Oh Betsey, you have done it again. I will share her incredibly cute bikini's next. Which one would you like to see yourself in this season? Thanks for stopping by, welcome to the new followers and thank you for all your great comments!
I adore Betsey Johnson and her creative, funky and fun strong point of view in fashiondesign and in interior design. When I first saw her Manhattan apartment several years ago on TV (Homes across America?) before the recent redo, my heart skipped a beat (if anyone has the tape of this, please share!). It was beyond fabulous.I actually used to have a room called "Betsey" in which I painted the all the walls hot pink with florals, antique rose painted furniture, chandeliers and used bright shocking green & black for accents and displayed all my vintage clothing and wares in one special eye popping place. So, when I found out recently about Betseyville in Mexico I had to check out what Betsey has been up to. Because no one does it quite like Betsey.
Betsey presides over an empire which includes 40 worldwide stores and is a budding real estate mogul as well. She owns the magical Betseyville villa in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. If you want to live the Betsey Johnson lifestyle, her villa is available for rent through the luxury villa rental company La Cure (the villa sleeps up to 10 people and the weekly off-peak rate is $5,500).The rooms are decorated in exuberant lime, lilac and hot pink- but what else would you expect from Betsey Johnson?
Here's an interview I found with Betsey Johnson on (i)travel (i)shop: What is the last place you visited, and where is the next place you are going? I own two completely different places in Zihuatenjo. One is my rentable-by-the-week villa Betseyville. Down south is my more glamorous Italianate style home, Villa Betsey. I was on hold for travelling for awhile when my daughter was pregnant. Her baby is now six months old so its time to travel again. I like to go to Betseyville and relax. If I can make sure to get my lace curtains hung at Villa Betsey then I'll rent it out. Outside of publicity trips to LA and junk like that, I really like to go back to Mexico. For Christmas this year we're going to a big hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico because my daughter's husband has never been there. Puerto Rico isn't my favourite thing to do but it will be easy. No stop, no customs, no geckos climbing the walls. I also love to travel within Mexico. Next time I go I will make a pit stop at San Miguel De Allende, a great gothic cathedral town just north of Mexico City. Then I'm really getting the itch to do real travelling. Once the Mamounia has reopened in Marrakech I'll go there. Then I need to find a great guy and go travelling with him in the desert to find all those great oasis. I'm always on the lookout for India or Morocco circa 1965.
I love to travel- I don't love flying- and I love to get out of New York City and the Hamptons.
How does travel inspire your designs? It used to a lot in the 1970s when it was all the hippie-peasant stuff. I think its interesting to see what people are wearing. When I travel my assistant and I go vintage shopping in London and Paris. But fashion wise, we're all the same now. I think travelling anywhere is inspirational, even if you're just travelling a block in New York. But if I want to find the real ethnic, pleasanty stuff I need to go deep in the mountains of Mexico to see the women with their satin dresses and thick braids.
Where do you like to shop for vintage in Paris and London? In London, Rellik is big time for us. We also hit the Portobello Market, Mary Moore and Virginia in Clarendon Cross. Steinberg & Tolkien on the New Kings Road is also good. I also like Alfies. We've been making Paris an important stop. We go to Bridgets. We like to do the Sunday morning flea markets. You need to comb that joint when you go. I like the PalaisRoyale area and that's where Gabrielle Geppert is. In the Marais we go to Quidamde Revel. In Paris its also fun to go to the new designer's shops. We go to Colette, Chantal Thomas and Lanvin. We're hoping to find some new cities to go shopping in- maybe Italy. I'd like to go to Antwerp and Prague too. Oh yeah, in the sex store category we like Sonia Rykiel Sports Store. They have cute little rubber ducks and stuff. I also love Coco deMer in London.
What kind of things do you like to buy when travelling? Layla, my granddaughter, is my big focus now. I have to buy her anything that's great. For me, I do the vintage shopping and if I see something for my houses or Layla, I'll buy it. I don't usually find much for me though. See, I have my dressing formula down. I wear black jean cut-offs and a leopard skirt. So if I shop its in the shoe category. It's so easy. I'm so lazy but I know visually that it works. It's very rock and roll. I did pick up a great girlie pin-up t-shirt at Chantal Thomas in Paris.
What's your pet peeve about fashion? Do you think people have taken the fun out of it? I think people put in or remove the fun of it themselves, whether its about fashion, cooking or decorating an apartment. We're in such a trendless time right now that anything goes. People look best when they make their own decisions. I do encourage experimentation, whether it's trying a new lipstick or a t-shirt.
How would you describe your personal style? It's easy! My hair extensions are done four times a year. It's a piece of cake. Then my dressing formula is easy and statement-y. It's all hot wash and hot dry. Everything is folded and put on shelves and labelled. It works. The skirts are leopard and the t-shirts are colourful.
The masterbedroom
Favorite hotel in the world? I used to like the Mamounia when it was the palace. Then they redid it and ruined it but now they are doing it again so and are supposed to be putting it back together. Hmmm. I don't remember anywhere I stayed in Japan or India. I used to have a boyfriend who lived at Round Hill in Jamaica but then I got quite sick of it all. I loved the beauty and the elegance of the Palais in Biarritz. There were all these old Italian ladies who were just gorgeous and elegant. Everyone there really seemed to like their jobs. The weather sucked though. I like the old, decadent palace-y type places. Since I tend to travel alone a lot, I need things like good music and good flowers. Since I am by myself I notice these things more.
