Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2025 i Town & Country

1979 6666 RANCH IN TEXAS You may recognize it from Yellowstone, but the legend of the Four Sixes Ranch, as this Texan sprawl is known, goes back to 1870, when it was founded by Samuel Burk Burnett. He laid the groundwork for 6666 to grow into one of the state’s most successful horse breeding and cattle ranching operations—and for his family to become one of the wealthiest in Texas. (The discovery of oil on the property sped up the process.) In the 1960s it was the backdrop of the Marlboro Man ads. In 1979, for an issue devoted to the Lone Star State, T&C packed a trunk with Stetsons and couture to realize our own fantasies of ranch life. Today the 270,000-acre property belongs to Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, who bought…

It’s hard to say when 2024 became so irritating. Was it the worldwide tech outage that grounded flights and stranded thousands of travelers last summer? Could it have been the one-two punch of hurricanes Helene and Milton, decimating first Asheville and then the Gulf Coast of Florida? Perhaps it was hearing news of what felt like the 200th horrifying Diddy allegation? Or did it occur as early as last spring, when campus protests forced some seniors and their families to miss long-planned and much anticipated graduations? Regardless of which straw broke your particular camel’s back, there seems to be a collective thirst for vacation, a need to get far, far from the madding crowd. Which, hopefully, you are doing, in the literal sense, sometime this holiday season. But there is…

A few months ago a friend brought small gifts for everyone at a dinner. It was no one’s birthday; this was a gesture of pure generosity. So, first, let’s normalize that. But then let’s discuss what was inside: a thumbprint-size Elsa Peretti sterling silver pillbox from Tiffany. It was the perfect dose of decadence. The conversation turned quickly to our collective need to escape, with occasional jokes about what we might stash inside our new trinkets to help us do exactly that. And then I started to talk about Elsa. Have you heard me talk about Elsa? When I do, I give off televangelist vibes—as you know if you have ever asked me what jewelry to buy for someone. Elsa Peretti is gospel to me, because of the strength and…

I, Robot You know what they say: If you can’t beat them, join them.…

“Let me tell you about my morning Sunday last,” says Casey Lavin, the president of Beemok Hospitality Collection, billionaire Ben Navarro’s Charleston-based development group. Lavin is a Charlestonian of fairly recent vintage, and he’s not the least jaded about its charms. “I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and took my daughter out to Sullivan’s Island, 10 minutes from our house, to watch sea turtles hatch and crawl to the water. A half hour later I was in downtown Charleston in a historic church. Right after that I was having brunch in one of the best restaurants in America, and two hours after that I was taking a nap under a huge live oak tree. It’s a bizarre environment.” Charleston’s out-of-the-ordinariness is what keeps me coming back here, which I do…

ALL-INS They buy Epic (unlimited access to 42 resorts for $1,047) or Ikon (unlimited access to 17 resorts for $1,449) passes and try to hit as many mountains as possible each season. INDIES They prefer independent ski areas, like Mt. Ashland in Oregon and Silver Mountain in Idaho. Devotees buy the Indy Plus Pass ($469), which allows users to ski for two days at each of more than 180 independent resorts around the world. OLD WORLDERS Fly to Gstaad, St. Moritz, or Cortina in the Alps. The good news: Lift tickets in Europe are a fraction of the price ($62 at Gstaad), as are lessons and camps. The bad news: High season rooms at Badrutt’s Palace in St. Moritz start at $1,700 a night. PRIVATE Members-only skiing means no lines…

BREAKING: Society Couple Blows the Whistle on Gossip Rag REVENGE OF THE RICH Did you ever hear the one about James R. Keene, the 19th-century stock market maestro whose Wall Street clients included William Rockefeller Jr.? No? Well, if a shocking tale about Keene existed—and we’re not saying it did—William d’Alton Mann would have made sure it stayed out of the public eye. Keene, after all, had been so generous as to lend Mann $90,000, the equivalent of more than $2 million today. You see, Mann—a Union Army colonel turned unscrupulous oil prospector, patent-happy entrepreneur, turncoat congressional candidate, and, eventually, gossip-slinging extortionist—was the owner of Town Topics: The Journal of Society, a weekly magazine equally loathed, loved, and feared by the moneyed class of the Gilded Age. Under Mann’s stewardship,…

