A Closer Look: The Life and Estates of C.Z. Guest | Cultured Elegance

[@CulturedElegance]

❤ 🎉 Thank you for watching! Who is your favorite Swan? 🦢 Read more about C.Z. Guest, TRUMAN CAPOTE AND HIS SWANS and Subscribe to the Cultured Elegance Newsletter: culturedelegance.substack.com/subscribe ❤Books on TRUMAN CAPOTE AND HIS SWANS: 🦢 www.amazon.com/shop/finding.faith.co/list/1GIWNWIF3QMN8?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_aipsffinding.faith.co_Z4RJ6BKASWTGS0S2DM8M

[@amyj3574]

Slim.

[@heatherg2024]

CZ is my fave! 🐎❤️

[@sharonmchugh7957]

CZ and Slim are my 2 Favorites. I’ve read several books about the Swans.

[@NewYorkNadia]

Absolutely LOVED this, thank you so much for sharing!

[@SMtWalkerS]

I loved this! CZ appears to have actually enjoyed her life, unlike many of the other "swans". Her love of horses and dogs certainly appear in the photos, and that adds interest and balance to a life. Her style is very clean and elegant. I really enjoyed your presentation and the look inside her houses. Those dresses! Only a slim, in-shape gal could carry those off! She lived longer than many of her contemporaries. Perhaps she didn't smoke?

[@CulturedElegance]

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video!! You make some excellent points! I do not know if she smoked or not for sure; to my understanding she did!

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

You overlooked her dismal failure as a working socialite. Unlike Gloria Vanderbilt who earned millions with her decor and jeans lines, Cee Zee chased customers away from an Italian furniture importer of mid-range wares, with her imperial demeanor, letting everyone know she looked down on them. She was an unhappy woman, a loner. She spread as many lies about her life as Donald Trump. She had much less money than the main Swans. She lived in a small apartment off the beaten path of good addresses. She and her husband went broke. Her clothes were old, her jewels borrowed. American Express turned her down. Her daughter was a Debutante when no one wanted to be a Debutante. She could hardly write her name yet wrote books? She wrote about dirt and orchids for the Post, hardly a prestige assignment. She attached her name to bug spray which did not sell. None of her trinkets sold. She stood by Truman because, she was so dull, he didn't include her in his Esquire story about prominent Swans. The Duke and Duchess were outcast supporters of Hitler. Nice friends, hungry for a meal. Trader Joe's has better orchids than CZ did.

[@ann5765]

I like her daughter Cornelia too❤

[@sharonpollock9543]

She was a nice nazi

[@silvermainecoons3269]

0:58 Looks like she was a smoker, unless that’s a prop. Everyone smoked back then. 😢

[@MDHollister1313]

Chloe Sevigny is doing a Wonderful job portraying CZ! ❤

[@gloriahufnagel5556]

Truman most definitely did immortalize all these ladies. I only knew Lee, before Feud .

[@leahandmeleah]

I loved the entire story, especially the quote at the end!

[@CulturedElegance]

Thank you!!! Your comment means so much!

[@dstaugustinefl8832]

I've been watching Feud, Truman Capote's Swans' I love it

[@smpeljas]

Hello! Nurse Jane here! Thank you! CZ Guest! My favorite Estate is “Forevermore by the Bay” mine… in Deale, Maryland 29751! I’m not bragging! Instead, I’m saying, yes, Sutton Place… and Yourville, East End Avenue, Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, the Croyden Hotel on East 86Th Street, The Plaza, the Pierre, etc. This was my “World” too! Yes, Oscar deLa’Renta loved my side 4.5 to size five little foot! He told me so in Bloomingdale’s! I had so much fun in NYC, Florida, California and Vegas! Let’s say tippy-toed with my precious son to gaze into “The Grand Canyon” the rest is History… thank you! Fabulous! Nurse Jane

[@alina3254]

These videos are so relaxing and wonderful! I love them! Please continue!! We need Babe Paley as well

[@caroltanzi29]

C.Z.Guest seemed to have her feet on the ground all the time, especially when dealing with Truman Capote. Smart woman! I liked her last home when she personalized it. A lot more interesting. Carol from California

[@alegreone]

I admire her ability to reinvent herself and her loyalty to her friends. However, we shouldn’t lose sight of friends like the despot Franco or the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who were pals not only with Nazis but with Hitler. I think it’s important not to frame people we want to inspire us as perfect people, but as complex human beings. I wonder if she stayed loyal to them after the Spanish civil war and WWII? Capote’s betrayal of the Swans pales by comparison .

