Nadine Carter Russell
By Raoul Blanco
When I first met with Ms. Nadine Carter Russell in my
office I noticed and amazing sparkle of taste for colors in her eyes, not knowing
then that among other things this lady was and is all about arts, the real
thing… Wonderful lady, divine human
being…
In our first interview I gave Ms. Russell a home assignment,
I put in her hands few fashion magazines from Paris’ runway shows and asked her
to take these home with her and mark all of those designs that she liked the
most, just for me to have an idea about what she thought about herself and what
she likes… A couple of weeks later we
met for a second time and her assignment was completed… When I browsed over the pages that Ms.
Russell marked with sticky note papers, I looked straight into her eyes and
asked her, “Why did you marked these?
You know these are not you, why???
She was speechless and a moment later she replied, “Oh my, you’re
correct Raoul!”
See, all she chose were designs in white, beige or gold… These are what I call “the absent of colors”,
and so do black. There’s nothing wrong with
anyone liking these shades, but that was not Nadine… I found out that during that time Ms. Russell’s
matriarch, beloved Aunt Paula’s health was declining. These two ladies were always together and the
love for each other was very well known by everyone among them, they were like
mother and daughter… So that explained
everything, there were color in her eyes but due to the circumstances Ms.
Russell color’s palate was in a down mode.
For our next meeting, Ms. Russell extended an invitation
to me to come to her house, I accepted immediately, that’s the best way to know
someone, as I always say, “Your house is your temple and so do mine”… When Ms. Russell open her home doors and
welcomed me I just stood in one spot while my brain absorbed her marvelous
world…. Oh my, I was indeed right! I felt as I was part of this magnificent fresco
and fabulous collage! There was before
my eyes an empire of colors and display of delightful pieces of art. Cathedral ceilings that I know Michelangelo
would’ve a marvelous time using for his frescos… Real beauty all over, indeed…
Ms. Russell private closets, again, they proved me right,
this part is completely out of this write-up…
Yes, I believe I say “private”…
Excellent taste is Ms. Russell second name, bravo! I’m so very grateful that this lady allowed
me into her life, thank you dear Nadine…
So here I proudly present to you Ms. Nadine Carter
Russell, one of my “Five Best Dressed Ladies of Louisiana 2013”…
Nadine Carter Russell
By Ms. Patricia Gannon - Society writer
A youthful voice is her best accessory, yet there’s no
trace of the New York she grew up in or the Baton Rouge she’s retired to.
Nadine Carter Russell spent a lifetime in art galleries and her spare time as a
volunteer for the arts, animals and hospitals. “A variety,” she says. It fits
well with her style, which she characterizes as whatever she feels like at the
time. Russell goes in a lot of
directions, a true fashion eclectic.
Her philosophy is the same one shared with art collectors
over the years. “If it says ‘Take me home’, buy it. That’s how I am with both
furnishings and fashion.”
For everyday she likes Eileen Fisher but custom couture
is her preferred mode. “Chanel I love, even though I don’t always fit into it
very well,” she quips. “And I love
seersucker and Eskandar sweaters.” Her style mentors were her mothers and
aunts, and the fashion genetics were obviously passed down. “My mother had
presence, when she walked into a room, people turned, and my aunts were elegant
also.”
A traveler who has packing down to a science (“I don’t
like to check luggage”) Russell is on her way to Europe with plans for Africa
also. Not bad for turning 70. Why she was chosen? She thinks it’s her accessories and perhaps
her vitality. “I’m older and not skinny,” she said, planning to wear her
seersucker pantsuit. “There’s one drawback. Now I can’t go to the grocery store
without dressing.”
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