For a certain type of very wealthy person, death is the ultimate affront to the ego. Call it the Ozymandias Complex. Like the legendary pharaoh, Rupert Murdoch may soon find out that even his vast legacy could be erased, if not by the whims of history then by those of his own family. Accustomed to wielding an iron fist in business and personal affairs, the nonagenarian was no doubt shaken when his wish to alter his children’s so-called “irrevocable trust” was challenged in probate court earlier this year, in Reno no less. The tycoon sought to hand definitive control of his media empire, which includes Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and the Times of London, to his elder son and chosen successor, Lachlan, who shares…

Once you know that Sybil and David Yurman began their careers as a painter and a sculptor, you can’t unsee it. Each amethyst at the end of a bracelet looks like a brushstroke; every curve on a cuff a carving cast by hand in an artist’s studio. Those roots, from working in downtown lofts in 1960s New York to posting notices in the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, are sometimes overshadowed by the David Yurman flagships and boutiques throughout the country, or by the vitrines filled with their jewelry in department stores around the world, or by the fact that almost everyone you know has some version of a Cable bangle. But it is that iconic design that should serve as a constant reminder of how it all began.…

Getting to know Molly and Russell is no doubt one of the best experiences I’ve had working with Ben Bridge. I’ve been their Personal Jeweler over the years, and it has shown me just how important you can be to your customers and how much they mean to us. Recently, we were getting new pieces in for a special event, and they were the first people that came to mind. I knew their 30th wedding anniversary was coming up and that Russell would want to find something special for Molly (he loves to pamper his wife!). I invited them to the show and texted Russell separately so we could start to brainstorm what Molly would truly love. As I went through ideas, an incredible earring, necklace, and ring combo jumped…

Some of our favorite pieces are those that grow with you, ignite memories and become heirlooms that embody your journey. Timeless classics like Tahitian pearls, diamond bands, bangles and studs are the types of jewelry that just get better with time and lend themselves to stacking and styling in any way that strikes your fancy.…

Your dream rings come alive with Bella Ponte! Gorgeous modern yet timeless designs that will woo you and are crafted from recycled gold. Looking to customize your ring? Our Personal Jewelers are here to guide you through the process using 3D technology that you can see in-store and take home! We are here to help you incorporate family heirloom stones, explore diamonds and gemstones, and play with exactly how it all comes together with your engagement and wedding band. Want your ring to match your partner’s? Create your set together and add an engraving and details that hold the most meaning for your love story.…

Where do we go from here? It’s always the question at the beginning of a new year, or at least one of them. Where have we been might be another. We decided to take them both literally for this last issue of 2024. There are no better travel guides than friends you trust, so let our itineraries become your itineraries. And hopefully we’ll meet somewhere along the way. Roxanne Adamiyatt, Deputy Digital Lifestyle Director: I will never complain about multiple trips to Europe every year, but I’m determined to make 2025 the year that I head to Japan. Emily Adar, Senior Visual Editor: Had an amazing trip to the Greek Islands this summer and looking forward to a family vacay in St. Lucia this coming winter. Jaclyn Bloomfield, Fashion Editor:…

NOEL AND LIAM GALLAGHER The Britpop band Oasis was as famous for its infighting—including at least one incident of assault by tambourine—as it was for hits like “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Now, after a nearly 15-year hiatus, the group’s endlessly at-odds Gallagher brothers have seemingly made up and will be embarking on a 2025 world tour. What could go wrong? MOO DENG AND MOO TOON There has been no viral star this year bigger than Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo whose cranky attitude and adorable antics have launched a million memes and doubled visitors at the Thai zoo where she resides. She’s not the only star in the family, however: Older brother Moo Toon and half-sister Moo Wan round out this Partridge Family of pachyderms. ERIK AND…

It’s late July and Utah’s Wasatch Mountains smell faintly of earth and wild sage. A hundred or so people have ridden a chairlift to the top of Powder Mountain, an hour north of Salt Lake City, and are milling around a makeshift bar, sipping mango margaritas and chatting before an alfresco dinner. The meal is a kickoff to a busy weekend: only the second official gathering of Powder Mountain homeowners since Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings announced in October 2023 that he was purchasing a controlling interest in the struggling ski area. Dinner will be followed by dessert in the Skylodge and a stargazing session led by an astronomer who has worked with the James Webb Space Telescope. The next day there will be a homeowners meeting and then the unveiling…

