,000 for a house in Westlake Village, California. He recently sold his home in Thousand Oaks to baseball star Lenny Dykstra for a reported $18.5 million.
--The mansion in Encino that singer Macy Gray sold earlier this year for $4,750,000 is back on the market after a major rehab for $11,700,000. Is it worth it? You be the judge, check out the property website here.
--Former Guns N' Roses guitarist and songwriter Izzy Stradlin (also known as Jeffrey Isbell) has paid $1,098,000 for a home in Ojai. Check out the listing sheet here.
--The official sale price on Gene Wilder's Bel-Air home was $2,725,000.
--A home in Bannockburn, Illinois once owned by Bears coach Mike Ditka is on the market for $2.29 million. The listing is here.
--"Simpsons" actor Dan Castellaneta has sold his beautiful five-bedroom, contemporary-style house in Santa Monica. It had been listed at $3,295,000.
--Actor Michael Urie from "Ugly Betty" has paid $749,000 for a 10th-floor condo in the Hollywood Versailles Tower in Hollywood.
--Actor Goran Visnjic of "ER" has sold his Spanish villa-style house in Sherman Oaks for $1,780,000 to hockey star Sheldon Souray.

From the Real Estalker:
--Rumor has it that New York "It Boy" Fabian Basabe and his La Perla lingerie heiress wifey Martina Borgomanero have left new York and moved into a condo on lower Sunset Plaza Drive in West Hollywood.
--The Real Estalker Mama takes a look at the Calabasas home Jag star Catherine Bell put on the market. When we first saw it on the market at the end of August it was listed at $3.25 million but now sits at $2.895 million. Check out the pictures at the listing here.
--The estate of Cheng Ching Wang, the late father of designer Vera Wang, is leasing out the 33-acre estate in Pound Ridge for $25,000 a month.
--Cheng Ching Wang's home in Palm Beach, Florida is also on the market for $23 million. The impressive five-bedroom estate is listed here.
--Looks like A-Rod won't be buying Shaq's Star Island mansion in Miami after all. Various sources are reporting that Alex Rodriguez walked away from the $32,000,000 home and are staying in the Coral Gables area where they currently own a $12,000,000 home.
--The answer to a "Who's House Is This" posted by Mr. Big Time, appears to be Go Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin who reportedly left this charming modern home in Silverlake to move downtown into a sixth floor condo at the Little Tokyo Lofts which she bought for $695,000.
--Back to Cheng Chin Wang, his estate also sold off an eight-bedroom home on Gin Lane in Southhampton, NY for $11.5 million this summer.
--What to make of guitar god Slash's lawsuit against his real estate agent? We'll take a look at the home as our estate of the day.
--Singer Carole King has put her Stanley, Idaho ranch on the market for $19 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Earvin "Magic" Johnson and his wife, Cookie, have purchased a $7.6-million vacation home in Dana Point with views of the ocean.
--Professional golfer Corey Pavin and his wife, Lisa have purchased a home in Brentwood for $3 million.
--A home once lived in by Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman was just sold by veteran TV director Reza Badiyi for $1.8 million.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Gisele Bundchen has lowered the price on her penthouse apartment, bedroom shown above, from $10.9 million to $9.2 million. The listing is here.
--Another supermodel Natalia Vodianova and her husband Justin Portman have marked down their fabulous penthouse from $11 million to $9.9 million. It was our estate of the day back in June.
--News anchor Kaity Tong and her husband, Patrick Callahan, have been living at the Gramercy Park Hotel after their Chelsea apartment was invaded by mold that may have come from a construction site next door.
--Real-estate marketing icon Louise Sunshine has listed her two-bedroom West Palm Beach condo at Trump Plaza for $1.399 million.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Vera Wang has paid $23.1 million to the estate of her late father Cheng Ching Wang for his duplex at 740 Park.
--Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, has paid $9,472,597.13 for an eighth-floor Plaza apartment.
--Two co-ops at The Ritz Tower at 465 Park Avenue that belong to late oil man Warren Alpert have sold for relatively small amounts. A two-bedroom apartment went for $1.4 million, city records show, and a fourth-floor studio/storage space sold for $175,000. Before his death he gave $100 million to Brown University's medical school.
--Celebrity photo retoucher Pascal Dangin paid $5.8 million this month for a townhouse at 281 West Fourth Street, in the West Village brownstone dreamland near West 11th Street.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Yves Saint Laurent and his business partner, Pierre Berge, have listed their estate in France's Normandy region again for less money and less acreage. The property, now about 52 acres, is for sale at €12.5 million, or about $17.8 million. The entire 67-acre Deauville estate was first listed more than two years ago for €20 million, then withdrawn last year. In 2005, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were rumored to be purchasing the home.
--Photographer and painter Richard Prince paid $9.7 million last month for a 1.9-acre property of his neighbor Diane Fuhrmann in Wainscott, N.Y., bringing his property to about 3.2 acres.The new land has a five-bedroom house.
--Screenwriter Peter Griffiths sold his Los Angeles house last month for close to its $29.5 million asking price.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--Lori Loughlin has sold her Cape Cod-style house in the Hollywood Hills for $2.4 million.
--Radio host Tom Joyner and his fitness-guru wife Donna Richardson Joyner have sold their house in Beverly Hills, Calif. for its $5,600,000 asking price. It was our estate of the day back in August.
--It's time for another round of guess who owns this celebrity house.
--Public records reveal that the official price Paris Hilton got for her Los Angeles home was $3,865,000.
--Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have gone to contract to sell their Nashville house, which had been on the market for $2.45 million. It was our estate of the day back in September.
--Charlize Theron is latest buyer in the new Broadway Hollywood building in Hollywood paying at least $2 million for her unit.
--Professional skateboarder Eric Koston has paid $2,075,000 for a single-family house in Los Feliz.

