FOR ART AND DESIGN BOOKS:
Oh my, I love Dashwood Books! It's right around the corner from my house, and when I'm walking around Bond and Great Jones streets, I'll stop by. New York does not have nearly as many bookstores as it used to, and this one represents independent presses—people who are still bookmaking and often doing small runs. Sometimes it's just five copies of one volume. I worry it's becoming a lost art, so it inspires me to see that people are still drawing and screen-printing and putting out their own books. On the other end of the spectrum, the shop has imprints from major photographers. The owner, David Strettell, and his staff are so knowledgeable. I also love buying books at Daikanyama Tsutaya, the big bookstore in Tokyo, and there are a lot of the books from there at Dashwood. It makes me feel like I'm in New York and that I'm everywhere.
FOR VINTAGE JEWELRY:
Eleuteri has a few locations internationally, but the flagship in Rome is really a destination. It's on the Via Condotti, one of those little compressed walking streets that's close to the Spanish Steps and not far from the Pantheon, which of course is my favorite building on earth; that's where I go for my birthday, to stand under the oculus. The store is so amazing because it's literally a hub for buried treasure. You somehow imagine you're in ancient Rome, just covered in gold. It also has jewelry from so many different eras, and I love to be able to experience those objects from a range of historical periods. It's where I feed my bracelet obsession.
FOR SACRED FASHION:
While we're in Rome … Stephen and I were taking this long walk from the Vatican and found ourselves at Gammarelli. It's the Italian tailor where every pope and all the priests and cardinals of the Vatican have shopped since 1798, but anyone can go in. It has the most fantastic windows that feel somewhere between set design and the 18th century. It's so perfectly organized, with such palette control. As you can imagine, everything is red and black. There are these incredible pins that are full of ritual and clasp the cape to the cassock. You know that elbow-length cape that's like a capelet that you see a lot of fashion houses make? It's called a mozzetta, and I bought one of those there.
FOR FANCY CASHMERE:
Loro Piana. There's nothing better. Their cashmere turtleneck is the greatest, softest, yummiest indulgence. And it's very "this moment," but if you really want to go crazy, their harem pants are the most luxurious.
FOR CUSTOM EYEWEAR:
I shouldn't be sharing this source with everyone, but Maison Bonnet is in Paris, in the Palais Royal. It's a family business. Frank Bonnet's grandfather Robert started it, and you see his pictures when you walk in. There's Yves Saint Laurent, which, of course, what do you remember of Yves Saint Laurent? His glasses. Bonnet made them. And you see Aristotle Onassis. Again, what do you remember? That was the first pair I ever bought. Frank was like, "Women can wear Aristotle Onassis's sunglasses, and they are perfect for you." Those are still my favorite sunglasses. On my next visit, I said, "I have to be a little more feminine. Let's go with the Jackie O." He made hers too. They're all handmade to order, and they write your name on them. They're 2,500 bucks, but they're worth it. I am constantly trying to convince him to open here.
FOR ART AND OBJECTS:
When Stephen and I began working on the British decorative arts galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first place we went for research was the John Soane House in London. Because a lot of those original studios and homes of artists or architects like Soane were deconstructed, it feels all the more special that this still exists as it was in the 19th century. First of all, he was a visionary in the field. But he was also a fervent collector. I am a compulsive collector of nature, from rocks to shells to coral. He collected plaster casts and furniture, and it's just so dense and so beautiful; the whole thing feels almost like an installation. You learn so much about him by being there, and then there's the object lust of it all.
The Victoria & Albert Museum's study rooms are some of the most incredible places to visit in the world because there are those dense, crazy cabinets filled with every era of every plate, every glass. Talk about immersion in the history of decorative arts! It's also just so cool the way it's displayed.
Then there's the Butterfly Vivarium in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which is really all about color studies, right? When I'm there, I'm thinking about paint. I always want to go look at the bugs and butterflies, and I've probably been doing it since I was four years old.
FOR UPHOLSTERY:
Pierre Frey's mohair fabric is unmatched. We design a lot of chairs and sofas and have found it to be equally soft and durable and in such luscious colors. The berry tones alone are a feast.
FOR EDIBLE COMFORT:
To start with my childhood, we'll go to Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side, where my grandfather William Winters, who is the Williams in Roman and Williams, used to take me. The fact that it still exists fills me with such joy, and what I still go there for are the raspberry jelly rings. Fruit jelly with chocolate is my weakness, and it's important to make the distinction between jam and jelly. This is proper jelly; it's solid, not drippy, and it has the softest chew. I feel like nobody makes anything with that consistency anymore. Then, there's the fact that these are rings. It's my version of the Peppermint Pattie. I love them because they're sweet and they have the memory of my grandfather, but I'm still just as obsessed with them.
Another New York City food I've been eating my whole life are the hot dogs from the Sabrett carts. When I'm hungry, instead of a salad, I love getting a shawarma or a hot dog. I do! I go to the cart on Madison Avenue in front of the Breuer. It's gotten me through the process of opening our restaurant Marcel and La Mercerie Pâtisserie in that building.
Whenever Stephen and I return home to New York from traveling, I want to go to the Odeon for dinner. It's downtown, near the house, and it has particular meaning for me because it's a vestige of an older Tribeca, where so many artists gathered and philosophized and made art. I love that the restaurant preserves that era, in that neighborhood, and is still itself. To me, institutions matter, and to have one I can still go to that I've been going to since I was a kid is amazing. It's the best Sunday-night dinner in New York. I like a dry gin martini, and the Odeon's is good. (The Polo Bar's is even better.)
A couple of French staples have been extremely relevant to my work recently. I have always loved the Bonne Maman madeleines you can find everywhere in that country. They're my supermarket obsession and Air France's in-flight snack of choice. They inspired an entire product line we'll be launching at La Mercerie Pâtisserie. Similarly, Bar de la Croix Rouge in the sixth arrondissement has the best tartines in Paris (and the best graphics). Marie-Aude Rose, the culinary director of Roman and Williams, is Parisian, and she's bringing tartines to New York. You'll see them at Marcel.
FOR A GOOD READ:
Next on my reading list is Françoise Gilot's memoir about the time she spent with Picasso and his impact on her as a person and as an artist. It's called Life with Picasso. He recognized her as the peer she was: a woman who spoke her own mind and who was talented in her own right. She was the only woman who got involved with him and left him. And after she'd removed herself from his orbit, she continued to grow as an artist and a writer. Her own work is so inspiring and remarkable, and I think that at this moment, to see somebody who was extremely brave and delicate and forceful and still a dreamer, all at the same time, is especially powerful. To me, she is an original.
FOR MAQUILLAGE:
Gucci Westman's matte lipsticks are amazing, as though they're beyond a tint. I don't even understand the madness of them. They're a new discovery. I'm not big on a lot of lipstick, but these somehow fuse with your lips. They're great for people like me who don't wear a lot of makeup. They just become part of your skin.
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