Brooke and Steve Giannetti have done it again! The October issue of California Homes magazine, has featured Giannetti Home, a full service architecture, interior, and landscape design firm, and their work bringing a home to life in Pacific Palisades. The home is breathtaking. Even better, Brooke has posted pictures on her blog that are not shown in the magazine. See them here.
If you haven't already, please check out Brooke and Steve's new book, Patina Style. It is chock-full of fantastic design ideas and inspiration. They show how you can achieve their graceful, trademark look in your own home.
Thank you so much Brooke, for featuring Jennings & Gates, and Jennings' handsome dog, Winston, on your latest blog post. My design partner, Parker Jennings, and I, appreciate your compliments and your kindness.
Equestrian dressing in the country never goes out of style. Everywhere else, it cycles as a fashion trend on a regular basis, probably because riding clothes are comfortable and utilitarian while giving the wearer a patrician aspect and a certain swashbuckling, outdoorsy sexiness all at the same time.
The trick to pulling off this look while you browse antique stores or sip a latte with the Sunday crossword at a sidewalk cafe, is knowing something of the origins of the gear and staying authentic. Of course, you can always break the rules, but that's way more fun to do if you know what they are first.
For example, if you're wearing this snazzy boot while you ramble around the farmer's market, don't be surprised if someone asks whether you play polo.
Want to see the boots in action? Click above.
Captain George K.H. Cousmaker, 1782
by Sir Joshua Reynolds
There are generally two types of tall boots worn by riders in English disciplines, the field boot, and the dress boot, and they haven't changed much in hundreds of years. Non-riders rarely consider this, but one can buy beautiful authentic riding boots which are reasonably priced and better quality than typical fashion boots at any tack store that sells English riding gear. No horse required.
Alexander I of Russia, 1837
by Franz Kruger
Tall boots are made from cowhide, calf, or pigskin and their purpose is to prevent the rider's leg from being pinched or rubbed by the saddle and stirrup leathers, and to give some protection from brush and brambles.
The boot has a roomy, firm toe box to protect the rider's foot when on the ground, and a low heel to help prevent the rider's foot from sliding through the stirrup (and the rider possibly being dragged) should she unintentionally dismount.
Boot hooks
Both types of boot usually have a spur rest to support the spur, and these days are available with a zipper that runs down the back of the calf to make them easy to put on without the aid of boot hooks.
Important note: Authentic riding boots do not have zippers on the inside of the leg. If you want to appear horsey, this is a dead giveaway.
The topline of riding boots has morphed periodically through history. The popular "Spanish" topline is cut higher on the outside of the boot to elongate the appearance of the rider's leg when seated in the saddle, while still allowing his or her knee to bend comfortably.
To get a long, elegant look with breeches, leggings, jeans or skirts without the annoyance of having your boot poke you in the back of the knee when you sit down, measure from the bottom of your heel to the crook of your knee when seated in a chair, then add about an inch. That number is the height of boot that will likely be most comfortable for you. That extra inch is added because most boots will drop a bit as they break in. The sales associates at your local tack shop can usually help you with the specific break-in characteristics of your chosen style and brand.
While you're at it, measure around the fullest part of your calf. Boot length and calf width can vary considerably between manufacturers, and even between models by the same manufacturer. Shops that sell riding boots usually have a chart for the various brands and models to help you select the most comfortable boot length and calf width.
Field boots with a high Spanish topline, lacing, toe caps,
stitched down outside leather tabs, rear zippers and spur rests
Field boots have lacing at the ankle to allow the rider to be more comfortable riding with the highly flexed ankle and shorter stirrup length required for riding over fences.
Field boots are generally tied with a straight bar lacing so they can be cut easily with a knife if necessary. The shoelace ties at the center, or the ends are tucked in.
Brown field boot, plain toe, inner tabs, straight bar lacing
Field boots are preferred in most jumping disciplines, but are not considered correct for dressage or formal fox hunting meets. They have inner or outer leather tabs, and sometimes an extra layer of leather over the toe, called a toe cap.
It is acceptable for field boots to slouch a bit around the ankle. Black boots are standard. Brown boots are correct for schooling or less formal "cubbing" meets.
Dress boots with moderate Spanish topline, spur rests and rear zippers
Dress boots are plain black without a toe cap. They do not have ankle lacing and should not slouch. To this end, dress boots may be either kid glove thin and form-fittingly sleek, or they may be firm or lined leather constructed with boning or stiffening in the ankles. They are worn by dressage riders, eventers in the dressage phase of their tests, for everyday schooling and training, and by both men and women for formal fox hunts (unless the rider is wearing scarlet, or a frock coat in which case see the boots with "cuffs" below).
There are a few equestrian boot traditions that either originated or perpetuated through the sport of fox hunting.
I don't want to get too off-topic, but for Downton Abbey fans, Jane Asten's World at www.janeaustensworld.wordpress.com, has an interesting, balanced, and fairly comprehensive post on the history, traditions, attire, etc. of fox hunting here.