SAGITTARIUS NOVEMBER 23–DECEMBER 21 December is full of contradictions, so be flexible. With upbeat Jupiter in Gemini, others are inclined to be helpful, and new associations will flourish. Challenging Saturn, though, is not in your favor, but if you consciously shift your ambitions in a fresh direction in January, you’ll embark on a more secure and promising path. MONICA RICH KOSANN ($1,400), MONICARICHKOSANN.COM CAPRICORN DECEMBER 22–JANUARY 20 Saturn in Pisces raises doubts in your mind in December, and your inclination to be cautious will not be off track. Give yourself a chance to adjust to new developments. In January, the road ahead will be clearer. Mars going out of sync in a financially sensitive angle of your chart is telling you to wait and see, and Jupiter in Gemini accents new…

At Ben Bridge, we are uncompromising when it comes to jewelry and luxury watches. Every person we partner with works hard to ensure our jewelry positively impacts every person it touches, is responsibly-sourced using the highest quality natural stones and metals, and is crafted to be enjoyed for generations. Our Personal Jewelers are here to connect you with dazzling natural diamonds and gemstones from our exclusive fashion and bridal collections, along with jewelry from the most premium brands of the world. Looking to invest in a luxury watch? We have experts with access to the most coveted watch brands to complement your collection. At Ben Bridge, we bring you the best jewelry the world has to offer. Connect in-store or online and find what they’ll wear and love, every day.…

WHERE ARE WE GOING? New Year’s Eve in NYC can be sublime—if you do it right. The Metropolitan Opera hosts an annual gala on this night, and this year the company is debuting a new production (by the Tony-winning director Matthew Mayer) of Aida, Verdi’s epic tale of love, war, and betrayal set in ancient Egypt. Dinner and dancing with the cast follows. Save room for the champagne countdown. METOPERA.ORG WHAT ARE WE WEARING? Even on a regular night, the unofficial Met dress code calls for operatic flair. A New Year’s Eve gala ups the ante. Since Aida will serve up plenty of gilded grandeur, you can bring the diamonds. Chopard’s l’Heure du Diamant watch has 52 of them—consider it one for each of the fabulous weeks you will have…

Pierre Hardy is looking to the light. “Color is a natural resource on which we can infinitely draw, and I wanted to explore the whole spectrum,” the creative director of Hermès jewelry says of his latest collection, Les Formes de la Couleur, the brand’s most vibrant yet. He’s not kidding. There is a necklace that features a waterfall of white, orange, and gray moonstones and pink tourmalines, and a ring studded with a rainbow array of pink sapphires and spessartite garnets. But this isn’t just a study in mixing and matching, it’s an aesthete’s test to see how unconventional settings and combinations can change perceptions. Take the Color Flash brooch, an exuberant cocktail of rubies, yellow, blue, and green sapphires, black spinels, amethysts, diamonds, chrysoprase, and garnets—some cut into classic…

“ Crafts don’t have a geography,”Sabyasachi Mukherjee told me not long ago over lunch in New Delhi. His face settled into an enigmatic smile as he considered an assertion that, like so much else about this charming and paradoxical designer, was a contradiction in terms. Crafts, of course, are nothing if not geographically specific. In a certain sense, they can even be seen as concrete manifestations of culture and the myriad ways people fashion the raw materials that surround them into objects of both function and art. Few comprehend this better than the founder of a label that is increasingly a name to be reckoned with in the sphere of global luxury goods, a darling of socialites and oligarchs with aspirations to be India’s answer to Ralph Lauren. For 25…

60 MILLION Visits to U.S. ski resorts in 2023–4. That was a decrease of 7.5 percent from the previous year, but it still ranked as the fifth-busiest season since 1978. $29.20 Average amount U.S. resorts reinvested in capital improvements per skier visit in 2023–4, an increase of $4 per visit over last year. The total amount invested was $754 million. 487 Ski areas in operation in the United States, an increase of seven over the past year. The total number of ski areas peaked in the 1970s at more than 700. 158 INCHES Average snowfall at U.S. ski areas in 2023–4, down from 225 the previous year (which saw record snowfall in many areas). The average snowfall in the last 10 years has been 173 inches. $299 Top price for…

Petit fours and pavlova. Macaroons and madeleines. Bonbons and Bavarian cream. Cake. Custard. Marzipan. This may read like a fantasy postprandial selection for someone possessed of a raging sweet tooth, but in fact these are just a few of the confectionaryinspired notes being served up in an array of new perfumes. Consider them comfort food for the nostrils. Cavity risk: zero. In 1992 fashion designer Thierry Mugler told perfumer Olivier Cresp he wanted a fragrance that would remind him of the Strasbourg funfairs he enjoyed as a child. Cresp went to a supermarket and bought cookies, then made history. Angel, the perfume he created for Mugler, introduced a sweet note reminiscent of cocoa and cotton candy—swirled with jasmine and a mammoth hit of patchouli—that was so distinctive and wildly popular…

