Aerin Lauder: Style in Full Bloom

TRANSCRIPT

Aerin Lauder: Not everything has to be a big arrangement of flowers. One beautiful flower can be just as special as a huge arrangement. There’s many people that I am very much inspired by. Sometimes we’ll do one beautiful flower in a bud vase on a desk or on a table, and it actually is just as impactful as a big arrangement.

Dan Rubinstein: Hi, I’m Dan Rubinstein, and this is The Grand Tourist. I’ve been a design journalist for more than 20 years, and this is my personalized guided tour of the worlds of fashion, art, architecture, food, and travel. All the elements of a well-lived life. This week is the most American of holidays, July 4th.

And to me, my guest today exemplifies American style and tradition in a way few others can. Through her products, books, and storied family heritage, she’s a North Star of East Coast classic elegance that’s hardwired into our country’s DNA, Aerin Lauder. Aerin grew up in one of the most powerful and influential families of the post-war age.

Her grandmother was none other than Estée Lauder, the first generation American woman who founded the now famous Estée Lauder Companies in 1946, which has gone on to become today a mammoth multi-billion dollar powerhouse. As you’ll learn later, Estée didn’t just influence American style and the beauty habits of the modern American woman, but she influenced Aerin as well. Aerin herself worked at the family company and is still heavily involved today. I first met Aerin about a dozen or so years ago when she launched her own home, beauty, and lifestyle brand, Aerin, which has steadily grown since. Above it all, her core contributions to American style, in my opinion, are her numerous bestselling books, where she personally styles her world, codifying great American taste in print. Her latest is Aerin Lauder, Living with Flowers, a topic heavily inspired by her legendary grandmother’s love of all things in bloom.

I caught up with Aerin from her home in New York to discuss growing up in the Lauder household, learning the ropes of the family business from the inside, how to fill our lives with a little bit of beauty and grace with flowers, and the one bit of 21st century style Estée would simply not allow. 

So congratulations on the success of your new book. And I saw that it was shot to number one in its category on Amazon, which is always a huge marker of success. But of course, all of these instincts start with your upbringing and your earlier life, especially in what you do. So I was wondering if you could tell me about some of your earliest memories in life.

Well, probably my earliest memory of my grandmother was her scent. And she was such an incredible role model and mentor and grandmother. And she worked on the beautiful fragrance for many, many years. And Bulgarian rose was one of her most favorite notes. So I think when I think of Estée, I always think of her, you know, beautiful scent, the rose notes, you know, she would come into the car and the whole car would fill with her fragrance. And, you know, so I think she was, you know, very much a very important part of my life.

And the combination of her and my mother really helped me to love, you know, home elements, all things beautiful, the idea of effortless style, attention to detail. And Estée used to have this wonderful quote that said, “Everything can be beautiful if you take the time.” And I think that’s so important. And I really believe in that. And I think about that every day. And I dedicated the book actually to my mother, because she really was also the one that taught me to love flowers and nature at a very young age.

And there’s this wonderful story where she would give little pots of geraniums as party favors at my birthdays. And at the time, I was, you know, a little bit annoyed because I wanted it to be, you know, a little bag of candy and treats. But looking back on that, she was so modern and so ahead of her time and so right, because she would say that these little pots of geraniums would last a very, very long time. And they did.

And they would butter up the parents too.

And they would butter up the parents. Exactly. And make the table pretty.

Exactly.

And it’s funny, because just the other day, I was in Palm Beach for a beautiful evening, a dinner dance, and on the table were a pot of geraniums. So it was actually kind of interesting, because it’s still something that I think people love to do. And I think it’s beautiful, and it creates a wonderful presence.

And, you know, for the totally uninitiated, can you walk us through like sort of how and where you were raised and sort of that impact of your grandmother and kind of, you know, I would love to know kind of like what your childhood was like. Was it a strict one? Tell me about it.

