Attending Ricky Lauren's Book Party
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a very special book party. Ricky Lauren, the wife of fashion icon Ralph Lauren, was celebrating her fourth book, The Hamptons: Food, Family, and History,” at the flagship Ralph Lauren Women and Home store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. During the past forty years, the Lauren family, (Ralph, Ricky, Andrew, David, and Dylan) have shared homes in four different parts of the Hamptons: Southampton, Amagansett, East Hampton, and Montauk. Each of those homes is presented in this book, along with favorite recipes, Ricky’s watercolors, photographs, and written family history. It’s really quite charming!
1 Here I am at the the flagship Ralph Lauren Women and Home store on Madison Avenue, where Ricky Lauren's book party was held.
2 For this occasion, I chose to wear a black silk Hermes dress, a gold lame Lanvin jacket, and Celine espadrilles.
3 I attended the event with Darcy Miller - VP, Weddings Editor for Weddings magazine. Darcy is a close personal friend of Dylan Lauren, the daughter of Ralph and Ricky.
4 The book has more than one hundred Lauren family recipes, plus advice on entertaining in true Hamptons style, and a personal glimpse into the life of the Lauren family.
5 Catching up with Drew Nieporent, the famed restauranteur.
6 His company, the Myriad Restaurant Group owns many restaurants, including Nobu, which is co-owned by chef Nobu Matsuhisa and actor Robert De Niro.
7 Ralph Lauren's brother, Jerry, was also in attendance. Jerry is the one who changed their last name from Lifshitz to the now famous Lauren.
8 He said the reasoning was because their name sounded too much like an obscenity and they were often teased about it as children.
9 Posing with Lauren Bush Lauren, Elaina Sullivan, Dylan Lauren, and Darcy Miller
10 Posing with Ricky - this is her fourth book in this genre.
11 An absolutely stunning floral arrangement of roses, hydrangeas, lilies, and orchids
12 Posing with Ricky and Charlie Rose - Charlie has interviewed Ralph, as well as son David, on his show.
13 Ralph and Ricky have been married since 1964 and have three children, Dylan, David, and Andrew.
14 Ralph looked dapper, as always. He never went to fashion school, instead dropped out of business school and began working as a salesman for Brooks Brother. He later opened a necktie store of his own designs.
15 A very pretty shopper - Ricky's previous books focused on entertaining at the family's Colorado ranch, her experiences in Jamaica, and another with amazing photos of her travels across Africa.
16 Another pretty shopper - The four sections of this latest book represent the towns the Laurens have lived in the Hamptons: Southampton, Amagansett, East Hampton, and Montauk, where they now have a home.
17 And speaking of the Hamptons - Here are some shots that I took recently, in the early morning, of my gardens at my East Hampton home on Lily Pond Lane.
18 A highly fragrant white wisteria and arches covered with clematis montana Grandiflora
19 Just across the driveway is a purple wisteria.
20 A brick and flagstone pathway edged with lady's mantle runs beside the front porch of the house.
21 Look at the size of this tree peony bloom in the front yard border!
22 And this yellow one edged in apricot
23 A deep red peony with a nearly black center
24 An incredible double bloom
25 A gigantic pink blossom
26 Turning around, I saw that the sun had cast a bright, fresh glow.
27 Another view of the wisteria
28 An arched pergola covered with wisteria - its petals falling like snow
29 Stepping stones through the shade garden on the far side of the house, which is filled with an assortment of plants such as ferns, hostas, may apple, heuchera and more
30 The white viburnum tomentosa is so prolific!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Hi Martha, beautiful outfit, you look stunning. Thank you for sharing the book party photos with us, it looks an amazing event. I am a fan of Ralph Lauren's fashion, very classical and elegant. I am sure Ricky's book is amazing. I ordered the book from Amazon UK .
