CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: With Kristan Fletcher at the Newbury Street opening of Scoop NYC. I got the scarf I’m wearing from Scoop; With Dancing with the Stars’ Tom Bergeron at Rogerson Communities’ “Welcome Home!” gala. Tom made a marvelous emcee, but we didn’t get to see him dance; with Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen at our men’s issue party, where Mikko revealed his obsession with fast cars; Shonda Schilling and I at the Shade Foundation benefit, Bubbles & Bites, at the Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common
When I initially met this issue’s Style Setter, Hadley Pollet, we were working as assistant this-and-thats for the same publishing company in New York City, where we enjoyed being newly minted professionals together. After leaving we lost track of each other, but when I first saw one of her beautiful embroidered belts, I knew it had to be the same Hadley Pollet. When we worked together, she always dressed stylishly, putting together ensembles no one else would have dreamed of but that seemed, well, designed. Coworkers constantly asked if they could borrow a sweater, a dress, or a bag from her. She’s the perfect example of someone who has been setting her own style—and style for the rest of us—since long before she officially picked up her sketchpad and colored pencils.
This issue reflects the genius at Boston’s heart; we live in one of the country’s oldest cities, and it continues to make itself relevant and exciting through reinvention. The companies and people featured here have become institutions in their own right, but they still introduce something fresh and memorable to their businesses and to the city. Winston Flowers delivered the first bouquet of flowers I ever received when I moved to Beacon Hill. I remember being awed by the creative design back then; I had never seen another so artful. But Ted and David Winston didn’t rest on their family laurels—instead, they continue to push the boundaries of floral design. Another pair of style setters, this time in the dining scene, would be Mary-Catherine Deibel and Deborah Hughes of UpStairs on the Square fame. Beyond their personal style—Hughes is a devotee of Chanel—the two women set the bar for fine dining in Boston and Cambridge three decades ago, but still reinvent their menus and the space regularly. One of the first amazing meals I had in Boston was at their original location, UpStairs at the Pudding. I still remember the exquisite warm figs with honey. The dish actually caused me to look at figs from a new angle, something the best artists challenge us all to do.
Everyone we’ve included in this issue has seen style in some new way, while still remaining true to their core aesthetic and raising our own standards of what’s indelible. In one way or another, they have all taken to heart Ezra Pound’s creative exhortation to “Make it new!”
JANICE O'LEARY
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CATHERINE RING (NISSINEN); DANIEL GAGNON (FLETCHER); MICHAEL BLANCHARD (BERGERON, SCHILLING)
