Community Chat

[Oznell]

Just noticed a 2016 novel, "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" by Melanie Benjamin, which is a fictional account of writer Truman Capote's gaggle of "best dressed" ladies who lunch.  

At the same time, I just heard that the next season of TV's "Feud",  will be an account of him and his "swans"!   That should be good!

Capote craved always, a 'stylish' life, and these women provided a rarefied circle for him-- he socialized, traveled, dined and partied with them.  Until, he later wrote a thinly disguised novel about them, their husbands and foibles, and incurred their eternal wrath.

It wasn't just Lee Radziwill, pictured above, to whom he became indispensable lunch companion and confidante.  He cultivated, and was close to, a large number of attractive women of means, many of whom were fantastic clothes horses of the time.

Apart from all the intense and "fraught" friendships, the clothes and the overall style of his pals is what I find interesting now.  It was an era of lovely clothes, often dashingly worn.

Aside from close chum Lee Radziwill, with him above, there was:

Slim Keith--   The original California golden girl.  Married film director Howard Hawks ("Bringing Up Baby").  Slim discovered Lauren Bacall for her then-husband, and much of Bacall's original jaunty film "persona" was based on Slim:

Gloria Guiness, famously long-necked Mexican beauty who married into the Guinness brewing family:

 

C.Z. Guest,  horsewoman and gardener extraordinaire, who married polo champ socialite Winston Guest:

There were others.  He had perhaps the closest relationship with wistful "Babe" Paley,  Barbara Cushing Paley, who married celebrated broadcasting mogul William Paley.

At one point, she was named the "Best Dressed Woman in the World".   She had a certain, "something", and of course, Capote was highly attuned to that.

From the 1940's to her death in 1978, she was seen and strikingly photographed everywhere:

At the time of her first marriage:

At her Hobe Sound residence:

With Truman and Gloria Guiness:

So elegant.

In Vogue:

Drawn by Cecil Beaton!

An especially famous vacation photo, of her between her husband, Bill Paley, and a youthful Truman:

She was so often a "less-is-more" dresser, but here she shows that she can sport something more flamboyant, and she's such a cool customer, she gets away with it!   At the Dwight Eisenhower inaugural gala:

Beyond all the "Best Dressed" furor,  and the tumult of her social and charity life, there was a lot of sadness and withdrawal, which I think is visible in many of the beautiful photographs.

Melanie Benjamin reveals that a car accident as a teenager left Babe with scars, hidden under makeup, and false teeth, which gave persistent pain.  Capote made a cryptic comment something to the effect, that he felt such a kinship to her because of the intense loneliness both experienced.  That's interesting coming from him, as he led such a frantically busy and social lifestyle himself.

Capote made a fatal mistake, when he published "La Cote Basque 1965" (in Esquire magazine),  a chapter of his unfinished novel "Answered Prayers".   The novel was a thinly disguised expose of his fancy women friends and their scandals.  Included was a scurrilous story about Babe Paley's husband Bill Paley and some of his antics.  

You have to wonder what Capote was thinking.

The upcoming TV show should be good--  you just have to hope that they have a very talented costume designer up to the huge challenge that this material will present.

[jackthebear]

Book was OK 

But definitely interested in Feud, those have been pretty good 

[KathyM23]

I read that book awhile ago.  I may get it and read it again.  Forget much of it.  Can't even remember if I liked it or not but it sounds like it might be good for another go.

[shoekitty]

such dish stories in that book. They were his life.  He lost it all after publishing LE COTE BASQUE, he didn't do anything after that. It was fictionalized,, but each Swan recognized who it was, as did their friends.    He lost everything after that and was basically sterilized after that from everywhere.  It led to Babes divorce , and the death of another I believe. Gloria Vanderbilt never forgave him for what he wrote about her.  I didn't think it was that bad  what he wrote about Gloria, but she didn't like it. Probably more behind it.    Sad.  I loved his writing. He just had that style of stark but comfy writing. You felt his characters.  The thanksgiving story about his crazy aunt was one of my favorites. I hate fruitcake, but when he wrote about it I sounded so good I could here those pecans crunch, and I craved fruitcake,  I think Geraldine Page played the aunt in the TV movie, wow what an actress!   He had a tortured and drug induced ending.   But in the heyday his stories of his SWANS were wonderful. Babe Paley was especially great to read about. I remember seeing her all the time in the Society Page of our smaller town newspaper in California. Her clothes were coveted, and she had that body that wore them like a model.   Of course her husband owned television just about, so they were top society jet setting everywhere. 

[shoekitty]

@Oznell   Wanted to add, those photos are mouth dropping. What beautiful clothes.  Everything they are wearing is almost timeless. And their figures!!  I don't know why they called them the ladies who lunch...doesn't look they they ever lunches, Lol!!  Maybe martinis!!

[SharkE]

I learned long time ago you have to choose do you want to eat anything at all or do you want to drink water and eat salads and have a tablespoon of diet pudding and listen to your stomach growl all night.

[deepwaterdotter]

@SharkE  Your post reminds me of a quote by Kate Moss:  "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."  Not a concept I would embrace.

[SharkE]

LOL  No, those people eat cold soups, asparagus, I want my butter  !

[Sooner]

If you can read "A Christmas Memory" and not cry at the end I do not know what to say.  It is the most touching thing I've ever read I think.  

He had quite a deal going with those women.  I read a couple of those books--Babe's husband never saw her without makeup.  Truly twisted and bizarre lifestyles.  But fascinating.  He was a great buddy of Joanna Carson (the second one if I remember) as well.  

[QVCkitty1]

I went to Amazon to order the book, and to my surprise I bought it for my kindle back in 2016. No wonder it sounded familiar  !