Our most recent road trip was to Williamsburg Virginia to spend some time at Wedmore Place at the Williamsburg Winery. What a great experience it was. Getting there was not a great experience! It rained for the entire trip and there were multiple accidents which caused us to arrive after dark. Not a great place to arrive without daylight. The inn is ON the vineyard property and there is very little lighting. Without a GPS we would have wound up who-knows-where.

The inn and winery are privately owned by the Duffeler family. The history given at the hotel says that it all started in the 70’s. Patrick Duffeler was associated with a Geneva based investment group that had a participation in an old winery in Beaune, the capital of Burgundy. Consideration was being given to the acquisition of a building in the center of that medieval city. A large portion of that building was to be transformed into a small upscale hotel designed to be part of the international association of the Relais & Chateaux. During his years of heading the Marlboro motor racing sports program, Patrick traveled the world and stayed in a variety of hotels. He became well aquainted with Relais & Chateaux and their uniqueness for quiet surroundings, private ownership, good fare and comfort. The story goes on to say that the investment project did not happen and the group was restructured and Patrick accepted a position as CEO of Fragrance Selective.   Along the way a decision was made to return to the US. The family settled on 300 acres in Virginia in 1983. The Duffelers and their son moved onto the farm which was 3 miles from the restored Williamsburg. The goal was to create a winery and to develop a country hotel reminiscent of old European properties. The first planting of grapes was 1985 and the Williamsburg Winery released its first wine in 1988. After this came the development of the “country hotel”.

Wedmore Place is located in the middle of the farm,  as it is a place of quiet surroundings, “far from the maddening crowd”. It is quiet and peaceful. There are many antiques  from all over Europe. Stone that was also imported. The guest rooms are designed to reflect different cultural heritages.

The building near the inn is where the wine is barreled in oak or steel or concrete “eggs”. They also filter and bottle here. There are tasting rooms and tours given throughout the day. The wine was really quite good and we came home with a case to enjoy. There is also a place for lunch, The Gabriel Archer Tavern, but we opted to drive to Colonial Williamsburg for lunch.

The dining experience was exceptional. The restaurant is the Cafe Provencal. The chef is very talented and creative. The meals were the kind that you wished would not end. The small restaurant is open to the public for dinner. A continental breakfast is served to guests. The croissants melted in your mouth.

I loved walking around the inn looking out at the courtyard with its stone walls and fountains. I felt like we were somewhere in France. The fact that it rained the entire time we were there only added to the romantic ambiance.

I would recommend a visit to the Williamsburg Winery. And we would definitely recommend dinner at Cafe Provencal.

This was the only indicator of where you had to turn! 

 

 

 

 

 

The front entrance to the inn                                               

The court yard and pool area

The library

Wow. September already!

There are so many trends being thrown about for Fall 2016 that if I went into each of them you would think that no one wants the responsibility of  taking a stand. I have read lots of reports and opinions on this season’s trends. This is what I see as the best of what you will be seeing at most of the stores and the best for what you can look for to update your wardrobe.

One of the biggest trends in apparel is the loose and  comfortable multi layer looks. For lack of hearing a name for this category I will call it Street Lounge. These pieces have all the comfort of loungewear, but they are also worn outside. I would love to think that I am one of the women that editors talk about when they say “she comes home from a busy day and changes into a fabulous looking lounging ensemble”. I don’t know any women who do this.  It would require that you have multiple wardrobes. There are many designers and apparel companies who are joining in the race to get their market share in this category that lounges AND heads out of the house.  On the shopping channels you have Logo by Lori Goldstein on QVC (who I think has been working this category successfully for the longest period of time.) And there is Lisa Rinna with the Lisa Rinna Collection which is also doing well in this category. Now QVC has added Cuddl Duds which is a fabulous comfort line and the best priced in this category. A more expensive line is Barefoot Dreams. Both of these companies have their roots in sleepwear/loungewear.  There is also AnyBody which is a QVC private label.  It is well priced and adorable, but in my opinion should stay inside your home.  On HSN you can see Lisa  Kline’s line of “loungewear that’s meant to be seen”. Lysee is another one of the designers working this category for HSN.  It is so much easier for home shopping to sell this kind of merchandise because they have the luxury of grouping the styles and selling a lifestyle. In a department store many of the components would wind up sitting in various places in the store. Components in this category are leggings, ponchos, vests, tanks, tees, and cardigans. All in soft fabrications, mostly knitted. I am a really big fan of this category because it completely suits my lifestyle right now.

Capes, capelets and Ponchos continue to gain momentum this year. You will see styles for outerwear and ones that are suitable to wear inside, all day. Fringe comes into play perfectly for capes and ponchos.

If you need a coat this year look for a trench coat. They will be everywhere in both long and short lengths.

Asymmetric cuts and uneven hemlines continue on skirts, tops, dresses and jackets. And now you can add asymmetric shoulders which take the cold shoulder to another level. You will see single shoulder dresses and open shoulder sweaters. Showing off the shoulders continues into fall.

Leather and Suede (as well as synthetic substitutes) will be BIG and will cross over many categories. Velvet and velour will be seen. Tufts of faux fur will be seen as trims for hoods and lapels. The most fun is in the colors.

Denim. That’s all I’ll say. Nothing else needs to be said.

TREGGINGS. This will be THE pant silhouette for Fall. WhoWhatWear tells us that it is the next step from a legging. The material is thicker. It is slim, but not skin tight. This is a cross between trousers and leggings. This is  showing up everywhere from H&M to Topshop, J Crew, Zara and Rag &Bone.

That’s my overview to get you started.

Next up will be my Haute Pops for shoes, bags, scarfs and jewelry.