MAKING NEW YORK CITY WORK...

What is behind this door?

London

Buckingham Palace

Clarence House

Annabel's

"To make New York City work, you have to leave every two months

for at least two weeks"

-Eleanor Lambert

Anyone who has lived in New York knows that the city can become a bit overbearing if you get stuck here too many weeks in a row without a break. I heard Miss Lambert claim that her love of New York endured due to the fact that every two months, she escaped the city for at least two weeks. I once asked her when she started following that rule and she told me: "After the War." I asked her which war and she rolled her eyes. She meant The War -- World War 2.

Miss Lambert usually took more than two weeks in the summer... escaping the city in late May or early June for the whole summer. Her first stop - London.

London always offered numerous choices of places to stay -- Buckingham Palace... Clarence House -- in those days, that was the Queen Mother's residence... but more often than not, Miss Lambert liked to stay with her friend and client Mark Birley behind that blue door at Annabel's.

NEW YORK WAS HER CITY...

Photography by Karl Giant

I began this project because I have a passion for Eleanor Lambert. She had vision, tenacity and drive. She had an impeccable eye for talent. She loved new ideas and interesting people.

Her tireless work, not only in fashion, but in so many areas of our culture touches us daily. She created the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), organized fashion week, started the Coty Awards and The International Best Dressed List, she created the Costume Institute at the Met, the Costume Gala and of course she championed fashion designers, turning them into stars, superstars and some... legends. The list of her accomplishments goes on and on - keep logging on, because we are going to talk about all of it! But, it would be impossible to capture the essence of Miss Lambert without talking about the city as a central character in her life.

New York was her city, she knew it well and she loved it. It was her home for nearly 80 years. Forbes Magazine once said of Eleanor Lambert: "She treats New York like a small town." Indeed she did.

Miss Lambert spoke about her affection for New York just before her 100th birthday. ''Every idea gets a hearing in New York,'' said Miss Lambert, ''And if no one agrees with you, then you better get another idea.''