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LBDa.yeMosuig.tnsBY BROOKE MORGAN DESIGN

Staging a ComebaCk In the case of low ceilings, hang drapesthese listing tune-ups will as high as you can, letting them hang low enough that they fall just past graz-ttuhrniSupStphre hineagt ing the floor. This visually lengthens theBy Cheryl Eisen The beginning of a new season brings a poetic freshness: any- ceilings and brings the eyes upward, thing that has persisted in the old year and dragged into the creating an appearance of height in new, now feels stale. The same sentiment applies to listings smaller rooms. Also, including a darker that have been sitting on the market for months and remain accent wall behind a focal point (e.g. a unchanged. Great staging will never feel stale, because it bed) in a tighter room will add depth won’t have time to become stale. New listing photos and a and dimension, creating the illusion of strategic look will attract fresh eyes and a new set of buyers. more space. resoluTion 4: lighten up This year i suggesT a rewarding seT of When there isn’t enough natural light, Founded in 2007 by real estate 4 sTaging resoluTions To prime idle lisTings use oversized mirrors across from a agent-turned-Stager for a comeback. window to allow the light to reflect into the room, doubling light and space. To CHERYL EISEN, resoluTion 1: change for the better further enhance the allure of your list- Interior Marketing Group (IMG) Change: at times a frightening word, and yet, it could be the ing, use reflective wallpaper and other thing that makes the difference when you’re trying to catch décor elements with reflective surfaces has fast become NYC’s a new buyer’s eye. The fresh perspective of an experienced to allow the light to bounce, creating leading luxury real estate stager can help reimagine a listing, and the lifestyle that it can a more natural glow. Finally, change convey. Switching furniture and simply replacing the staging out standard fixtures for something a staging & model home might bring in more buyers, but it’s the “wow”-factor that will bit more unique—a technique that not design firm. make them stay. Buyers need to experience that difference only gives the home a more custom from other listings the moment they walk in. look, but also distracts from anything that might have seemed lacking. resoluTion 2: keep it simple You don’t need place settings or a closet lined with shoes. Photos By Tiffany Kwan for IMGNYC Make sure to clear any clutter, organize and slim down clos- ets, and remove personal items throughout the home. Don’t “overstage,” because staging is merely a catalyst for inspira- tion—a not-so-blank canvas design that potential buyers can use to easily imagine the space as theirs, without the design itself distracting from the potential of the home. Keeping the colors neutral and monochromatic also benefits staging; play instead with texture and pops of bold color to add interest and drama. resoluTion 3: create some space “The man-bun is only ok if it’s as tight as the other buns and comes with an accent.” ←ERIN WHEELOCK, Actress and KWNYC agentMBthUeA- NN Metropolitan gathered a random group “???” of style connoisseurs and asked:T hose who know the Metropoli- ↑ALEX RODRIGUEZ, tan team, know us as out-of-box YWhOatUdo Professional Ballplayer thinkers. We look at style as asymbol that can only be understood think of Nik: “Jamie, Do you want to offer anby getting into the head in which the the opinion on the man-bun for a stylesign was hung. That said, most of us are Man-Bun? piece?”fueled by visuals and it’s fun to look at Jamie: “You better hurry up. I’m cuttingstyle trends superficially and express it off Nov 4th for my show.”our immediate impressions. Nik: “You literally have one?” Jamie: “I literally have a great one.”The style topic for this issue tends to Jamie: “Wanna See?”generate passionate responses frompeople. Often you’ll see a style trend “Hipsters “The bun is probably the most timelessof one culture or gender kidnapped by beware!” hairstyle ever. It’s sexy, it’s primal, it’sthe unexpected fashion explorer and virile. You can style it in 10 seconds, anddisplayed like a taxidermied prize fish. “Top knots are causing baldness! it goes with jeans, to the gym, with a Karma... they had it coming!!!!” tux…it goes with everything and -EMILY SMITH, can go anywhere.” CBS News/ Living Large Photo By Michael Grecco ↑MARTIAL VIVOT, owner, Photo by John GillespieMartial Vivot Salon Pour Hommes “Are you talking about hair or butts? “Whether it’s a cinnamon bun or a Nik: “Yes!” “It’s a fashion hairstyle? I If you mean butts, I like them man-bun, I give it a thumbs up. There’s Text messaging between: thought it was some new firm and high” something undeniably sexy about a ↑JAMIE SAFIER, Actor, bread recipe...” ↑ KIRSTIE ALLEY, Actress man with a good mane twisted at the Model & Douglas ←CHEF TODD ENGLISH back. Samson had all his power in his Elliman Agent COLIN’S BUN hair after all. But just as with