My childhood was quite strict, and very traditional. I was raised in New York City. I have a younger sister. And we’re a very, very close family, we would have dinner with my grandparents every Friday night. And they were very important part of my life, we would spend most holidays with them. And, you know, my mother has very traditional values, and we’re very family oriented.

And a lot of the things I’ve learned from my parents, my grandparents, I apply today to my parenting skills and my time with my family. Family time to me is the most important. I always make my family a priority, no matter what I’m doing or where I am.

Did you ever go to stay with your grandmother, away from your parents? I had that with my grandmother, but I was wondering if you ever had that with her?

Estée was a really extraordinary grandmother. I mean, we called her Estée, because she didn’t want to be called Grandma Estée, but we always called her Estée. But she was warm, she was inviting, she was fun, she loved life. You know, she loved chocolate. There’s many things about Estée that people didn’t know. But one thing was that she adored chocolate.

And she would always have these little refrigerators in her sitting rooms full of Godiva boxes of chocolate. And she would say, take one, take two, take three, try as many as you want, as opposed to other grandmothers that might say, just take one piece of chocolate. Estée was always about more is more.

And, you know, there’s a very famous picture of me sitting with her at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, and I have a huge smile on my face. And I remember that day, because we used to go for tea together, and she would let me pick two desserts, not one, but two. And that was very much Estée’s philosophy on life, you know, enjoying, embracing the moment, enjoying the moment, enjoying life, people, food.

And, you know, when I did my book on entertaining, there was a great quote that she would say, “A party is a gift you give your friends.” And that was very much her philosophy about life, business, and entertaining.

And did you ever, you know, as a kid, did you ever see her interact, you know, with other adults and kind of observe anything, in terms of kind of gauging her personality as a separate individual, not just as a family member?

I mean, Estée was a very creative businesswoman. So at a young age, I would go with her to different stores and counters. She loved to look at the windows at Saks at Christmastime. We would, whenever we were traveling anywhere, she would always visit the Estée Lauder counter. She loved talking to customers. She was known for doing makeovers on anyone, whether it was a teacher, a friend, someone in the store.

She was very hands-on, and she was always talking about touching the customer. And that’s something that we still, you know, at Estée Lauder apply to training every day. It’s all about communicating and connecting with the customer.

So she was kind of an on-the-ground person in that world, right?

Very much so.

She was very hands-on, very, you know…

Very creative, very hands-on. I mean, there’s so many wonderful stories about her. There was this one story where she would go to this hairdresser where women were trapped under the dryer.

And she started her brand in 1946. So a few years later, she would go to these hairdressers and basically put product on these women who were trapped under the hairdryer. So they would try her creams and her beautiful fragrances and end up purchasing them because they were, you know, a captive audience.

And it was so clever. And she created Gift with Purchase because she used to say, no matter who you are, every woman loves a little gift. And that’s a concept that I think is really so…

It’s so modern.

And so she was the first one to do that.

She did it. She was a brilliant marketer, as I said, and she created Gift with Purchase. And she basically said, no matter who you are, you always want a little gift.

Everyone loves a gift. And today, when people leave our stores or visit our website, they always get a little fragrance sample. They always get a little something from us as well. And I think that’s something that’s very important. And it’s so true.

Oh, what a nice… Something I never knew. And, you know, for a lot of us, you know, some of our more formative experiences come from when your family or parents entertain, as I know, as we’ve mentioned already. But is there a particular meal or an event, you know, as a young girl that maybe made you very… That was very impactful in your memory in terms of like something very special?

Well, I have to say, I think my wedding day was interesting because I remember, you know, I got married almost 30 years ago and, you know, registering and picking the dress and the hair and the makeup. And I think about all these elements and today launching a lifestyle brand, many of these elements that, you know, I registered for or I learned in preparation for my wedding is something I still think about all the time. And, you know, as we were developing our collection of products, you know, the white chagrin that we have in our home line is the perfect wedding gift.