Posted by: Rowaida Fl | June 4th, 2012 at 3:33 am
It's a truly amazing story!! Ralph Lauren and his family is nothing short of amazing! The pictures show the hard work it takes to do a magnificent garden. http://www.themalemartha.com The tree peonies are huge! Also a nice change to your site Martha.. Very light and tasteful! Excellent as always!!
Dan Viger
Hollis 5 Corners, Maine.
Posted by: Dan Viger | June 4th, 2012 at 4:25 am
Martha, you look amazing as always! I have all of Ricky's books and this one is next on my list. My favourite is her book about the Double RL Ranch in Colorado: many wonderful recipes and her gorgeous photographs of the landscape. Her other books "Safari" (about her travels in Africa) and "My Island" (about the Lauren's private island in Jamaica) are smaller but just as evocative. Each time I'm in New York I make it a point to go into to one of Ralph Lauren's stores. They are such inspiring spaces.
Posted by: Andrew Ritchie | June 4th, 2012 at 6:34 am
Hi Martha,
You look beautiful, as always. I have not seen pictures of your East Hampton home before. The few that you showed us here, are spectacular. Please do a blog strictly on your property there so we can see the whole thing. I could look at pictures of your different properties every day as they are constantly changing.
Karen
Posted by: Karen Tracy | June 4th, 2012 at 7:07 am
Martha, thank you so much for turning us on to this book. I fell in love with Ricky's style after seeing her on your daily show promoting her book inspired by her Colorado ranch. That is still one of my favorite "go to" books. I can't wait to purchase this latest one.....Such inspiration!
~Kim
baileywife.blogspot.com
Posted by: Kim | June 4th, 2012 at 7:55 am
Martha, I love the Lanvin coat and Celine espadrilles you are wearing at Ricky Lauren's book party, very chic and elegant! Darcy looked equally chic in her lovely coat. Congratulations to the Laurens, not only for Ricky's latest book but for their 48 years together, what an inspiration! Thanks for the pics of your gardens on Lily Pond Lane Martha, just beautiful!
TO Rowaida, I hope you are ejoying the Queen's Jubillee, I've been enjoying seeing some of the coverage here in the states. What a celebration!
Posted by: Cindy F | June 4th, 2012 at 7:58 am
What a beautiful family. The Laurens have so much to be proud of due to the longevity of their marriage - in this day and age, it astonishes!
You don't feature your Hamptons house much on your blog. It would be fun to see more of it. How do you decide where to go when?
Posted by: Karen | June 4th, 2012 at 8:15 am
Love to be a part of this great life with your blog. It is interesting to see candid photos of people who have designed much to make world a better place. The Lily Pond Lane house is beautiful. Went to Ryan Taylor talk at our annual cowboy meeting Saturday and enjoyed his evocative message of time when his Dad took the EMPIRE BUILDER (train) to Miles City, Montana and purchased the saddle he brought up here from Towner to show us. He asked me for my autograph after many of us stood in line to get his new book signed.
Posted by: ann | June 4th, 2012 at 8:17 am
Hi Martha, Thanks for another wonderful blog about an event that was once again awesome! The Lauren family certainly is fabulous and these photos are absolutely fun to enjoy again and again! How fun to see so many friends of the Laurens and you! Great to see Darcy Miller and Charlie Rose who has interviewed You, also! Rickie's newest book about the Hamptons must be wonderful and I wouldn't mind getting a copy, also! Love all of your delightful photos and comments and how great to see your Lily Pond Lane home again! Everything there looks so beautiful! It must be fun to go to each of your fantastic homes and enjoy the beauty at each one-I love it all! Those peonies at Lily Pond Lane are absolutely stunning, just like the ones at your Bedford farm! Thanks again for sharing a delightful blog and you once again look awesome! Can't wait to see a blog about your Morocco trip and hope you have fun soon in Tokyo, ! Hope you have another great day! Off to see The Daily Wag with GK honoring his Dad, Maddox! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | June 4th, 2012 at 9:39 am
This has nothing to do with this current topic, but I just want to give a suggestion for you to have an app for iPhone and iPads with interactive versions of your cleaning/home maintenance checklists. I found something similar, but I'm going to edit it with more of the way your checklists are set up. I think people would love it!
