Philomena and Prince Jean d’Orléans wed in Paris

   

Newlyweds Prince and Princess d'Orleans, Duke and Duchess of Vendome posing in the gardens of 7th arrondissement's town hall. Paris, FRANCE - 19/3/2009. (SIPA, David Nivière)

 

R&Co – March 22, 2009.

PARIS –

On thursday afternoon, the civil wedding of Prince Jean d’Orleans, Duke of Vendome, to Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart was celebrated at the 7th arrondissement’s town hall.

Versailles reflective of visionary king, gardener’s talents

Calgary Herald – December 14, 2008 – By Reese Halter.

The most magnificent and extensive gardens the western world has ever seen are located 19 kilometres outside Paris at Louis XIV’s Palace in Versailles.

Louis identified, at a young age, with Apollo and adopted the sun as his emblem. In fact, he danced as Apollo in one of the more than 40 ballets he performed in as a youth.

What lies beneath the splendor?

Exposition : Sous l'Empire des crinolines (1852-1870) - Musée de la Mode, Palais Galliera, Paris.

The Jakarta Post – December 7, 2008 – By Kunang Helmi-Picard.

It is said that women have to suffer for their beauty, and pay for it as well. And certainly some French women — once society had returned to excess after the austerity following the French Revolution in 1789 — were willing to suffer, at a cost, for beauty.

A current exhibition at the Palais Galliera Fashion Museum gives an idea of the extravagance. The exhibition covers the period of the Second Empire in France (1852-1870) when the crinoline — a metallic petticoat holding up the voluminous skirts of the dresses of the period — had its heyday.

Jean d’ Orléans engaged to Philomena de Tornos

Philomena de Tornos y Steinart (L) and Duc de Vendôme at the inauguration of Le Petit Trianon (Photo, Point de Vue magazine)

December 2, 2008 – By R&Co.

The second son of the duchesse de Montpensier, Marie-Thérèse de Wurtemberg, and the Comte de Paris, Henri d’Orléans has announced on the  28th of november 2008, his engagement to Doña Philomena de Tornos y Steinhart.

Japan’s new style icon: Marie Antoinette

The Wall Street Journal Europe - 28 Nov 2008 - By Yukari Iwatani Kane And Lisa Thomas, Miho Inada contributed to this article.

Tokyo

HEN MAYUMI Yamamoto goes out for coffee or window shopping, she likes to look as though she’s going to a formal garden party. One day recently, she was decked out in a frilly, rose-patterned dress, matching pink heels with a ribbon and a huge pink bow atop her long hair, dyed brown and in pre-Raphaelite curls.

Ms. Yamamoto is a hime gyaru, or princess girl, a growing new tribe of Japanese women who aim to look like sugarcoated, 21st-century versions of old-style European royalty. They idolize Marie Antoinette and Paris Hilton, for her baby-doll looks and princess lifestyle. They speak in soft, chirpy voices and flock to specialized boutiques with names like Jesus Diamante, which looks like a bedroom in a European chateau. There, some hime girls spend more than $1,000 for an outfit including a satin dress, parasol and rhinestone-studded handbag.

Napoleon III and Queen Victoria – exhibition

BY R&Co – November 2008.

Château de Compiègne – Napoléon III et la Reine Victoria ( exhibition, from October 4 to January 19).

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Napoleon III, the château de Compiègne is organizing an exhibition dedicated to the franco-british relationships during the Second Empire.

Never too late: Cops crack 25-year-old clock theft

The watch made for Marie Antoinette. Photograph: Avshalom Avital/AP

By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer. 

JERUSALEM – It took time, but Israeli police detectives have cracked one of the country’s greatest crimes — the legendary heist of a priceless clock collection from a Jerusalem museum a quarter century ago.

The 1983 theft, the costliest in Israel’s history, saw 106 timepieces worth millions of dollars disappear from the L.A. Mayer Museum forIslamic Art. Among them was a pocket watch made for French queen Marie Antoinette that museum officials value at more than $30 million.

Holding a candle

Chateau of Versailles) and Trianon (reminiscent of the scent of Marie Antoinette’s country manor). The candles use a unique vegetable wax made from palm, rice, soy and copra oils rather than paraffin. That, combined with cotton wicks, means they won’t smoke and will burn longer. Scented candles have become an essential entry-level product for luxury brands and as well as making its own wax products, Cire Trudon makes candles for Hermes, Christian Dior, Guerlain and others

Wish magazine – November 10, 2008.

French house of Cire Trudon has been making candles since 1643 but it has become something of a cult hit in the hands of its present co-owner, designer Ramdane Touhami.

Marie-Antoinette last letter in jail to be auctioned

October 5, 2008 – By R&Co.

On October 14, 2008 the prestigious auction house Christies in Paris will auction many items belonging to the late Count and Countess of Paris.