So I think that there were lots of memories of that special day, you know, even for example, with fragrance, you know, coming out with a book called Living with Flowers and all the symbolism of flowers. I carried a Lily of the Valley bouquet and wore white gardenias in my hair. And some of those memories, those scents, those fragrances of those flowers were something that I still think about that special day.

And, you know, we have about 24 fragrances in our beauty brand, and all of them have different memories associated with them and flowers.

And, you know, I read as a teen, you had a job working like a, you know, working at MoMA, and I know your family has donated to the institution over the years. And I was kind of wondering, like, what was that experience like? Because I think you did it in high school and also a little bit in college.

And, you know, if you’re on the east side of Manhattan, maybe you even walked to the MoMA at the time.

I did walk to MoMA. I love museums, you know, I’m always using them as a source of inspiration. I love to see different exhibitions, permanent collections, and gift stores I think are full of wonderful ideas as well.

And one summer before I graduated from high school, I worked at the Museum of Modern Art in the archive section. And that was great, because I got to see and learn a lot. And then right afterwards, all through university, I worked in different brands, whether it was Clinique or Prescriptives or Estée Lauder. And that’s really where I really fell in love with beauty and the beauty industry. And then when I graduated, I went to Prescriptives.

And, you know, when you were growing up, was there any kind of expectation that you were going to kind of carry on doing the family business? Or, you know, did you feel anyone was trying to groom you for that? Or was this something that you kind of did on your own?

You know, to tell you the truth, it was interesting. My uncle always said, you know, he wanted me to go someplace else before I started the family business. Because he said, once you start there, you will probably end up there.

And I was so excited to start. I was very much intrigued by it. And I couldn’t wait. So I went right from university into the family business, which for me was the right decision. But you know, no one ever pressured anyone to go into the business. You know, Estée used to always say, whatever you do, do it well and do it with passion.

And it doesn’t matter what you do, but just work hard at it. And she really, really believed strongly in that. So I think that was just more my excitement to kind of join the family business as soon as possible.

But at the time, no one was putting any pressure on any of the grandchildren. And we all kind of follow our dreams.

Obviously, today, you’re still involved, very involved in the brand and in different roles, because I think as Prescriptives is no longer around and you had different roles. Um, tell me about your time there before you start to speak about Aerin specifically, but your time there, like what did you learn early on and sort of, you know, about the beauty industry that maybe someone from the outside just wouldn’t really realize? Because obviously working on the inside for so long, you have a greater insight into the industry and how it really works.

Well, Prescriptives was a great place for me to start. And that was my uncle’s idea to have me start my career in beauty at the Prescriptives brand, because it was a small brand. So I had the ability to work on fragrance, skincare and makeup.

And so I really, really learned a tremendous amount, whether it was marketing, product development, advertising, photography, it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. And Jane Hudis was the first woman that I worked for. And I learned a lot from her as well. And so I was there for a few years. And then from there, I went to Estée Lauder. And at Estée Lauder, really, since it was much bigger, it’s where I moved around and held different positions, whether it was advertising, marketing, product development.

And then in the end, I was creative director of the Estée Lauder brand. And that’s really where I was able to really shine and create beautiful, beautiful products, fragrances, solid fragrances, Christmas collections, and advertising. And to me, it was, you know, the most dream job.

And I’m still very, very involved with Estée Lauder. I’m style and design director for Re-Nutriv and Estée Lauder. So I play a very kind of instrumental part in shaping the brand.

You know, we’ve just done this wonderful launch with Paulina, a relaunch with Paulina Porizkova. And I’m going to Paris with her in a few weeks to talk about Estée Lauder and skincare.

And tell us a little bit about Prescriptives. How do you describe it as maybe someone might be listening from overseas?

Prescriptives was a brilliant concept. And it was very ahead of itself. It was this kind of custom blend makeup artist driven brand that had this incredible shade range. And we used to do this thing called custom blend where they would match your skin foundation, your foundation to your skin color. And if we didn’t have the right match that already existed, we could custom blend it. 

