In the absence of Passion, Purpose and Ambition - Savage Grace

As a fashion designer that specializes in made-to-order clothing I am always on the look out for the next “important” client, muse or patron. More often than not these patrons come in the form of everyday working women with fairly large disposable incomes. But then there are those times when these special clients come in the form of a 0 to 4 dress size (too thin in my opinion) with a huge family name and/or trust attached. Clearly from just a quick perusal of my client list to date (Ivanka Trump, Lydia Hearst, Tinsley Mortimer, etc.), I have always been oddly fascinated by some of the young women who have inherited these huge names along with the title “socialite”. That being said, I will also admit I have never for one second envied any of these young women given this title as I was very fortunate to have many years ago read about the decadent life and tragic death of socialite Barbara Daly BaekEland.

Former Mal Sirrah muse - Socialite/Model Lydia Hearst

I can still remember being very young and stumbling across one of those old LIFE Magazines my parents used to store in our attic. What I loved the most about those vintage magazines were the sheer size of the publications as well as the life-like cover photos. From a kid’s perspective you knew there must have been something very important and interesting held within the pages of that massive magazine simply entitled “LIFE”. As vividly as I remember that bright red and white logo is as vividly as I can also remember peeling one of these magazines open to read the dark story of the murder of former model and would-be starlet, Barbara Daly Baekeland. I can still recall running to grab a dictionary in order to get a better grasp of several words, particularly “schizophrenia”. I was well aware that I was headed into unchartered territory for a young boy of my age and this made me thoroughly excited. It was at this point I also knew I had grown past the stage of scouring magazines or tabloids searching for the combination of letters that spelled S-E-X.

As I type this post today what stands out the most for me were the beautiful black and white and sometimes color photos of the people belonging to this ultra-rich and elite class. I never noticed there weren't any people of color in these photos as I was too young to care about these matters. I still remember rolling around on the floor with laughter believing these people were all too perfectly dressed, coiffed and posed to be real - I actually found this glamorous life stuff to be a bit silly. Here I was this kid growing up in a firmly middle-class household and attempting to compare these rich folks in LIFE to my mother with flour on her forehead and my father sitting in his favorite recliner reading the paper every evening after work – the comparison was downright laughable. But these people in the pages of this oversized magazine leading their supersized charmed lives simply intrigued me in such a magical and entertaining way.

I couldn’t find a single photo of Barbara Daly Baekeland on the internet (she has been erased by time and photos of Julianne Moore) but simply think of the timeless chic and beauty of C.Z. Guest


Looking back, the actual story of the murder and all of the other jazz in the article escaped me for many years. It wasn’t until I began working as a designer and meeting women from these super wealthy families that I often found myself recalling bits and pieces of the scandalous life and death of Mrs. Baekeland. So imagine my surprise and sadistic delight when the rumors started a few years ago that Julianne Moore might be playing Barabara Daly.

After the movie was finally made and began doing the “circuit” (Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca etc.) the reviews were coming back extremely mixed. Now for some people this might sound like a warning bell that the movie might not be so great, but for me this was like music to my ears… If everyone had loved this strange tale of money, incest, fashion (think Balenciaga and Christian Dior circa 1950-60) and debauchery than clearly it would have signified to me they went way too commercial on the project and glazed over the deep rooted sickness of this privileged family. And if everyone simply hated “Savage Grace” then I would have my work cut out for me in trying to decipher what they all hated so much. Either way I knew I could not miss Julianne Moore’s haunting portrayal of this glittering and troubled socialite.

I actually made several failed attempts to see Savage Grace during the Tribeca Film Festival but my schedule was a bit crazy during this period. Not to mention, I also knew the movie would be hitting selected theaters shortly after the festival and was therefore more than willing to wait a few more weeks… Hell I had waited almost 20 odd years – a few more weeks certainly wouldn’t kill me…

This past weekend after crawling to the theater with a dear friend currently writing a book on the super wealthy, including several chapters on socialites, I knew the moment had finally arrived for my face-to-face (courtesy of Julianne Moore) with Babs Baekeland (I don’t know if super wealthy WASP types like to be called Babs – but I’ll do my homework and let you know soon or vice-versa)…

To say that Julianne Moore nor director Tom Kalin (Swoon) "did not disappoint" would be an understatement. This movie isn’t one you should casually walk or wait to see – this is one that every fashionista or creative should run to see… Run as fast as your little Manolos can carry you. I can promise you this movie delivers in a way that will leave you absolutely speechless and void of any inkling of jealousy you may harbor for the rich and famous. For me this movie only strengthened my belief that the road to happiness isn’t through the spoils of wealth but through the dedication and hard work of a life filled purpose, passion and ambition. In the absence of these key elements one is simply left with a life of Savage Grace.