women’s -NIK KOLIDAS, Founder of LEO’S make up, where the general rule is to Metropolitan BUN accentuate either their eyes or lips, not both, the same should go for man’s buns and beards. I’d say if you go for a bun, trim your facial hair a bit. It’s a very fine line between cool and homeless chic.” VLADA VEREVKO, Model ↑eodn gthee John Weiner, another Brooklyn-based Inside Brooklyn’s Underground Art Scene painter, aims to “provide viewers with By Amber Snider an example or understanding of artistic creativity that’s somewhat associative “Balinese, Meso-American” (Olmec, to their every day life.” He highlights Zapotec, and Olney in particular), the visual experience of art, rather Fremont Peoples, Tibetans, and German than a literal message, as a catalyst expressionists. I’m interested in allegori- for new creation: “my work operates cal narratives, symbolism, metaphor, and between two oppositions: the literal psychedelic transcendental experiences interpretations with a direct message tucked between layers of the seemingly and the visual experience of the art.” mundane. His methodology in vacillating between opposites mirrors Aristotle’s claim of Olney’s work acts as an extension of living in the mean between extremes. herself: humble, gradient, and powerfully “It’s really a sort of childlike obsession diverse. She notes that her work is with visual stimulation, from mark “primarily in conversation with the making with simple colors to more human struggle and the perception literal interpretations of color that can of various modalities of reality,” with represent a full landscape,” he says. a concentration in the occult, human psyche, and cosmic and marine “visual stiMuli has an exploration. -mARISSA OLNEY iMMense influence in ON INSpIRATION our lives. it’s an invisibleThe Brooklyn art scene is a revolving specifically the merging of mediums, “Most of My concepts “i use a lot ofcenter of frenetic energy, where one both traditional (oil and acrylic) and coMe to Mind while history to itself.” Military andcan simply walk down the street to feel found (industrial-based, woods, inks), is traveling and spend- futuristicits pulse at every corner. Whether in also a powerful trend, or signature, in the ing tiMe in desolate —John weiner influences tothe political street art and graffiti, the Brooklyn art world. natural locations or harden up theart-centered bar/cafe banter, or in the abandoned ManMade Milliner Rachel Shortt uses an eclectic look. i like to keepwarehouse-turned-galleries, a scintil- Marissa Olney is a tattoo artist and infrastructure eroded variety of materials to create her things dark andlating artistic dialogue is forming in the painter whose work is inspired by a by tiMe.” modern and vintage-inspired hats, goth andnew global art center that is Brooklyn. variety of cultural and historic lenses, —Marissa olney with an aim to bring out a bold, edgy, not so pretty...” including the visceral correspondence and transformative emotion from her —rachel shorttMetropolitan brings you a look at three produced by American Sideshows/ wearers. “I use a lot of military andvery different emerging Brooklyn-based Vaudeville, Bowery tattoos of the early futuristic influences to harden up theartists. Here we get their take on the 1900s, and components of the Hermetic look. I like to keep things dark andcurrent art scene and the symbolism, tradition: Alchemy, Astrology, and Goth and not so pretty. The Gothinspirations, and theories that drive their Theurgy. and punk music scenes have been ancreations. Intersections of materials, or inspiration as well,” she says. Unlike other forms of fashion, the process of hat making isn’t as confining. “In designing [my hats] I’m not constricted to the rules of fashion in that I need to fit a body. It’s more of an art sculpture for your head,” she says. “I hope that people will start to wear hats more, and not see it as this special occasion, ‘I can’t pull that off’ type thing. It’s what they do in England all the time!” EXAmINING THE ARTISTS’ USE OF TEXTILES AND ALTERNATIVE mEDIUmS “There’s a formal approach to making a painting that is centuries old. Oil & acrylic on canvas is most commonly found, and it’s something I’ve taken an affinity to. There’s a history in the MetropolitanNY magazine

2 PAGE SPREADS MetropolitanNY magazine

