Yesterday evening when I walked out of my officethis is what I saw
Rodeo Drive North
and
Rodeo Drive South
Rodeo Drive and other streets throughout the flat of Beverly Hills were shut down completely for all car traffic because the President was at the Beverly Wilshire and local points elsewhere to raise money.
Have I mentioned in the past what this does to create traffic jams all across the the west side of town.
Here is a photo of the corner of Brighton Way and Rodeo Drive where the street is blocked to traffic because the police found a suspicious suitcase with wires
So far no loud booms and all is quiet we're good to go!
OK...so I got the rumor on the bomb scare. Inside of the mysterious suitcase there was a script that had been delivered to a literary agent to read. The agent thought it was not worth reading and tossed it in the garbage in the alley...but missed the giant trash receptacle and the case ended up on the side of the alley. Bomb Squad Blows Up Movie Script Meant For Agent In Beverly Hills
This is what it has looked like over the past week on Rodeo Drive. Wet and empty. Sales have been slow on the street at a crucial time for luxury retail. But we had a hint of sun this morning so the deluge might finally be over. But I'm not going to complain about the weather especially after seeing photos taken by my friends in Europe.
Here is a snowy lane in the winter wonderland of Günne, Germany.
As promised, we saw snow on Rodeo Drive last night....well maybe not snow but snow flakes at least floating around in the air. How this was done I don't know, but I assume that they used the same process as they do for creating snow for the movies. After all, Hollywood is the next town over.
It was crowed in the street and the restaurants. I wasn't so sure about the stores. And the mood was definitely jolly in the way that sparkling holiday decorations and a spectacular Christmas tree makes one feel. Unfortunately, I didn't get to really enjoy the street because as I was leaving my office, there was a demonstration by the PETA people right outside of my building. I was wearing a vintage fur jacket and naturally wanted to avoid the yelling PETA people so I slipped out the back way and walked down the alley.
Our partner offices, Kazanjian Brothers Inc., were having their Christmas party last night so I stopped in for a little glass of champagne. Next door to KBI, Bob Procop, jeweler to the rich and famous and formally head of Asprey and of Garrard recently opened his new office. Not only has Bob has been working with Angelina Jolie on developing a new line of jewelry to benefit her charity, he provided jewelry for her new film 'The Tourist", including the magnificent antique Edwardian diamond collar necklace.
And guess who just had to try on the beautiful diamond collar for herself, channelling her inner Angelina. Yes, it definitely was my kind of jewelry...
hint, hint, hint...to anyone looking to spend more than $1 million on my Xmas gift...
I was loath to take it off and give it back to Bob...but the jewelry that I had been wearing, chocolate and white south sea pearl necklace, bracelet and earrings in rose and white gold, actually went better with my heather brown Michael Kors sweater and pencil skirt.
To add to my story, yesterday afternoon I had to run an errand and as I was waiting to cross Wilshire Boulevard, the most exquisite brunette driving a Range Rover was stopped at the red light in front of me. It had to be Angelina Jolie...or her doppelganger. She was so beautiful. I've seen her before in Beverly Hills, and she is truly stunning.
For the record, in case you hadn't guessed, I'm on team Angelina because that woman can do everything... and she can save orphan children. Talk about a multitasker!
Having recently seen the photos of the snowy streets of Paris, including this image from the blog God, I Love Paris
I was thinking how nice it would be to have a little real winter weather in Beverly Hills
Well, apparently the weather gods (or the Rodeo Drive Committee) are granting me my wish
WEATHER FORECAST:
100% CHANCE OF SNOW FOR BEVERLY HILLS ON THURSDAY, DEC. 9
Mark your calendar for Thursday, Dec. 9 from 6-9 p.m. as Rodeo Drive and the City of Beverly Hills celebrate the Holiday Season with SNOW 90210 and a 100% chance of snow.
The tony city, that averages a 70 degree high temperature, a 73% chance of sunshine and a chilly low temperature of 52 degrees in early December, is guaranteeing a blizzard over 3 blocks of famed shopping street Rodeo Drive and also on Brighton Way. The brainchild of the Rodeo Drive Committee, SNOW 90210 is based on the highly successful Fashion’s Night Out
I've been in a bah humbug mood all month, probably because there is so much to do and I can't seem to catch up. But I think that a stroll around the neighborhood tonight might be just the thing to put me in the proper Christmas spirit.
If you just happen to pick up the December issue of ELLE magazine and you happen to see the Beladora ad, let me know what you think about it.
Oh...and what else did I want to mention. National Jeweler has posted an article stating that consumer confidence is increasing. I'd have to agree with that statement given the prices on what I see being sold at auction.
This pair is being sold on Beladora.com for $8750.
A pair of the same VCA Lion Doorknocker earrings
except with diamond eyes instead of emerald eyes
sold two weeks ago Christies New York sale for $18,750.
Obviously, there must be a lot of consumer confidence out there if estate jewelry buyers are willing to pay $10,000 (114%) more at Christie's auction for basically the same earrings.
( you know what I'm thinking don't you....ARBITRAGE!)
Also, at the same Christie's auction a gold and diamond evening bag, unsigned, sold for $20,000 while the Boucheron gold and diamond evening bag on Beladora was priced at $19,750. Did I mention that the Beladora bag was Boucheron....and yes, it sold (with a discount) right after the auction.
At any rate, I don't know who was bidding at Christie's but it wouldn't surprise me if some very wealthy Chinese were doing the buying. After some 80 years of pent up demand, everyone is expecting the Chinese to dominate high end luxury goods purchases, like the Russians did a few years ago, and the Middle Eastern Royals before that.
There are new fancy-schmancy stores being built now on Rodeo Drive, (Tom Ford, Stephen Webster, Badgley Mischka, etc...) that will open for the holidays, so high end businesses are investing in new stores. Obviously these Luxe businesses are confident.
BTW, Gold Sets A Record Price ...again Investors looking for safer places to stow their assets pushed gold to a record price above $1,400 an ounce Monday as they become more worried about the global economy.
A combination of issues have created fresh worry among investors: Ireland's debt difficulties and two key global summits where leaders of major industrial and developing nations are discussing currencies, free trade and ways to help the world economy.
Also in the back of investors' minds is the prospect of inflation stemming the Federal Reserve's multi-billion bond-buying program. I'm wondering, do you think that consumer confidence is increasing?