Masterbath
What do you always pack when you travel? I always pack just carry-on. I love funky chiffon dresses that you can roll and twist- imagine a Fortuny fabric. I do my t-shirts and my leopard skirts and I'm good to go. I think my makeup bag takes up more room than my clothes. It's the damn shoes which take up all the room. So I wear my funky espadrilles on the plane. I also try to pack an eye mask and ear plugs, and a close makeup mirror so I'm not sitting in the sink to put on my makeup.
Guestroom
Betseyville is for sale!
- The most colorful and whimsical small beach getaway you will find anywhere ... totally designed and "staged" by Betsey Johnson as only she could do it. A setting of tropical gardens with one lap pool and one large pool, 4 kingsize bungalow suites w/bath, 1 al fresco suite with double bed under palapa roof w/bath, 2 lounge areas, 1 dining area, 1 kitchenette and 1 full kitchen, laundry room, and caretaker's quarters. Can be run as a bed and breakfast or used as a retreat for your family and friends. Very private and walled with entrances from the road and the beach.
Wow... what a dream come true this would be. Even just to stay a few nights. I could pack a few bathing suits, a straw hat, a beach wrap and be on a plane in no time...
What do you think of Betseyville?
Could you roll with it? Then, grab that bikini or trunks!
What is Valentine's day without a little Betsey Johnson love? After all, she is the most feminine, fun and flirty of all. Betsey Johnson has over 40 years in the fashion business. She has a unmistakable flirty, feminine and edgy fashion line. Betsey Johnson has dressed everyone from underground film legend Edie Sedgwick to the Velvet Underground and numerous other rock stars and groupies. Today, Johnson’s clothes, a new signature fragrance and her home collection continue that tradition. Her influences, she says, range from Dorothy Draper to Andy Warhol to the Empress Eugenie. “I like houses that totally reflect their owners,” she said. In her case, that means everything from hot pink silk sheets and leopard print pillows to relatively demure cabbage rose pattern quilts and duvets.
Here's a great insightful interview found at Recordnet.com:
Are you the rock and roll Martha Stewart?
Not yet, but who knows? Home merchandise is exciting to me right now because nobody is really doing what I’m doing. Love it or hate it, it’s definitely the missing link in the current home market.
How did it begin?
I went to Mexico three years ago and saw this tiny hotel for sale on the beach in BarradePotosi, a little fishing village not too far from Acapulco, and decided to buy it. It was a pretty spontaneous decision. It needed to be updated so I started painting and decorating and looking at wallpaper. It was the first time I had ever done anything like that. I wound up bringing 26 chandeliers and a ton of other stuff down from New York in two 54-foot moving trucks. It was a fantastic experience. It opened up an entire new world to me.
What’s the finished look?
Very floral, loud, colorful and a little kitschy. I knew Andy Warhol back in the 1960s and the floral patterns and color intensities I used at the hotel – which, by the way, I have re-named Betseyville – remind me of his work.
Is designing home merchandise different than designing clothing?
Not really. You want to be creative and courageous in your dress and the same is true of your home. If anything, home is a little more challenging because there’s so many different elements to consider. When you’re designing clothing, you really only have one point of focus and that’s the body. But home is fabrics and furniture and floors and natural light. If fashion is a planet, home is more like a universe.
You’re known as a funky rock and roll designer – is that the tone of the home merchandise?
I do get typecast as the blast-out kid. I like girly, I like glamorous, and I like gorgeous. But that covers a lot of ground. My home collection is very personal and pretty much based on what I have in my own houses.
How many do you have?
Three, plus the hotel. There’s an apartment in New York, a house in East Hampton and another house in Mexico. They’re all very different. New York has kind of a glamorous Hollywood boudoir feel, East Hampton is very floral and feminine and the Mexico house is very neutral and modern with cement arches and columns. The collection reflects all of that.
What’s the first thing you do when redecorating a room?
I ask myself how do I want this room to feel? Do I want it to be sexy? Elegant? Modern? Edgy? You decide on a feeling and take it from there.
We’re seeing a lot of Mid-Century Modern ideas in home Merchandise right now. Is that a style you’re drawn to?
No. I find that stuff a little cold and hard. And I’m not big on ’50s colors. For instance, I have an original Knoll womb chair from that period but never really liked it until I had it recovered in bright pink wool. Now it works. But that’s typical for me. I’ve never been someone who could just buy something out of a store and bring it home. I usually have to send it out to have the fabric or the color changed.
What kind of house did you grow up in?
Very Doris Day middle class and not stylish in the least. In fact, totally unfashionable.
Where did your own considerable sense of style come from?
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a dancer. During junior high and high school, I studied in New York. There’s a whole world of pretend that goes with that – costumes and makeup and jewelry. That’s what got me interested in style. The ’60s did the rest.
Do you have any family heirlooms?
A frying pan from my Aunt Bertha. She was a smorgasbord cook at a Swedish restaurant in Manhattan for many years. Also, an old school desk I used when I was little. My granddaughter plays with it. But that’s about it.
What’s the coolest house you’ve ever seen?
I just got back from a vacation in the south of France where I stayed at the Palace Hotel in Biarritz. It was built as a palace for the Empress Eugenie back in the 1800s. It’s the drop dead house of all time: everything – couches, chairs, tables – Louis this and Louis that. Total over-the-top decadent luxury. I love it!
"Layer cake" cover up cover up dress
"Patty Cakes" tankini
Leapord and lace combo cover up dress
"At the Hop" cover up dress
"Ladies & Gentlemen" tankini top with corset
"Petal Pushed" cover up dress