Photo Courtesy of Michelle ValbergC AAROL LTBusiness Model on a Lifetime of Hard Work, Innovation, and Conviction IBy Stephanie Jones n a chrome swivel chair, waiting to have makeup applied for her first professional shoot, a young girl from Queens finds herself at a loss for words when the makeup art- ist asks her what she plans to do after modeling. At 17, before her career began, Carol Alt found herself contem- plating the life-changing decisions of a seasoned adult. With no measureable experience and limited industry support, she knew she had to rely on herself to figure out her own formula for longevity. Sharply aware of the tradition of young female models fading into obscurity after age 24, Alt began to strategize in the most prudent way she could. “I listened,” she says, “to prepare myself for whatever was going to happen.” Absorbing every piece of advice offered by coaches, agents and her own father, in those vital early years of her modeling career, she whittled down their essential message to a powerful, enduring strategy that has become part of her signature brand: Be bold and take risks. Alt entered the working world with intense fortitude when she walked into the offices at Elite models and dazzled the New Faces division with her beauty and self-possession. Within months of signing her contract with agent John Casablancas, Alt moved from chasing go-sees to booking jobs tailored to her unique look. Suddenly, her calendar was brimming with new calls and repeat clients. Though she left a lasting impression wherever she booked, at 19, Alt was eager to control the direction of her career. Draw- ing inspiration for innovative ideas and risk-taking ventures from what she observed in the professional world around her, she immediately recognized Lauren Hutton as a kindred spirit for her poise and determination. “I think she was a favorite of mine because she was also an innovator,” says Alt. “There were never contracts for cosmetics before Lauren Hutton. She held out with Revlon and said, ‘I don’t want to be paid daily. I want a contract.’ She forced their hand. I appreci- ated it—every girl who came after her benefitted from what Lauren Hutton pushed for.” MetropolitanNY magazine

At a time when the agency’s Elite considered accepting the partPhoto Courtesy of Walter Chindivision included “housewives” an exciting but a calculated risk.who worked three to four days a Having never acted for film, sheweek, Alt’s generation of models jumped at the opportunity; hav-experienced a major paradigm ing no experience, she broughtshift. They were working more an on-set coach with her. “Thankjobs with longer hours, and fly- God I did,” she says.ing all over the world. “I workedseven days a week—sometimes The first day of filming wasthree jobs a day,” she says. “I disastrous, as Alt struggled todidn’t have a day off sometimes remember her lines. Fearingfor ten months.” she may have sabotaged her- self delivering such an abysmalBefore long, Alt became dis- performance, she worked tire-satisfied with the way she and lessly with her coach both onthe other full-time models were and off the set, until she beganbeing managed; following the to feel more comfortable withpath paved by Lauren Hutton, the material. Take after take, sheshe decided to take ac- remained determined, and nevertion. She made an unprec- lost her poise. “At the end ofedented request, asking two weeks, the director askedCasablancas to assign me to do another movie. Thather one agent who would movie became a huge hit—itwork exclusively with her. was called My First Forty Years—and then that was it. PeopleAmazingly, he honored started writing movies for me.”her request. “He said,‘Hm. Modeling is chang- The strength of conviction and determination Alt embraced ining.’” her early years as a supermodel has empowered her through- out the length of her evolving career. Decades after the release“‘These girls are work- of her first film, she continues to be the architect of her owning seven days a week, career. In 2013, She approached Chairman and CEO of Fox,and they’re traveling. Roger Ailes, with an inclination to work for the network. Believ-Maybe we need to make aSuper Elite division.’ And Ting him to be a true maverick—an ally to the innovators—shebecause I was the first girlin the Super Elite division, called his office to set up a meeting. “I walked into his office,they dubbed us ‘super- and said I have an idea—and he pitched me,” she says. “It wasmodels.’” hysterical! He already knew.”Keeping career longev- he Fox series A Healthy You & Carol Alt ranity a tangible goal, Alt for two years before airing its final episoderefused to allow herself in 2015. Determined not to let the show’sto get too professionally idea fold along with the series, Alt re-comfortable. Though she was working steadily as one of the envisioned the concept into a best-sellingworld’s first supermodels, at 23, she continued to consider the book for Harper Collins, based on healthquestion of what to do after modeling. Trusting that oppor- and beauty topics she had selected for thetunities would always present themselves, she took necessary show. “I look at myself as the Babe Ruthsteps to reach for them whenever they did. “I started taking of the entertainment industry,” she says.voice lessons and acting classes and commercial classes and “He swung at everything. He had morecamera movement classes,” she says. strike outs than hits, but people remember the hits.”“I ended up working with Bob Fosse in Sweet Charity on theroad in Los Angeles and San Francisco. At the time, it was a An uncompromising maverick, Carol Alt hashuge decision; it meant basically shutting down my business used the strategy she learned as a young supermodel to parlayfor five or six months, earning $1000 a week, when I was mak- her career into one of an entrepreneur, a series producer, anding $1000 an hour.” a best-selling author. By challenging convention and never second-guessing her convictions, she embraces new ideas andAlt’s decision to break from her modeling career at the height risk-taking with eagerness, curiosity, and self-confidence. “Youof its success proved risky, but rewarding. After her tour with can’t be afraid,” she says. “You’ve got to jump—because if youFosse ended, she landed a feature role in an Italian film. She don’t jump, nothing ever happens.”MetropolitanNY magazine

