Our Best Advice

Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012 | Our Best Advice | Comments Off

We saw a spectacular public luxury event as millions watched with mixed feelings during times of escalating inequality. The ‘spare no expense’ celebration of Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee. The Queen is now only three years shy as the longest reigning Monarch after Queen Victoria. While she lives in England, and is primarily associated with Great Britain and some of  The Commonwealth, she holds the title of Queen separately and equally in all sixteen countries.  This Monarch agrees with breaking tradition, or we would not be seeing the sweeping changes already being implemented.

ISA staffing predicts Queen Elizabeth will continue with robust health for years to come and break more records, but also understood is that the monarchy must transform. History is a profound dimensional field not facts and figures. Freedom isn’t controlled by economics. There are those enslaved by their wealth just as equally mad as those who are poor. (and efficiency is not the driving force of innovation, or the creative imagination, despite MBA degrees touting that policy). Apprenticeship is still irreplaceably important to refine our skills in any sector of our society, and then the question comes who were you guided by.

ISA staffing assists our clients with quickly changing directions and setting their own trends. Our clients are VIP high profile individuals including Royal Families living here and abroad. Because of our renowned International domestic help expertise and clients who foster and seek to provide the ultimate innovation in their respective fields, we’ve seen changes come fast and escalating. We’ve participated and given advice for much of the cutting edge as it was rolling out.

Luxury living with privileges that come from being wealthy is hotly debated by those who have and those who have not, and those who aspire to it or have it thrust upon them. In a world where every dollar is being sucked up for ‘more consumerism’ we’re seeing dreams crushed and dreams come true equally made tragic. We have seen ‘rich and powerful today, gone tomorrow’ from the beginning of our establishment.

Luxury living, quality lifestyles, Chefs or Cooks, formal and informal households, American and British and International domestic help, Personal Assistants and Estate Managers, weddings and party planning, Butlers and Chauffeurs, several households and luxury estates, Celebrities and VIP entertainment, security and bodyguards, and so very much more that involves traditional, modern, and cutting edge expertise, far beyond a sense of style it also requires some Best Advice! – see more of our services here.

Innovative Cuisine is a high Art, and fine dining for peak celebration occasions requires pulling out all the stops. To celebrate the glamorous occasion of a Diamond Jubilee (a Royal reign from 1952- 2012) the Royal collection commissioned a range of fine bone china. Opposing Philosophies question whether extravagant spending is wise during tuff economic times. A good question to ask is would the world be minus a value, if these exquisite arts and crafts people become extinct. It undeniably would so let’s stop arguing about spending as if luxury has no purpose. Humans on Earth have built and embellished the most exquisite architecture and artifacts possible to imagine. Other than the gypsy tradition most humans would trade with wealth rather than remain being poor. Dreams of success and great wealth continue to set standards of refinement to inspire quality living. And the philanthropic spirit that is American is uniquely its own.

While a quality lifestyle is pursued by Americans to open opportunities this country continues to provide, it requires refined discernment and appreciation how we got here. Without a deeper meaning we become a vacuous madhouse that turns into imploding compulsive consumerism. We risk a total collapse of our humanity driven by greed. The ‘best and brightest’ younger gens do not come from traditional values. There is also no “going back” to anything of the 20th, and despite how nostalgic we may be for old school elegance and well ordered structure, our world is dissolving. As the served axiom states: without a new vision, the people perish.

Great style helps immeasurably (we all well know), and I write about and more with TIPS giving Our Best Advice. For the Royals to remain popular requires a critical PR endeavor that demands the height of expertise, and sensitivity to layers of challenging complications.

The Royal Family has undertaken to break with tradition. As the Duke of Wales ages his style has improved, and so did his popularity. He was also one of the earliest proponents of organically grown food and organic gardening, now pursued by millions worldwide.

This family endured tragedy the entire world shared. A new fresh style was brought in by the Duchess of Cambridge, and we see that Kate’s popularity soared, as did Prince William’s for marrying her. They waited until each was more mature while they are also bucking tradition to set their own course. William was and remains greatly inspired by his mother. It was a visionary Diana who set new trends, who paved a new way in England, just as a young Jackie Kennedy did in her time despite both coming from privileged backgrounds, and not remotely close to what most women experience in their lifetime. The mystery surrounding these families remains and continues to intrigue with more questions of how we seek to govern ourselves than any other aion of our past.