And I remember once I actually did a custom blend on Margaret Thatcher. I was sitting next to her to dinner and she was saying how she couldn’t find the right foundation to match her skin. I said, “Oh, I know the perfect thing.” I felt like I was channeling Estée at the moment, but she would have been very proud of me. So I ended up going to her hotel suite with a Prescriptives beauty advisor. We custom blended her foundation and she was over the moon that it was a perfect match. So Prescriptives was really very, very modern and ahead of its time.

And the packaging was this beautiful gray, very kind of contemporary, simple packaging. The shade range was spectacular. Even the idea that the lipsticks were mini.

There were so many elements about it that made it so kind of modern. And as I said, ahead of itself, but it’s still, and I think it is still available online, certain products, but at the time it was really quite extraordinary and very innovative.

And when you kind of moved over to the mothership as it were at Estée, were you kind of like trying to be more, you know, progressive or more, a little bit more younger and more kind of forward thinking because you had that time at Prescriptives?

Not necessarily, because, you know, the one thing is all the brands have different personalities and product assortment. So we really try very hard not to compete with each other. And that’s something that my grandmother and my father, my uncle really instilled in the different brands.

And it was this whole idea that Clinique is very different from Estée Lauder, which is different from Prescriptives, which is different from Crème de la Mer. So when I went to Estée Lauder, it was a different point of view. It was a traditional beauty brand with a primary focus on fragrance and skincare.

And there was a product called Advanced Night Repair that was launched probably in the ’70s. And it was this whole concept of the serum that you would put on your skin at night and while you slept, your skin would repair it. And then Estée said, wait a second, we should do it AM and PM. People should use it twice a day because then your skin will be even that much better. 

So, you know, there were products within the Estée Lauder assortment that did not exist in Prescriptives and did not exist in Clinique. And that’s what I thought was so exciting was that Estée Lauder was such an incredible brand started by such a wonderful, brilliant woman. And it was fun to go into the archives, bring certain elements back, and then obviously launch new products as well.

(SPONSOR BREAK)

And I sort of read an article where you kind of explained the thinking of why Aerin and not Aerin Lauder or anything like that. Tell me about like that sort of, you know, back of a napkin kind of thing moment for you with Aerin.

Well, I launched the brand about 12 years ago, and it was a very exciting time. It was scary, but also very exciting. And when I was at Estée Lauder as creative director, I was forever being asked, what is in my makeup bag?

What are the items I can’t live without? And I thought that there was an opportunity for a beauty lifestyle brand with a very kind of capsule edited collection of products. And you know, people were always saying you’ve worked with the best makeup artist, Estée was your grandmother, you have had exposure to so many different products, and they wanted to know what my edit was.

And at the time, our CEO said, you know, that’s an interesting concept, but you have to write a business plan, present this concept of a brand and focus group it to see if it’s relevant. And what was exciting was that when we did focus groups, people really associated me with beauty, home and style. So it gave me the green light to go into these categories that I was passionate about.

And I really felt that there was an opportunity for this beauty lifestyle brand based on storytelling, surprise, feminine elements. And it has really been exciting to see how it’s evolved in the past 12 years. And as I said, today, we have about 24 fragrances. We’re in about 800 doors of distribution for beauty. And we have amazing partnerships with Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Visual Comfort, and the list goes on. Right.

How many SKUs, as they say in the business, are you up to now?

We probably have a couple hundred SKUs because we have, you know, in the world of home, there’s lots of multiples. You know, you’ve got coffee cups, plates, glasses. We’ve just launched a collection of charms. Beautiful, iconic, you know, hearts and circles and amazing stones. And you know, there’s elements of fashion. So we have a quite broad line of SKUs.

And like when you set out to do it, you know, just on a personal level, like why did you do it?

It was really a dream. And, you know, my grandmother used to always talk about, you know, follow your dreams, work hard and success will come. And I felt that there was a real opportunity for a beauty lifestyle brand at the time. Lifestyle was a word that everyone was constantly talking about. You know, Ralph Lauren was traditional. Donna Karan was very zen. Calvin Klein had this incredible lifestyle brand that was very modern. But there really wasn’t anyone in this kind of feminine, modern space with a heritage in storytelling. 

