29 - Kentucky, Countess Mona von Bismarck
Kentucky reaches a model of fashion for my blog in honor of my sister Jenn. She is my personal fashionista and socialite, keeping us both informed and entertained with a life of shows, parties, traditions, and excitement. Kentucky being one of her favorite traditions with the Kentucky Derby, an annual event we celebrate in full dress.
Kentucky is the 23rd state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on January 6, 1920. We are now in the '20's!
Mona von Bismarck is an American socialite coined as the “first American muse of fashion” and noted as the most fashionable woman in the world. Her life in Kentucky was always a part of her life regardless of her elite lifestyle spread throughout New York City and Paris. She was painted by Salvador Dali, revered in her day and known as one of the most celebrated socialites. A panel including Coco Chanel recognized her as the best dressed woman in the world.
Marrying her first of five husbands, she had one son, Robert Henry, raised by her husband after three years of marriage. Her next husbands included James Irving Bush known as the “handsomest man in America”, Harrison Williams, Albrecht Edzard Heinrich Karl, and finally Count Umberto de Martini. Harrison Williams was the fiance of her close friend, whom she opened a boutique store in New York City in 1926, and deemed the richest man in America at the time with a net worth of $8.5 billion in today’s dollars. Williams, her final husband married her for her wealth and only upon his death did she realize he was currently married, bilking her money to his children.
Her papers, paintings, and precious items were placed at the Mona Bismarck American Center for Art and Culture in Paris to sustain artistic and cultural Franco-American relations.
Why this woman?
The impact of Mona is different than most of the women I’ve highlighted. Digging for a woman connected to the Kentucky culture, specifically for the Derby, was a tribute to my sister. Her research and appreciation of the traditions shared at the Derby have been an event for us almost every year. In the research, I found Mona.
To me, the titles bestowed on her are in essence a display of fashion in moving form in the world. Similar to our ongoing culture of tracking celebrity fashion, we look for trends in colors, textures, flare, and pomp. It is not a lifestyle we try to personally replicate, rather observe from afar and explore as walking art. Fashion beyond the sustenance of staying clothed has defined periods of history, generations, trends. Fun parties that replicate these visions are prevalent every day.
The 1920’s where women loudly stood up for their rights in public, had a style that is still known and respected. They were refined without being conservative, recognizable without being gaudy. I believe the ‘20’s is a time always admired throughout the entire past century.
This one is for my sister. My fashionista and socialite that directly colors my world.
Kentucky is the 23rd state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on January 6, 1920. We are now in the '20's!
Mona von Bismarck is an American socialite coined as the “first American muse of fashion” and noted as the most fashionable woman in the world. Her life in Kentucky was always a part of her life regardless of her elite lifestyle spread throughout New York City and Paris. She was painted by Salvador Dali, revered in her day and known as one of the most celebrated socialites. A panel including Coco Chanel recognized her as the best dressed woman in the world.
Marrying her first of five husbands, she had one son, Robert Henry, raised by her husband after three years of marriage. Her next husbands included James Irving Bush known as the “handsomest man in America”, Harrison Williams, Albrecht Edzard Heinrich Karl, and finally Count Umberto de Martini. Harrison Williams was the fiance of her close friend, whom she opened a boutique store in New York City in 1926, and deemed the richest man in America at the time with a net worth of $8.5 billion in today’s dollars. Williams, her final husband married her for her wealth and only upon his death did she realize he was currently married, bilking her money to his children.
Her papers, paintings, and precious items were placed at the Mona Bismarck American Center for Art and Culture in Paris to sustain artistic and cultural Franco-American relations.
Why this woman?
The impact of Mona is different than most of the women I’ve highlighted. Digging for a woman connected to the Kentucky culture, specifically for the Derby, was a tribute to my sister. Her research and appreciation of the traditions shared at the Derby have been an event for us almost every year. In the research, I found Mona.
To me, the titles bestowed on her are in essence a display of fashion in moving form in the world. Similar to our ongoing culture of tracking celebrity fashion, we look for trends in colors, textures, flare, and pomp. It is not a lifestyle we try to personally replicate, rather observe from afar and explore as walking art. Fashion beyond the sustenance of staying clothed has defined periods of history, generations, trends. Fun parties that replicate these visions are prevalent every day.
The 1920’s where women loudly stood up for their rights in public, had a style that is still known and respected. They were refined without being conservative, recognizable without being gaudy. I believe the ‘20’s is a time always admired throughout the entire past century.
This one is for my sister. My fashionista and socialite that directly colors my world.
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