Word: astorisms
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...waiters in white tie and clouds of hydrangea. "This is my idea of New York," Lauren said as he greeted the television crews. Indeed, like the WASP world he evokes so well in his flagship stores, the evening appeared to take a page right out of a Belle Epoque Astor ball...
...unofficial first lady of New York City, Brooke Astor, who was 105 when she died Aug. 13, had taste, character and compassion. Always gracious and impeccably dressed, she presided over a vast social and cultural network but most enjoyed giving money away. When her foundation exhausted its resources, having spent $195 million to support institutions, programs and projects that benefited the public, Mrs. Astor celebrated that fact--and after that, she kept on contributing with her personal fortune. She had a sparkling sense of humor. She remembered names. And her intellect was lively: even at 100, she continued to write...
...Astor loved to dance. She loved to flirt and she thought that flirting as an institution necessary to romance had disappeared, a fact that she mourned. She thought love was a many-splendored thing that should never be cheapened. Love, she believed, brought out the best in people. While she was partial to men, many of her loyal friends were women. She had countless friends - of both genders - all over the city, and they all took care of her. As she got older, for example, she was not supposed to drive, but drive she did, in Maine...
...Astor never talked about money or jewelry or any of the trappings of wealth as a measure of men and women. She talked about taste and about community service. And of course, she talked about New York. She believed in the city. She loved it, not only its crown jewels but all its everyday institutions as well. And she loved New Yorkers - she always thought that we had much more good in us than we thought...
...There will never be another Mrs. Astor. All of us are blessed to have known her. All of us are grateful that she touched our lives. Those of us who were lucky enough to be her friends are doubly blessed. We are thinking about her this week, and will go on thinking about her - and missing her - for a very long time to come...