At the beginning of the 1900s, the Southern coast of Florida caught the eye of oil baron Henry Morisson Flagler. His whimsical plan to entice America’s A-list members to inhabit the area came to fruition. As one of the primordial players in the arena, Estee Lauder taught her niece the vocabulary of style and fine-tune living. Aerin Lauder allows us to catch glimpses of her joyful living in Palm Beach, based on simple pleasures such as admiring the lazy palm trees, or the thrill of having a fresh coconut ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. She evokes the sweet riffs the British photographer Cecil Beaton uses to describe his time in Palm Beach: the relentless hedonism of playing tennis, swimming, playing golf, fishing, relishing food and drinks. And of course, he can’t forget about The Colony, the pinnacle of intermission. by Assouline
