At Ralph's

With his legionnaire award, Ralph Lauren opened a new store in Paris' Left Bank on boulevard Saint Germain, housing all of his clothing lines plus a restaurant called Ralph's.

The al fresco dining area reminds has the feel of Ralph Lauren's current home collection with its use of nautical stripes and varying shades of blue.

I love the Mediterranean blue color of these double doors

The decor inside the restaurant echo another theme that Lauren likes to exploit - hunting.

Photos: Elle Decor Italia

Smooth Sailing

The weather's been awful in Hong Kong for the past two days and as a form of escapism, I have been looking at photographs from our past summer holidays in Capri, Positano, Santorini. This had me thinking about nautical stripes, because really, what could be spell seaside-summer-sojourn more than blue and white stripes? Coco Chanel wore striped shirts on holidays in Deauville, Jackie Kennedy did the same at Martha's Vineyard. Jean Paul Gaultier built a fashion house based on a humble sailor's shirt. Two summers ago, I was in Capri and was fortunate enough to go onboard Diego de la Valle's (owner of Tod's) massive yacht. It was bigger than most people's homes and the rooms where decorated in beautiful blue and white stripes.

While we have yet to establish where we will build a summer home, I am keeping the images below from the current Ralph Lauren Home collection called La Plage and La Gran Hotel for inspirations. Wouldn't it be divine to be having breakfast in the dining room?