Alexa Hampton’s Favorite Things

Fashion

• What is your everyday uniform? Black crew neck shirt, black pants, black shoes. I’m pretty sad this way.
• Favorite clothing designer? I love Oscar de la Renta, Tom Ford, J. Mendel.
• Favorite fashion decade (time period) I love the 70’s.
• Who/What is your style icon? Lauren Hutton, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Lauren Bacall.
• No outfit is complete without ____.  A smile.

Travel

• What is your favorite travel destination? Europe, for the moment.
• What destination do you want to visit, that you have already? Yorkshire. It’s where my daughter goes to school.
• Best travel tip? As long as I travel with my husband, everything will be okay.
• What is in your carry-on bag? My prescriptions, ankle socks, my iPad, a charger, an eyeglass cleaning cloth.
• What type of travel do you find most inspiring? I love sightseeing and visiting museums.
• Itinerary or laissez faire? A little of both. I like the first half of the day devoted to culture and the second half to anything at all.

Food/Drink

• What is your favorite restaurant in NYC?
  • For breakfast – The Regency Hotel (or any good diner).
  • For lunch – Orsay
  • For dinner – Casa Lever
  • For coffee – My neighborhood deli
  • For drinks – My living room
• What is your go-to cocktail? These days, I’m in a vodka cranberry phase.
• What is your comfort food? Pastas and soups.
• Where do you dine for the decor? Balthazar.
• Do you have a favorite meal and why? I love a good cheese soufflé.

Interior Design

• Do you have a favorite color that you like to see in a home? I’ve been loving purple for the last decade.
• What room is the centerpiece of a home? The Living Room.
• Every room must have ______. Books, artwork and dimmers on the lights.
• What designer (past or present) most inspires you? My father, Mark Hampton.
• _________ will never go out of style – Functional.
• What factors are most influential on your work? The client, the architecture, the location.

Inspiring Women

• What female in design most inspires you and why? Bunny Williams is a friend and a dynamo.
• What female outside of design most inspires you and why? My High School English teacher, Mary Frosch, was the most wonderful teacher there was: brilliant, infectious with enthusiasm, open, fair-minded, and kind.
• What impactful advice have you received from a fellow woman? Treat yourself with respect.
• What advice would you give women of today starting their careers (in design or not)? Treat people as you want to be treated and require the same in return. Do not settle for anything else.

Entertaining

• Do you prefer to be the host or the guest? Guest.
• What is always in your fridge for entertaining? I actually seldom have anything in my fridge. I was scarred by a childhood refrigerator that was filled to the gills with chutneys and weird dips.
• You’re throwing a dinner party, what are you serving? Salad and fried chicken if it’s informal.
• Your favorite entertaining tip and tricks? If you have a good time, as the host, everyone else will, too. A nervous, unhappy host telegraphs those things to their guests.
• Entertaining etiquette everyone should know and follow? Be happy and engage people. If you see someone needing someone to talk to, be that someone. If there is someone elderly and alone, grab a seat and make them laugh.
• What is your go-to hostess gift (to give or receive)? Good conversation.

200 Lex

• What 200 Lex showrooms are your favorite and why? I love Crosby Street Studio and S.A. Baxter. They sell rugs and hardware, respectively, and their wares are beyond compare. I always like to see my people at Theodore Alexander!
• Your first stop when you visit 200 Lex? Owner Jim Druckman. He’s one of my best friends.
• Favorite item at Amy’s Bread? Amy’s bread is good bread.
• The best part of 200 Lex is __________. Is what it offers the community: both in physical terms, as product as well as less physically. It is an industry leader and supporter.