Men's dress boots with brown cuffed hunt tops and outer tabs
Black dress boots with brown cuffs are traditionally worn at a formal hunt by male members of the club who have been awarded their "Colors," and in modern times, a female Master or Huntsman. Colors are considered an honor, awarded by the Master of Foxhounds (MFH) at his discretion. For long-standing members of a hunt, wearing Colors means one has earned the privilege of wearing the club's color on one's jacket collar, club insignia on one's buttons, and certain other attire.
Ladies of the hunt who have been awarded Colors wear black dress boots with black patent leather cuffs. The wearing of cuffed boots is a tradition still known and actively practiced in the countryside, so do be aware of that when choosing riding boots for non-hunting wear.
Must Reads:
Images: 1. Vogue, 2009 via mermaidinmadras 2. via Mermaidinmadras 3. Dehner 4. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5. Hermitage Museum 6. Cavenders 7-8. Vogel 9. Fieggen 10. Dehner 11. Ariat 12. Powderham Castle, Devon 13-14. Downton Abbey via janeaustensworld.wordpress.com 15-16. Dehner
I was thinking about my Great Grandmother this evening, and all of the things she used to say that I dearly miss now, but made me roll my eyes as a kid. I realize now that Midwesterners say quite a lot of funny things, but the linguistic weirdity most perplexing to the outside world seems to be when we call a green pepper, a mango. Jennings (a Southerner) thinks this is insane. But, if you've ever been to a grocery store in Ohio or Indiana, you know what I'm talking about. I Googled this Mango/Pepper thing, and was thrilled to arrive at a site called, The Word Detective.
Mango
I can't explain it any better, so I'll just quote his brilliant detective work below for you... if you would like to read more articles on his site click here.
Dear Word Detective: I recently moved to Ohio, and I was in the supermarket here last week, buying some bell peppers to make spaghetti sauce. The cashier couldn’t find the proper code to ring them up, and called out to another cashier, “What’s the code for mangoes?” I explained that they were actually peppers and she said that she knew that, but that everybody she knew called them “mangoes,” although she didn’t know why. I asked her what they called real mangoes (which the store also sells), and she looked at me suspiciously and said, “Mangoes.” I gave up at this point because I began to suspect that I was either on Candid Camera or about to be detained by Homeland Security if I persisted in my inquiry. So what’s going on with “mangoes”? — Carol C.
WD: Well, Citizen C., I have reviewed the SnoopCam footage from your market visit, and I must say that you did indeed seem to be violating Section b17408A, Casting Aspersions on the Veracity of a Vegetable Vendor. I must warn you that we take our mangoes seriously here in Ohio, even if we’re not, apparently, quite certain what they are.
In defense of Ohio, however, I must note that it’s not just us. Much of the US Midwest refers to sweet bell peppers, especially green peppers, as “mangoes.” Fortunately, this little bit of weirdness has not escaped the attention of linguists, and so, thanks to the American Dialect Society (ADS), we have an actual scientific explanation of the mango-pepper duality (can we call it the Mango Tango?). According to linguist David Bergdahl, in his article (“Mango: The Pepper Puzzlement”) published in the ADS journal American Speech in 1996, there is a logical reason for all of this.
The “mango,” the real one, is a tropical fruit indigenous to Southeast Asia and India, now grown all around the world, and known for its sweetness and unique flavor. The name “mango” comes from the Tamil word “mankay,” and “mango” first appeared in English in the late 16th century.
Mango
The first mangoes imported into the American colonies were from the East Indies, and, since this was long before either high-speed transport or refrigeration, they arrived not as fresh fruit, but in pickled form. This fact turns out to be the key to the mango-pepper mystery. At some point, early on, there was a popular misunderstanding of the word “mango” in America, and people began to use “mango” as a general synonym for “pickled dish,” no matter what the dish was made from.
Mango
Thus, in 1699, we find references in a cookbook to “a mango of cucumbers” and “mango of walnuts.” Pretty soon almost anything that could be pickled was called a “mango.” Apples, peaches, apricots, plums, even bunches of grapes, once pickled, became “mangoes,” usually in the form “mango of peach,” etc. “Mango” even became a verb in the early 18th century meaning “to pickle.”
Mango
One of the most popular “mangoes” was created by stuffing a bell pepper with spiced cabbage and pickling the whole shebang. Apparently, this concoction was so popular for so long that the green pepper itself, even unpickled, became known as a “mango,” and this is the usage that persists in the American Midwest today.
Stumbled upon these necktie print silk pillows at Brooks Brothers. All I can say is yum!
Nothing like a man in a navy suit with a smashing tie. Now you can have one on your sofa.
The tie that is, although more power to ya if you can get the man in the navy suit too.
There is something comforting and familiar about menswear fabrics at home- like the scent of Old Spice. (Hey, someone should invent an Old Spice candle). In any case, shirting fabrics, grey flannel, camel hair, tweeds, leather, silk twill, pin stripes and chalk stripes, worsted wool, cashmere, fisherman cable knits... they aren't just for the boys...
Couldn't resist.
Images: All, Brooks Brothers, Video- Old spice via YouTube.com
. It is chock-full of fantastic design ideas and inspiration. They show how you can achieve their graceful, trademark look in your own home. 