And when we first launched, the response was extraordinary. We launched with five fragrances. And, you know, the fragrance category has been very successful because they have wonderful stories behind them, whether it’s Lilac Path that was inspired by a lilac bush planted by my grandmother. We have something called Mediterranean Honeysuckle, which continues to be one of our best selling fragrances inspired by the Mediterranean. It’s really holiday in a bottle. It’s sunshine. It smells so fresh, so pretty. And every season we add a new limited edition fragrance to this collection and it continues to sell out. So I thought that there was a real opportunity for this point of view. And we’ve been very excited to see the extraordinary success of it.

And it also means more visibility for you, but also kind of like a vulnerability in terms of like you talking about your home and, you know, you’re inside and everything about it. And what really you, and not necessarily a brand, that’s kind of, it’s scary on that level too, right?

Whenever you do anything creative, it’s vulnerable. I mean, I think that’s what also gives you the kind of fire in your stomach to drive you and make you follow your dreams. And, you know, I think you have to go with your intuition.

You have to stay true to who you are and you have to be positive. And I think, you know, it is really good to be a little scared and nervous. That’s what I think makes athletes succeed.

I think that’s what makes creative people do beautiful work. So I think that there’s something very important about that.

And you traveled a lot in your life. And I remember there was an interview somewhere where you talked about, you know, a hotel in Paris, I think it was the Ritz that had sort of really impacted you. And to me, there’s something really quintessentially American about this sort of like Estée Lauder name and your brand.

And, you know, now that you’ve had this brand for about, just your own brand for about 12 years, what do you think you’ve learned about the American woman and then a sort of American sensibility. And how she lives today and how it’s been evolving?

Well, that’s a great question. You know, I did, I’ve traveled a tremendous amount. I mean, Estée would spend her summers in Europe. She was very much inspired by Europe. She was Hungarian. Her parents were Hungarian. They did not speak English well. So I spent a lot of time with her in Europe and being inspired by European products. And, but I am very American.

Whenever I come back from a trip and I come home, I’m home and I love very American things.

What’s the most American thing you like?

Probably jeans. I love jeans. I’m always in jeans and a white shirt.

One of our fragrances was even inspired by jeans and a white shirt. I love a grilled cheese. I love, you know, Diet Coke from the fountain. I’m very, very American. And apple pie. So, and American holidays. You know, I love July 4th. I love Thanksgiving. There’s so much about me that’s super, super American.

But I think at the same time, I’ve traveled a lot. I have friends from all over the world. The team at Aerin is very international, actually. Everyone’s from many different places. So it’s fun all working together on a collection. There’s so many different points of view.

But I think the American quality could be a sense of, I think, sportswear. And there’s, you know, I think Michael Kors, when you think about certain American designers who’ve done kind of that luxurious sportswear really well and casual, like, you know, Michael Kors is known for these fabulous cashmere sweaters and kind of loose pants and a flat shoe. I think that to me is what I define as kind of American fashion.

And like what has been selling over time? Is there something that may be in the sort of the home category that maybe has sold differently? Like once you actually go out there and kind of put it out there and see it over time, has it kind of like informed you about how people, how women are shopping and how they’re kind of living their lives?

Well, our customer shops cross category. You know, she buys beauty from us, fashion and home. But the interesting thing about when you look at the success of the brand and what does continuously well is our home category. Frames, games, and trays continue to always do really, really well. Because those elements make a home a home. You know, a picture frame with a memory in it is a great gift. It’s great to put around your home. And the idea of games and trays really make a space inviting and comfortable. So from the beginning, when we launched those categories, they continue to be some of our best sellers.

And at the same time, we have fashion items such as a pouch. We’re very iconic for this kind of weekender that has evolved in style and not style, but in size. And we have a new one that we call the Nano Weekender.