To get to Tommy and Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger’s newly renovated property in Palm Beach, turn right at Mara-Lago, pass the blinking police lights, then scoot a bit farther on South Ocean Boulevard down Billionaires Row. Behind a gate and across a crunchy white pebble driveway, a shell and tangled coral sculpture carved in coquina stone hangs over the entrance to Coral House. Tommy and Dee, at the door, are in their Saturday casuals, he in a blue shirt and print shorts, she in a Johanna Ortiz print shift dress with tassels. They are barefoot—it’s a shoes-off household. Slippers are offered. Behind them is an atrium with a wide staircase that delivers us to the main living floor in the house, which was once owned by the disgraced media magnate Conrad…

COVER PROENZA SCHOULER DRESS ($1,790), PROENZASCHOULER.COM. BELPERRON CUFFS ($32,500 EACH), BELPERRON.COM. NIKOS KOULIS EARRINGS ($58,320), NIKOSKOULIS.COM INSIDE COVER: KELLY REILLY CARTIER, CARTIER.COM. FENDI, FENDI.COM. WOLFORD, WOLFORD.COM INSIDE COVER: CAKES & FRAGRANCES CHRISTOFLE, CHRISTOFLE.COM. GUCCI, GUCCI.COM. LADYM, LADYM.COM. WESTON TABLE, WESTONTABLE.COM KINGDOM COME PAGE 104–111 BALENCIAGA, BALENCIAGA.COM. BELPERRON, BELPERRON.COM. BRIONI, BRIONI.COM. BRIONY RAYMOND, BRIONYRAYMOND.COM. CHOPARD, CHOPARD.COM. DAVID WEBB, DAVIDWEBB.COM. DIOR, DIOR.COM. JIMMY CHOO, JIMMYCHOO.COM. KALLMEYER, KALLMEYER.NYC. LE SET, BLOOMINGDALES.COM. MAX MARA, MAXMARA.COM. RALPH LAUREN COLLECTION, RALPHLAUREN.COM. VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, VANCLEEFARPELS.COM. WOLFORD, WOLFORD.COM BITE ME! PAGE 118–123 ARQUISTE, ARQUISTE.COM. AUBREY ELEANOR, AUBREYELEANOR.COM. BUCCELLATI, BUCCELLATI.COM. CAKES BY KLEIN, CAKESBYKLEIN.COM. CHRISTOFLE, CHRISTOFLE.COM. FENDI, FENDI.COM. GLOSSIER, GLOSSIER.COM. GUCCI, GUCCI.COM. HUASCAR & CO., HBAKE.COM. LADY M, LADYM.COM. LIIS, LIISFRAGRANCES.COM. REPLICA MAISON MARGIELA, MAISON MARGIELA-FRAGRANCES.US. THE MAKER, SHOP.THEMAKER.COM…

Standing in my kitchen chatting with my mother in law, it struck me how much I enjoy seeing her wear pieces of jewelry that we have given her over the years - a necklace from our first holiday, a ring for a birthday. Better than the moment we gave her each piece, seeing her style them and make them her own makes them truly precious. Jewelry and watches are my love language. They are deeply meaningful works of art that combine the best of what earth has to offer with our ingenuity and craft. They endure long after the celebration, and in fact take on more meaning over time. At Ben Bridge, precise craftsmanship, our discerning quality control, the passion of our team, and our ability to offer ongoing service…

This season, our Personal Jewelers are intrigued by pieces that find you in your element and punctuate your narrative. Comforting classics in yellow gold that embody the spirit of boldness, laughter and warmth. Moody metals and black diamonds that give everyday elegance the perfect touch of edge. Timeless treasures to love for a lifetime. This year, we’re excited to turn the key and open up your style with pieces meant to be worn and loved, every day.…

Yellow gold embodies the warmth you feel when you’re wrapped in your most comfortable sweater and among the people you love most. Bold pieces that showcase the rich, warm glow of gold and flow with contours of pure artistry are like a cheat code when it comes to easy, go-to style. From 80s-inspired glam to understated elegance, nothing brings effortless impact and everyday versatility like a statement chain or oversized hoops.…

Don’t shy away from the personality of bold rings that stand out with a vibrant pop of color from gemstones in an array of hues. An impact ring with smooth, comfortable contours pairs perfectly with a classic watch on a leather strap. When it comes to men’s fashion, choose pieces that you can wear in the office, out to dinner or at a laid-back weekend barbeque.…