We are not going to have a traditional structure in the 21st century. A powerful and wise feminine stream leadership is here in an entirely new mode. To face adversity from abroad such as Queen Boudica of Scotland encountered, great courage was imperative. She was a woman of formidable talents who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire and succeeded, which no other monarch could do. In fact, the Romans built a wall to contain her in Scotland! We must sustain our ability to have a viable future, which remains within our personal responsibility to mature and create. This is a duty of our humanity, not a privilege. How will you be in the future when robots have taken over most human tasks, not to mention the challenges we currently face? Billions of people must ‘retool’ to have a new purpose for their existence.

Let us also not forget that Queen Elizabeth dutifully takes on 400 events annually, without a break, no small feet of discipline for anyone in their zenith years. She provides a stream of leadership that isn’t transient (as we see with political office conditions), but what does it mean in a Space Age when we are already speaking of multidimensional hyperspace.

The Queen’s great affection for her grandchildren is well known, and she openly enjoys their opinion. At 86, when others are already well set in their ways, she agreed to experiment with her own style. It resulted in a breakthrough Royal Rock & Roll party, with Elton John leading celebs honoring the monarch from both sides of the Atlantic. Air out those dusty traditions, retire them once and for all. Liberation from ‘tradition’ is at hand, and we’re assured that even the Queen is standing with aching feet from working too long and hard, yet she does it with royal grace trained to uphold in face of everything no matter how stressful.

Nothing is done without the Queens approval first, including how the Royal Party will be dressed for coordinated color schemes. Clearly she thought red was clever for Kate. What should be retired permanently is mean spirited negative press. British media tends to be regressive in their opinions, while the Americans embrace ‘everything and anything’. Media doesn’t set trends, visionary people do, and those who generate their own creative passion don’t follow trends (they live to please themselves as they prefer). The message was clear. Stop the nonsense.

Ask the younger gens what they thought of the Queen’s Jubilee  (it helps considerably to have a 3-day awesome Royal Party few could top). The consensus following change in England declared Kate’s Royal Party outfits beautiful. Kate and the Queen rocked it out of the Jubilee park. I’m partial to blush lavender gloves with the blush mint green hat (and that sublime white one the Queen wore, ok, tuff to decide..), but it was her amazing Royal elegance and exemplary unsurpassed Royal experience that was brilliantly palpable. This is a monarch who gives lessons to everyone in how to outwit newcomers and hold her reign with seamless adaptation.

We have yet to see how the younger leadership social set does. As things pivot to a multidimensional world it would do them all immeasurable good to learn of our chivalric noble stream. Imagine a world without cultural refinement that succumbs to mediocrity and ‘rule by the mobocracy’ (or unknown entities yet to be understood), and you get the picture. The failure of our leadership (worldwide), and the media’s inability to truthfully acknowledge how bad things are, is symptomatic of denial and apathy. However, the human spirit is unwaveringly Royal and we are that beyond blood lines. While there are wonderful new innovative startup companies popping up we also need more wisdom to come with them. Politics is not the answer to our ills, we must all transform. Strategically, I’d say Queen Elizabeth still did an end-run around them all, but more is yet to come. Contact us at ISA.

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ETIQUETTE – Manners and Decorum

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

Social Etiquette and Manners are an important part of life not always understood or followed today. Our client Arianna Huffington has gone on to create several successful careers in one lifetime, with an unending drive and passion for social and political impact. Many consider The Huffington Post the leading online publication forum covering a multitude of subject fields, some of which involve social protocols. Along with a great Food Section come wonderful reminders and stories, some of them also featured in Lesley M.M. Blume’s Let’s Bring Back which celebrates forgotten objects, rituals, curiosities, and people from bygone eras. At ISAstaffing we’ve long provided domestic help staffing jobs working for high profile VIP clients of world renown, some of whom remain luminaries to date. Clients like Fred Astaire, Carey Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Edie Goetz, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan among others, embodied impecable style and quality of life still considered the hight of celebrity achievement.