And it’s like this wonderful little tote bag. And it’s a great price point. And it is flying out because people, it’s simple, it’s timeless, it’s elegant, it’s luxurious, it’s all these different elements, but at a really nice price point.

So it’s a great gift. And it’s a gift that you can give yourself as well.

And, you know, you’ve done about three books now, I think.

Actually six. I’ve done three with Rizzoli, but we did, originally I did three with Assouline. I did something about Aspen, Palm Beach. And then for the Estée Lauder 75th anniversary, I did a book about my grandmother with my sister, which was really an incredible experience because I learned a lot about Estée that I did not know. And it was fun to go into the archives and go deep into all the pictures and all the old advertising. And then I’ve done three with Rizzoli.

Right. And so these three, which have done really well, you know, must have taught you something about your own brand. Because when you actually have to go down and start writing things down, that might be kind of really making tough decisions about, these are the photos that are going to be in the book, these are the projects that are going to be in the book. You have to kind of document and put on paper, you know, your thoughts and feelings in a very succinct way. So what have you learned just from the act of doing like these books?

Well, I love doing books. I think there’s something really exciting and fun and fulfilling about working on a book and then seeing the success of it. And I love when people read the book and learn something about the topic I’m discussing, whether it’s entertaining or my grandmother today just launching with flowers.

And I just think there’s something about books, you know, it was funny, my son graduated from the University of Pennsylvania a few years ago. And they were saying in the graduation speech that books are probably one of the most incredible inventions that man has ever done, because they are so tangible. You learn from them. They’re special. They’re beautiful to look at. And there’s something very extraordinary about a book. So for me, being able to publish so many and have such wonderful partners, it’s really an honor.

Do you, are you someone who kind of sweats it out over any kind of monograph of this sort of nature? Are you someone who kind of like changes their mind and kind of goes back to the drawing board a lot? Or are you, you’re someone who…

No, I do. That’s funny. I’m very good at making decisions. I have a lot of people that I’m friends with who cannot make a decision. I make a decision. I don’t think twice. I think I probably got that from my grandmother. She had incredible intuition. There’s all these wonderful stories. We would go to a fair and there was a bowl of jelly beans or jar of jelly beans. And you would have to guess how many jelly beans were in the jar. And Estée would get it, you know, 292 jelly beans and there might’ve been 291.

I mean, she was extraordinary. So she always taught me to follow your intuition and just don’t doubt yourself.

And the new book, Living with Flowers sort of opens with a little bit of a scent memory of Bulgarian rose or a damask rose as people might know it. Tell me about that memory.

That was really Estée. I mean, as I said, Bulgarian rose was her favorite note and she loved roses. And I think that was the inspiration behind the beautiful fragrance, which continues to be one of Estée Lauder’s most successful ones. It took her many, many years to complete it. So my earliest memory of my grandmother was her scent because I think she was always working on this fragrance, wearing versions of a Bulgarian rose fragrance.

So she would, as I said, she would come in the car, the whole car would smell like Bulgarian rose. I would hold her hand. My hand would smell like Bulgarian rose afterwards. So that rose scent is something that always reminds me of her and of beautiful memories. And when I launched my own brand 12 years ago, we had Rose Essentials and they are all beautiful products that still continue to be bestsellers, a lip conditioner and a hand and body cream. And those all have these beautiful notes of rose as well.

And rose is an interesting symbolism because when we started doing the research for the book, white roses represent new beginnings, pink roses represent friendship and red roses represent love. So it’s interesting to see the different symbolisms of the different color roses.

And obviously it’s kind of hard to divide the concept between like living with flowers from sort of decor and entertaining. But if you had sort of like three rules of thumb for flowers in the home, like if a friend came to you and was like, I don’t know anything about flowers. I just need, I have a big party coming up and like, and I really want to spruce up my house with flowers. Like what would you give them as three personalized go-tos or personalized bits of advice?