From the Real Estalker:
--Mike and Irina Medavoy have listed their home in Beverly Hills, CA for $23.5 million.Indulge your eyes at the estate website here.
--Tony Danza has listed his five-bedroom Sherman Oaks home for $6.15 million. It is our estate of the day later today.
--Rumor has it that Shaquille O'Neal may have sold his home in Star Island, Miami which was listed at $32 million. The scuttlebutt is that baseball player Alex Rodriguez may be the new owner.
--Fashion designer Jennifer Nicholson has listed her charming four-bedroom home in Santa Monica for $7,995,000. The listing is here.
--Actress Katherine Heigl has purchased a home in Los Feliz for $2.55 million.
--Avril Lavigne's long-ago-vacated home is on the market for $6.2 million. The lavish property website is here.
--Dan Akyroyd and Donna Dixon's Hollywood Hills home which has previously been owned by Mama Cass and Ringo Starr is now listed at $4.2 million. The listing is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Matthew McConaughey is ready to move out of his Airstream trailer in Malibu and into a real home. He has found a four-bedroom home for around $10 million in Malibu that sits on over an acre.
--David Draiman, lead singer of the band Disturbed, has put his fantastic Northridge castle, complete with turrets, gargoyles, dragons and griffins, on the market for $2.849 million. The listing is here and is listed as status "pending" so it may already be sold.
--David Barenholtz, co-owner of the Beverly Hills-based tea emporium Le Palais des Thés and Culver City-based David Gallery, and his partner, Jeffery Allyn, have purchased the home of the late screenwriter and producer Bernard Gordon for nearly its $2.3-million asking price.
--Dan Dugan, a production manager of the TV series "Girlfriends" and "The Game," and his wife, Jessie, have purchased a getaway on Maui for $1 million.

Last weekend, at a friend's house I was taken with their heirloom china, thin, light and rimmed in gold. At the time, I mentioned that they don't make china like that any more. Perhaps that isn't entirely true. Vera Wang's Gold Lace china from Wedgwood. As pretty as the famous dresses Vega Wang creates, this china has gold lace bands and wispy florals. Each five-piece setting with a dinner plate, salad plate, bread and butter plate, cup and saucer sells for $139.

The beautiful Vera Wang dress worn by Keira Knightley has been sold on eBay. The dress brought in  £4,301.01 (more than $7800). The lovely bordeaux-colored gown went to an American bidder. The dress is said to be worth as much as £25,000 but according to the Guardian Oxfam and Knightley aren't disappointed by the low total since all the proceeds will go to support Oxfam relief efforts in East Africa.

One of the most-talked about dresses from this year's Oscars will hit the auction block. Keira Knightley' is putting her burgundy silk Vera Wang dress up for bid on eBay as part of a benefit for Oxfam. The money raised will support Oxfam's work in East Africa. Bidding starts April 21 and ends April 30. The dress is on display at an Oxfam shop in Notting Hill Gate.

[via itv.com]

Last year Vera Wang designed a luxury suite for the Halekulani resort, now WWD reports that she is opening her first lifestyle boutique at the Hawaiian resort. The store, which opens tomorrow, features all sorts of Wang-branded products including clothing, sunglases, jewelry fragrance, china and crystal. The space is small, (at 600 sq. ft. it's much smaller than the 2,135 sq. ft. Wang suite) but is expected to lure in hotel guests and others. Vera Wang has a both a bridal store and a bridesmaids boutique in New York but the new store is the first one to carry her ever-increasing lifestyle brand.