235 days ago
Why I Love Caftans
I always pack caftans, to hide my body while wearing a swim suit and to try to look glamorous for a cocktail or dinner. There is a caftan for all occasions. Caftans are safe and secure. I never have to worry about what I may eat or drink when I am out having a good time. More important, I never worry about what I ate the night before.
Caftans are timeless. Caftans can be traced back to the Biblical days.
Caftans conjure images of sultans and dervishes.
My all time favorite designer Yves Saint Laurent wore Caftans.
Yves Saint Laurent created magic in his adaptation of traditional caftans for couture.
Talitha Getty and Marisa Berenson, two of my favorite fashion icons from the 70′s loved caftans.
Most women with effortless chic wear caftans:
Candice Bergen (left) and Mica Ertegun in Bodrum (right)
Lee Radziwell in her salon (left) and Marina Rust, one of Irving and Fine’s favorites, wearing a caftan at home in Maine (right).
Caftans were also popular with two of my favorite wanderlust writers, Lesley Blanch and Freya Stark. I never leave on holiday without some good travel literature. I recommend the following: Freya Stark
The Valley of the Assassins (left) The Minaret of Djam (center) Baghdad Sketche (right)
Lesley Blanche (left) The Wilder Shores of Love (right)
Today, caftans transcend the exotic and exclusive and are a fashion essential. Town & Country’s fashion editor Stellene Volandes says “The caftan, ceremonial robe of Ottoman sultans and emblem of counterculture chic, rises again.” In an age of body-conscious dressing, writes Stellene Volandes, “the caftan’s versatility as appropriate with gold Prada wedges at a black tie event as it is with flip-flops on the beach” might best explain its perennial allure.
Volandes relates: “All you need to make a caftan glamorous are big sunglasses and major jewelry,” said Liz Taylor, who would know – she wore one with a sapphire necklace to her 40th birthday party, the same night Richard Burton gave her the Taj Mahal diamond. — Stellene Volandes in her “Style Spy” column in the June/July 2011 issue of Town and Country Magazine.
Princess Ranian and the Queen of Morrocco