According to The Huffington Post article, after President Kennedy was assassinated Jacqueline Kennedy sat for a series of interviews with historian and Pulitzer Prize winning close family friend, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The iconic former First Lady and trend setter was a worldwide admired celebrity and one of the most influential figures of modern history. The ability to survive one of the greatest tragedies and go on with life requires a grace of great ability. Some of what held her together was the unwavering devotion to social manners. We remember the beautiful way she maintained The White House. (see post on White House Butler, Eugene Allen)

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy was just a girl when her dad died in 1963. Like her mother, Caroline Kennedy has also sought a life of privacy. Yet knowing how important these interviews are along with their profound historical relevance topical to our times, she’s allowed these conversations to finally be released in 2011. Over six hours of interviews will debut, with a companion book of the transcripts. Caroline Kennedy will serve as editor and provide an introduction. I’m looking forward to adding these historical interviews to our large research library (which my husband carefully and lovingly hand selected over unending years of collecting), among other great books, films, and music, preserving our world heritage.

Contrary to current fashion of “letting it all hang out”, Jackie Kennedy understood that minding ones manners and upholding our dignity provides the platform for our civilized social fabric. Everywhere she went, Jackie Kennedy never lost her cool. She continued appearing publicly often walking casually in the street in sports wear with the elegance of someone who would later be wearing a gown with ease. Indelible style.

First Lady Michelle Obama was inspired by Jackie Kennedy (who she greatly admires), with a special style of her own. Taking her first Solo International Tour will bring out more of this First Lady’s great diplomatic abilities affecting policy worldwide. These women are incredibly strong, smart, with courageous hearts, and the compassion to serve not just the American people, but the world, showing that a different leadership style is possible, regardless of the risks, family sacrifices, or political pressures. A toast to them and their great inspiration.

TIP – there is never a moment where good etiquette and great manners don’t serve to further an optimal outcome. As summer nears it’s the perfect time to raise a glass of champaign in honor of “great dames”, and enjoy the culinary and drink delectables from the past, the sublime etiquette of the well mannered. Celebrate the men and women who lived a cultivated quality of life and those who currently maintain a refined participation. They reflect a tradition worth preserving.

Not precluding that sometimes it takes an act of outright rebellion to go against the irritating lack of social graces. Blume tells a wonderful story in one of her postings about Diana Vreeland (editor of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar), at a party given by Oscar de la Renta that goes like this: Swifty Lazar turned to the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland and said, “The problem with you, dollface, is that your whole world is nostalgic.” D.V.’s response was, “Listen Swifty, we all have our own ways of making a living, so shut up.” Then she promptly punched him in the nose. Sometimes it takes teaching someone manners to preserve etiquette!

We don’t know if this story is true but I can personally say that Swifty Lazar (nickname for our famous client agent Irving Lazar), was not a man to be taken lightly and his energy was formidable. It’s a story that does make for good commentary about “incurable nostalgics”, who are often waxing about “the good old days”. Because our agency is the oldest still remaining under the same ownership, and my experience with cutting edge social circles since childhood (I relate more to a future yet to come), my mother and I have several nostalgic stories of our own.

A great Earthling Ambassadors book to give as a gift or polish up on your skills is The Girl’s Guide to Social Savvy, Manners for the Modern World (by Jodi R.R. Smith). Some might disagree but I find it incredible that Jaimie Oliver’s Show proved kids in America are not learning to eat properly, including the failure to teach them to use a knife and fork (unthinkable in Europe). Regardless of whether it’s your job or not, teach all young people manners by example and direct instruction– just tell them with grace and a quip that casual, doesn’t mean animal (I know some who are far better behaved then humans).

A quote by Kate Spade in her book Manners, “I don’t think table manners are passe.”, and she goes on to quote one of my favorite characters Deanna Troi of Star Trek: The Next Generation, who explains: “Higher emotions are what separate us from the lower orders of life… higher emotions, and table manners.” Star Trek: The Next Generation showed that every day is a good day to live adventurously regardless of who’s at your table, or what’s being served!

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Tags: Arianna Huffington, Audrey Hepburn, Butlers, Caroline Kennedy, Cary Grant, CHEFS, Diana Vreeland, Etiquette, First Lady, Fred Astaire, Harpers Bazaar, Jackie Kennedy, Jaimie Oliver, Kate Spade, Lesley M.M. Blume, Lets Bring Back, Manners, Michelle Obama, Nancy Reagan, Pulitzer Prize, Social Etiquette, Swifty Lazar, The Girls Guide To Social Savvy Manners for the Modern World, The Huffington Post, The White House, Vogue