3 PAGE SPREADS 10Cheryl eisen’s 4. Don’t skimp on Do’s & area rug size DonT’s rugs designate the livable space of a room. Too small, and your furniture of luxury might look like it’s floating around sTAging in a large area. Big, but not big enough, will make the functional 9. Do mirrors part of the room look smaller. Aim Many mirrors. They double the light to have all the furniture in a specific and gorgeous views, making the area of function. space feel twice the size. 10. Don’t forget to make ev-10 5. Do hang curtains This low profile sofa section will not be blocking the city view. ery square foot countDo’s & at ceiling height stage every corner, nook, and hall-DonT’s Show off ceiling height with floor These double way. no space should be left without grazing sheers or window framing height win- purpose, adding value and function curtains that drop from the highest dows don’t to even the smallest or most oddly point. This placement also helps intimidate laid-out listings. heighten the look of lower ceilings this stager. A by bringing the eye up beyond the little DIY goes Both light fixtures add a cool and palatable eccentricity. Kate Moss also helps. top of the window. a long way to frame the The room seems to expand and the light Pro-tip: can’t find long-enough win- charming gar- seems endless, even with the mirrors dow treatments? Buy fabric in bulk, den view and have it pre-cut into your desired sky-high origi- in the unfocused background of the image. length (plus a few extra inches), and nal art. Plus, Also note the quirky accessories and low use curtain clip-rings to hang them. the oversized sofa, which opens up the view into area rug makes the dining area. Both light fixtures add a cool and palat- the living space able eccentricity. Kate Moss also helps. seem larger and grander.of luxury 6. Don’t leavesTAging 1. Do hire a stager ing to the emotional part of a buy. personal items out luxury stagers are as design-savvy Avoid too-dark colors, or primary This is a no-brainer. Always make it as interior designers, but ultimately colors, especially for whole rooms easier for the buyer to imagine the have different goals: to market and since they make them look smaller. listing as his or her own. Declutter sell a listing. stagers will design save dark neutral colors for accent and depersonalize. That, and paint- for broad appeal as opposed to a walls or media rooms where they ing, is the least you can do. specific taste, and they will do it in a serve a purpose. fraction of the time (and for a frac- yes, there are buyers who have the 7. Do organize closets tion of the price, too). ability to look past a gaudy paint job, Three letters: oCD. Clean out and but a simple and fairly inexpensive organize every closet. 2. Don’t avoiD painting “paint lift” for any home will broaden A fresh coat of (non-white) paint the buyer pool. 8. Don’t be afraiD of quirky inexpensively transforms any space and offers it a more finished look. 3.Do choose low-profile, accents stick to neutral/warm “greiges” that moDern, anD comfortable you are selling a lifestyle. Quirky and brighten a space and still serve as a furniture unexpected details, such as sculp- great staging canvas without being especially in lofty great rooms. Think tural accents, always pique interest too stark (re: “rental”). modern lines with low backs that and show a sense of culture, cool, don’t break up the openness of lofts and exclusivity in the luxury market. note: Colors are intrinsically tied to or distract buyers from the space, Do, however, stay away from contro- feelings and personal opinions, lend- but work with it. versial themes. Blondell moments.GINLPARAMISOEUORF right down on the singers, with a little trunk of Besides, in Manhattan, even if you don’t PRAISE “Was I only playacting, using NYC as my stage set? chocolates balanced on the railing. Hearing believe in glamour, you still experience it. And if glamour was all in my head, should I have La Boheme soar through the opulent bones There are so many sets and props sprinkled become a realist and given up the fantasy?” of the opera house, while perched next to a around the island, you’d be heartless not to tuxedoed stranger who couldn’t speak a syl- use them—just look at Woody Allen’s movies. By Barbara Feldon GLAMOUR lable of English felt