Okay. Well, three points of advice about flowers could probably be, you know, pick flowers that are in season that always makes everything easier. Sometimes too fragrant is too fragrant, especially at the dinner table. Like that’s something that people really don’t enjoy, eating food with like a very fragrant hyacinth or a flower that’s very strong.

And also there’s a rule that not everything has to be a big arrangement of flowers. One beautiful flower can be just as special as a huge arrangement. And I do say that in my book because many people that I am very much inspired by sometimes will do one beautiful flower in a bud vase on a desk or on a table. And it actually is just as impactful as a big arrangement. So those would be my three kind of rules about flowers.

And what about yourself, like in your own home and in your own life? Like what is your, what is your, what is your relationship like with flowers?

I love flowers. I mean, you know, whether it’s on a wallpaper in my dining room on, you know, a piece of clothing that I’m wearing to the office or just actual flowers in a vase. I love plants. I love branches. I love all different types of things.

Is there any of all the flowers in your home? Is there one that you kind of despise?

Um, flowers that I despise.

Yeah. Is there just one where you’re just like, uh, I never…

I actually don’t love dark calla lilies. I love calla lilies, the white ones, because they really remind me of my grandmother. She wore them in her bouquet on her wedding day in 1930.

But a dark, dark calla lily to me always looks a little bit kind of spooky. I really don’t love dark, dark flowers, actually. It’s funny. You know, like almost like a black, red always feels too dark to me. I think flowers should be pretty. And sometimes when they get too dark, they’re not as pretty.

I mean, most of your, most of the aesthetic, both of the brand and of your own homes and everything is always quite positive and bright, right? 

Exactly.

There’s no, it doesn’t seem like you have a gothic bone, a goth bone in your body.

That I definitely don’t. You’re very intuitive.

And in terms of like your favorite flower, do you have one?

Probably a rose. I mean, I love roses and I also do love lily of the valley. I think there’s something really special. I love the way they smell. I love what they represent. The season is so short. They’re so delicate and feminine. There’s so many things about them that I love.

I’m wondering, do you, are you someone who hoards vases? Are you like a vase hoarder? 

Yes, of course I hoard vases.

How many, how many vases do you think you own?

So many. I love, you know, it’s funny when I started the brand, lighting and vases were the two products or two objects or two things that I hoarded all the time. I always have, you know, an attic full of lighting and I have closets and closets of vases, ceramic ones, glass ones, straw ones, vintage, contemporary ones designed by friends. So to me, I love collecting vases.

Did you inherit any of these kinds of things?

I did. I mean, I’ve inherited tons of beautiful things from her, whether they’re silver or beautiful old cachepots. I’ve inherited lots of wonderful pieces from her.

Is there one that’s the most meaningful to you or the most unique, I guess?

You know, to tell you the truth, I have some beautiful cachepots in Long Island. We have a house of hers that used to belong to her right near East Hampton, and she has some beautiful Chinese export ceramic blue and white cachepots and vases that, you know, were really the inspiration for her brand when she started in 1946. She loved blue and white, the color combination.

And so I do have a lot of original pieces from her collection. I love them, sometimes even empty. They’re just so iconic and so pretty.

And have you seen any sort of stylistic shift in Aerin over the years?

Probably not. We’ve remained pretty consistent. I mean, the brand keeps evolving and we keep having all these wonderful partners and collaborations. But, you know, it’s interesting when we first launched the brand 12 years ago, the words that were cues for the word American—luxury, storytelling, heritage, quality, pretty, surprise—those words are still as relevant as ever for the brand. And that’s how I know we’re very true to ourselves and very consistent.

And, you know, I was wondering, your grandmother has not been with us for a little while now. Do you wonder what she might think of the sort of the world of style today and sort of how people dress and how people like to live and entertain? Do you think that if we could go in a time machine and grab her from maybe, you know, the ’60s and kind of drag her into 2025 and take her to some gift show?

