


In our break room here at the office, there’s a stack of magazines, there for the perusal of anyone who might be heating up their Lean Cuisine or, in my case, their full-fat leftover spaghetti from last night’s dinner. I was late coming in this morning, after an oil change took longer than I expected, so I decided just to sit down for 10 or 15 minutes while I gobbled up my lunch. I brushed aside our most recent issue of skirt!, and a back issue of Southern Living, from which I’ve already copied every recipe (including this to-die-for dish).
A copy of Town & Country caught my eye because there, on the cover, was the beautiful Rachel Weisz. I find her fascinating, mostly because of her apparent agelessness.

As I flipped through the magazine (The Special Fashion Issue, March 2008), I stopped on Ultimate Access: The Dressing Room. Town & Country had “caught up” with Katie Lee Joel (Billy’s young bride), just as she was “resting on a vintage chaise longue, pondering a multitude of shoe choices for a fun evening out.” Right.
The article went on to tell of how Katie and Billy gutted and renovated their 19th-century West Village town house and transformed the top floor into a combined master bedroom, dressing room, and master bath.
The spread is littered with photos of Katie’s 100+ pairs of shoes, their insoles practically screaming “Jimmy Choo!” and “Christian Louboutin!” from the page. And Katie, looking very un-West Virginia, is standing there in her leafed dressing room.

That’s right. I said “leafed.” As in “gold-leafed.” As in “2300 squares of gold, 2 weeks, and $25,000.” In unrelated news, $25,000 will buy water pumps that provide fresh drinking water for communities in developing countries from Oxfam 185 TIMES OVER.
I’d like to leave you with this thought-provoking quote from architect Ahmad Sardar-Afkhami, who helped the Joels with their renovation:
“It’s chic to have the highest level of finishes in a place seen by few people.”
Right.
Annie, author of The Daily Digress, a Blog and The Shop Tart!, a Blog about shopping in Columbia, South Carolina