like heaven. Stroll through the art deco corridors of Rock- efeller Center, and you can imagine yourself I remember, as a kid, studying the a silver plated case, tapped it on the metal I then became a chorus dancer at the Copa part of another time, and feel, for that mo- glossy pages in Life magazine. kitchen table, and, snapping open the chrome Cabana, whose reputation was noir glamor- There were photos of New York lighter my dad had given her, lit it between ous: the dark den of the club, the dazzle of ment, more elegant by association. Sip tea skyscrapers, Park Avenue, and gracefully arranged fingers. Then she crossed spotlights and blare of the band, the whiff of under a palm plant at the Plaza Hotel, and Times Square; men in fedoras, and her shapely legs—just like Joan’s—lowered Mafia. In spangling attire, performing high dream yourself back to the Edwardian era. At women in hats with veils; beau- her heavy-lidded eyes, and enjoyed a lan- kicks through cigar smoke, I felt like a moll in night, from the Brooklyn Bridge, gaze at the ties stepping from limousines in guorous inhale. In our middle class kitchen, a 1930’s thriller. bright spire of the Chrysler Building and its furs, or laughing in New York sup- Mother was starring on the silver screen of her heart-stopping beauty- and you can experi- per clubs, all looking glamorously life, playing Blondell. The star herself couldn’t ence glamour rising to the level of love. worldly. have felt more glamorous. So there. I’ve landed firmly on the side of New York glamour, no matter how hard real- ity tugs at my conscience. Now I’m going to put on a snazzy outfit, go swanning over to the ritzy Carlyle Hotel, and have high tea with a swank friend. Maybe in the future people will look at remnants from 2015 and imagine living in the glamorous age of glass build- ings, ripped blue jeans and tattoos. That’s their business. Mine is to use Manhattan’s romantic shards from the past as sets and props for my present fantasies.There was a radio show called First Nighter Besides cigarettes, we had other glam props: Later, when I did commercials, there were “So if yesterday’s glamour is Mad Men moments: lunches with ad execs, today’s tedium, does that mean itthat took you to Broadway openings. You cocktails, deluxe cars, and dress codes. To where I sank into the leathery upholstery of was all in my imagination?” the Oak Room at the Plaza, and dinners atcould hear the excited buzz of the crowd, me, this was second-string glamour. New the Four Seasons, where I sat dressed in my knock-off Chanel suit and long loops of fake pearls. I felt the glamour of it in my bones.dressed, I knew, in tuxedos or gowns that York City was the real deal. Today I wouldn’t find magic in an ad meet- ing at a long lunch, or in being a chorussparkled under marquee lights. Saturday girl—even if I still could kick my leg over my head. Nor would I find it heaven—La Bo-mornings I listened to Grand Central Station When I finally arrived and walked through heme aside—to be ensconced in a borrowed dress next to a stranger who couldn’t speakand heard the echoing rush of human paths Grand Central Station, I felt as if I were star- my tongue. That was a twenty-two year old’scrossing, as people arrived to begin their ring in that old radio show. Just as in Life view of glamour.glamorous lives in Manhattan. Movies de- magazine, sunshine shafted down throughlivered New York glamour, with dewy close- lofty windows, spotlighting the marble el-ups of sophisticates, their dialogue sprinkled egance that surrounded me. And now I waswith nifty glamour words such as “swanning,” part of it. Or felt I was.“ritzy,” “swank,” and “snazzy.” In Pittsburgh, So if yesterday’s glamour is today’s tedium, does that mean it was all in my imagina-we felt the breeze of glamour blowing in Here are some highlights from that first year: tion? Was I only playacting, using NYC as my stage set? And if glamour was all in my head,from New York City to our east and from Hol- I was hired as a model at Saks Fifth Avenue should I have become a realist and given up the fantasy?lywood to our west; we tried it on as an actor and one night was taken to the grand—but,takes on a role. sadly, now demolished—Metropolitan Op- era House on 39th Street. My escort was aMy mother prided herself on looking like South American millionaire. My boss at SaksJoan Blondell, who played some seductive had loaned me a black couture dress for I vote no. After all, we’re a dreaming species; it’s our birthright to make-believe. Maybe in-roles in films set in Manhattan. “People say I the event because that very day this Latin dulging our fantasies of glamour is a way to lift life above the ordinary, even to the levelhave bedroom eyes just like Joan Blondell,” gentleman had nearly bought out the store. of art—just as my mother did in her Joanshe would say as she drew a cigarette from We were throned in an ornate box looking MetropolitanNY magazine

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