She probably would not embrace the sneaker trend. She was very formal and she was, you know, even at home when she would be with a beautiful bathrobe and gold bedroom slippers, like she had a very formal personality. I mean, she loved jewelry and hats.

She was always wearing a hat. I mean, even at my graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, remember, I was so embarrassed when she was wearing a hat with a red suit with a red hat. And now thinking back on that, I was like, my gosh, she was so iconic.

But I think she would embrace many, many trends. I mean, she would love what was going on in beauty. She would love all these extraordinary women following their dreams, creating incredible brands and companies. She probably would not be embracing the sneaker and like big, you know, loose jeans, casual. You know, she was, she probably wouldn’t love that, but she would understand it and respect it. You know, she loved trends. I mean, she was probably the first person to put jeans in advertising. You know, she was, as I said, she created Gift with Purchase. She, you know, did color story before anyone was doing color story.

So she was always very, very modern. So I think she would embrace a lot of these modern trends, but she was more formal. She was, you know, European parents and she was very formal with the way she lived and dressed.

She would not be into normcore at all.

No. And she, I mean, she would wear gloves. She would use a compact. You know, I have a lot of her beautiful old handbags and in every handbag, there’s a gold compact and a handkerchief. I mean, she was from a different era and she embraced that.

Um, is there anything that you do that signifies maybe a different era? 

I wear sneakers. Um, I don’t know.

Like, is there anything you do that’s very formal that maybe stands out in your mind that no one else does or your contemporaries don’t do?

That’s a good question. Probably not. I mean, I don’t think there’s anything that stands out. I mean, I do like a more traditional sensibility. I do love to sit down and set the table, even if it’s for breakfast for myself. There’s that element of, um, I guess, tradition and formality, but I’m not overly formal.

Or do you say, how do you set the table for breakfast?

Well, you know, a beautiful linen napkin, a plate, a pretty coffee cup. Usually there is a flower or a plant or something on the table. So, you know, even, you know, there’s the whole idea of that, you know, do something beautiful, even if it’s just for you, if it’s a beautiful coffee mug, use it every day, embrace it, enjoy it, and don’t save it for special occasions.

And that’s something that I’ve learned from Estée. And I think that’s something that’s very important. And I apply that to our brand and my way, the way I live.

And what’s next for you?

What’s next for me? Well, you know, we’re always kind of looking for wonderful partnerships. So we have a very exciting one that’s coming out in the next month that I can’t tell you about, but we’re launching, we’re about to go on a book tour for Living with Flowers.

And we’re going to be doing it internationally too, which is really exciting because I’ve never really had that opportunity. So I’m going to Milan, London and Paris, in addition to Texas and other markets, but I’m very excited to take Living with Flowers internationally, which I think on an international book tour, which I think will be quite extraordinary.

Are you expecting people to kind of connect with it? And when you actually, I’m curious, like when you take the Aerin Brand and your books overseas, like what is the, you know, when you take it to Milan, let’s say, like, what is the kind of reaction? Like, what do they see in it that like is really sort of special to them because they live differently?

Well, flowers is a global language. I mean, the love of flowers. So, you know, when we go to Milan, you know, we do have elements of the brand. They’re very much inspired by Europe. And we actually have quotes from many of the incredible florists out of Paris. So we do have this global presence. So I’m excited to take it to Milan, Paris and London.

Have you done that before with previous books? 

We haven’t. So this is going to be really interesting. And I think it’ll be really exciting.

All right. Very, very nice. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would those three words be?

American, heritage, and traditional.

Thank you to my guest, Aerin Lauder, as well as to Emily Gordon and Kristen Wheel for making this episode happen. The episode of The Grand Tourist is Stan Hall. To keep this going, don’t forget to visit our website and sign up for our newsletter, The Grand Tourist Curator at thegrandtourist.net.

And follow me on Instagram @danrubinstein. And you can purchase the first ever print issue of The Grand Tourist online now on our website. And don’t forget to follow The Grand Tourist on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen and leave us a rating or comment. Every little bit helps. Till next time!

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