On My Mind: Viennese Glassware and Exquisite Pajamas
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Sincemy last “Strategist Brain,”a lot has happened: I got married (!) and went on my honeymoon to Austria, where my husband and I spent a few days relaxing on the Wörthersee, a lovely alpine lake, and then a little over a week in Vienna, where we went to as many museums, Habsburg palaces, historic sites, and restaurants as we could. It was a wonderful trip, and I especially loved Vienna. Not only are the museums truly on another level — we could have spent a full day at the Kunsthistorisches, where there are Caravaggios andBruegelsgalore, or the Leopold, where there are full rooms offurnitureby Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann — but the food was terrific too. (I even discovered a new love of tafelspitz, a.k.a. boiled beef. Who knew?)
We stayed at theHotel Sacher, which was a real treat and felt like a time portal to the city’s old-world elegance. (And was full of items I wanted to take home; I’ll get to that soon.) It’s located on the Ringstrasse, the grand boulevard that encircles the city’s historic center. It’s also the part of Vienna with lots of shops that have been there for averylong time — likeLobmeyr, a glass company that has been around since 1823 (it made the chandeliers for the Metropolitan Opera house,which you can apparently order for your own home), andZur Schwäbischen Jungfrau, opened in 1720, which carries the crispest linens imaginable and summer tablecloths embroidered with scenes of picnickers. These old-school shops were one of the things I was most excited about for Vienna, and they did not disappoint.
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The Lobmeyr shop itself was very elegant, and the pieces inside even more so — there were Wiener Werkstätte candy dishes that look like asuspended drop of water, a series of piecesdesigned with Hoffman, and thiscarafe, which comes in a range of gorgeous colors, including this green.
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AtAltmann & Kühne, which opened in 1928, there are very precious looking chocolates and marzipan candies in “dressers” printed with carousels and castles. We picked up a few boxes as gifts.
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A.E. Kochert Earrings Carnelian
The jewelry storeA.E. Köchertopened in 1814 and sells lovely beaded pieces. The sales associate told us the earrings from its X-Changeables line are an especially popular gift among the store’s regulars because you can swap out the beaded pieces on the gold post. (You can find many of their wares at theNeue Galerie shop, too.)
[Editor’s note: The price listed is in euros, and this is a U.S. dollar approximation. These earrings are currently sold out, but A.E. Köcher’s site offers the option to request a new production.]
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There are lots of appealing, relatively newer shops in the city too. My favorite wasIndie, which is owned by the founders of P.LeMoult. It carries these colorfulsilk ikat pillowcasesby the Turkish brand MD Home, block-print tablecloths, and some truly exquisite pajamas. Two other favorite shops wereSongandValentin’sin the Leopoldstadt neighborhood, which I’ll be talking about in theSecret Strategistnewslettertomorrow.
Possibly my most beloved thing we brought home is this footstool fromMizrahi Fine Arts(a pain to pack but worth it). The owner told us he had taken a Biedermeier piece and reupholstered it with kilim fabric.
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As I mentioned, the Hotel Sacher was filled with lots of beautiful items I wanted to take home. This flower-shaped glass bud vase that sits on its side was one of them. Each room has one in the bathroom, and I just found it very charming. Luckily, they sell them at the hotel.
[Editor’s note: The price listed is in euros, and this is a U.S. dollars approximation.]
Here’s everything else I’ve seen recently …
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Hobbymaster Classic Postcard Album
I love buying museum postcards, and now I’m hunting for something to put them all in. This one looks pretty promising in that it seems no-frills and as if it has enough margin space to drop in a few notes.
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Margaux recently sent me these to try out, and I have to say they are extremely good shoes. The leather is supple, the elongated square toe is chic, and they have what almost feels like a memory-foam sole. I wore them straight out of the box with no blisters, and if I were planning another trip anytime soon, I would absolutely pack them.
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I’m pretty sure I’ve written about my love of Caspari napkins on the site before, and the brand’s note cards are a nice recent discovery. The paper stock is reasonably hefty, and the 12-packs are well priced.
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Maybe it’s the dormant sleepaway-camp girl in me, or seeing them at The Row’s store (where, I’ll note, they seemingly had a $100 markup), or the general aughts-ness in the air, but I’ve found myself thinking about Freecity sweats for the first time in probably … 15 years? I don’t think I’ll be spending this much on sweats right now, but I’ll be keeping my eye on them come Black Friday.
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I got an Instagram ad for this the other day and immediately was like,What is that??It’s a little windup music box made from tin and technically a child’s toy, but I could see giving this as a particularly delightful holiday gift in a few months too.
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The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