Posted by: Beckie Manning | June 4th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Hi Martha,
That is one book that really piques my interest and so I will probably order it. I’ve been curious about the Hamptons ever since I saw pictures of your house in East Hampton as well as a garden segment on your earlier Martha Stewart Living show. I remember wishing I had a panoramic shot of the whole area including the big container/vase in the center of the yard which you said was the focal point of the landscape. There was a landscape artist on the show that day that was giving you pointers but as it turned out, your garden was pretty fabulous the way it was.
~
I’ve always admired Ralph Lauren and his family and enjoyed seeing them featured on one of your shows or was that a special not too long ago. Dylan has been a great guest too, so accomplished like the rest of the family. When my son was in middle school he started wearing Ralph Lauren Polo shirts and I believe he had just about every color available because I remember pink as being one of the choices left. I wondered if he would even wear it but I bought it anyway and it turned out to be his favorite. It was a great color on him and I think the girls really liked it too because he wore it a lot!
~
Thanks for including some pictures of East Hampton here. I’ve never really gotten a perspective of the landscape, sometimes it seems large and sometimes I think it is a small area and I can never figure out exactly where the pool is even after you showed us. That’s a beautiful pool by the way. Well, have a great day wherever you happen to be. Trish
Posted by: Trish | June 4th, 2012 at 10:54 am
A truly amazing family with iconic style!!
Love your Hamptons garden. Do you have the opportunity to spend much time there?
So rainy here in Vancouver...sigh...i need to feel the warmth of the sun and so does our garden.
Posted by: Sherey | June 4th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Martha,
Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | June 4th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Oh Martha, I was so very happy to see pictures of your gardens from your other home!!! Could you take us inside your house again and remind us all how beautiful that home is?
Posted by: Frances | June 4th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
The flowers at your Hampton home are unbelievable. The one reminded me of the hollyhocks we had at our family home when I was a child.
Posted by: homer | June 4th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
How beautiful and elegant you look, as always. I don't know Jerry Lauren's marital status, but if he's available, he couldn't find a more lovely and complimentary date than you. And we know he's smart--that name change made ALL the difference in his brother's brand. Great photos!
Posted by: Kim | June 4th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
I know this is superficial, but I love those shoes on you! I've never seen you in this style. Looks great. You always do!
I love Martha Stewart!!
I'm so glad that you're in the world, making it such a better place.
Posted by: Dr. DeClutter | June 4th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
I love the elegance and beauty of this edition..it is very inspiring ..
Posted by: nadia khoury | June 5th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
mmm .. the fragrant wisteria... but the skies at dusk are my favorites ...
Posted by: virginia | June 5th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Thank You Martha Stewart for being there making a difference in my day. I am emailing here as a way to say Thank You! Particularly appreciate food ideas you share on your Hallmark Television Program. I am a long time viewer. I have never emailed, but have printed out many of the excellent food ideas. I live far from your New York studios in the upper Mojave Desert. I am a landscape art quilter. I occasionally lecture and teach quilting, so always enjoy seeing whatever you are doing during your on-air craft segments. Loved seeing all the Home Depot special tables and furniture today. You make a difference in my day! Thank You! I see you as a life example who over came negatives to carry on and prosper......sincerely Sandy
Posted by: Sandy B | June 6th, 2012 at 3:45 am
I envy you MArtha! Ricky and Ralph Lauren are amazing. I love to look at photos of Ricky...her personal style is simple but so attention grabbing. I love the hair...the casual comfort. Now the book. Sure to please. Must have been a wonderful time.
Posted by: Nantucket Daffodil | June 6th, 2012 at 5:10 pm