Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Edie, KJL, and Me









One of my literary/fashion treasures is my cloth copy of Edie: An American Biography, by Jean Stein and George Plimpton, which I bought in 1985 while an undergraduate.

I loved Edie Sedgwick’s style, especially her way of tossing her chandelier earrings as if they were her hair. So a year or so later, when Holt Renfrew (one of Canada’s fashionable department stores; think Neiman Marcus) sent me an invitation to meet Kenneth Jay Lane, the designer of many pairs of Edie’s earrings in the 1960s, I was thrilled. Mr. Lane had moved on in terms of style; the collection he was presenting was more formal than funky, but he indulged his Edie-obsessed fan.

I brought my well-read book with me, and Mr. Lane was a real gentleman: he autographed the page above. His inscription reads “Fake earrings by the real KJL,” followed by his signature.

I wish Mr. Lane would design some more chandeliers!

4 comments:

lisagh said...

Wasn't Edie just the best? I watched Factory Girl a few weeks ago and even though I know many were not happy with the representation, I still loved it!

Miss Cavendish said...

I haven't seen Factory Girl yet--perhaps that's what I'll do during my between-semester *break.* And yes; Edie was the best! What a great style she had.

Anonymous said...

So, the earrings in the magazine are fake? Can we get more information about these earrings that were featured in the magazine? Thank you!

Miss Cavendish said...

They're fake in that they're costume jewelry, not diamonds! Other images of vintage KJL might be found on the web . . .