[@lavettacannon3138]

❤ I wonder if Grace Kelly’ persona was modeled after CZ’s? They could be sisters. 😍

[@yankeedoodledarling9232]

I grew up near Templeton, so that one is my favorite.

[@CulturedElegance]

How lovely! I agree

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

So, near Templeton? Then you must know that CeeZee never lived insider Templeton. That's where Frederick Guest and wife lived. CeeZee and Winston got a smaller house on the edge of the Big Estate. She named it "Templeton," knowing people would think she lived in the big house with the 60 servants. That house was turned into a tourist attraction. No one lived there. Same in Palm Beach. The famous photos of CeeZee and the dog was shot at the Frederick Guest house. She didn't live there. There are very few pictures of the place where she actually lived. Let's just say, it was somewhat smaller. She would have been right at home at Mara Go Go. In New York where all the classy people like Babe and Jackie and Lee lived in big apartments on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park. CeeZee lived in a tiny place on Park Avenue. She told more lies than Donald Trump.

[@maryanneevans9563]

I thoroughly enjoyed that.❤

[@susanacuratolo1200]

CZ QUOTE: "STYLE IS ABOUT SURVIVING & MAKING THE CHALLENGING LOOK EFFORTLESS"

[@janusconner3710]

One of my favorite doyennes of the twentieth century..She was just wonderful and the epitome of classy elegance. Panache. Sophistication. Her thumb was greener than her money lol.

[@stephaniestanley8041]

❤ a beautiful video honoring a great woman. The second home is my favorite.

[@alfredbonnabel7022]

CZ was smart for not allowing Capote into her innermost life.

[@alfredbonnabel7022]

@WilliamsSmith-je6em I am well. Do we know each other?

[@alfredbonnabel7022]

@WilliamsSmith-je6em Earth

[@EM2theBee]

Interesting learning about her connection to Wallace Simpson and General Franco.

[@CulturedElegance]

So glad you like it

[@Alpha-Andromeda]

Yes indeed. Especially in light of Edward and Wallis’ close relationship with Hitler. Perhaps CZ and Churchill were also pro Nazi. Chilling. Franco was a monster in his own right. And here we are lauding her as a a good and intelligent woman. (Ethics and Humanity are besides the point apparently)

[@lath938]

​@@Alpha-AndromedaThank you! It interests me that if you have money, are attractive, have style, and can throw a good party, then who cares if you are friends with fascists.

[@79Bobola]

@@Alpha-Andromeda 🙄if you had any inkling of intelligence or just looked into it more, declassified documents from the FBI and British intelligence claimed that there was no evidence that they were N*zi sympathizers, I repeat, NO EVIDENCE. So stop spreading misinformation and do better.

[@verityundefinedhunt8085]

@@Alpha-Andromeda Didn't (former Bestman) Hemmingway fight against Franco??

[@Snuggelbubs1]

I loved this video - so informative about a woman I somehow had never even heard of, though our paths must have crossed frequently in NYC in the 90s. You also give me some good back-story relative to "Feud."

[@CulturedElegance]

I’m so glad you enjoyed! Thank you for watching

[@joywetzel4640]

Love all the photos!

[@rosezingleman5007]

Her home’s “marble” started a trend of fancy faux marble paint added to high end interiors, which in turn led to the “Italian revival” type golden interiors 10-20 years later.

[@mtaylor7307]

True. Donald Trump's penthouse in Trump Towers New York is predominately gold spray paint, not gold leaf. Faux was trending.

[@edvhollywood4544]

Love it and she played tennis every day. Not. A bore.

[@briantrombini7731]

Well done didn't want it to end never heard of her before the series. Wow only one husband-I enjoyed all the comments about her and the quotes, My favorite- "What's wrong with women inspiring others to hgher standards".

[@l.a.q.hanley5852]

I love the Old Westbury properties! Maybe you can do a video on the other estates out there 🌞

[@CulturedElegance]

Great idea!

[@beckybnyc322]

Stunning homes…what I could do with properties such as these 🙏🏼

[@a.johnson1860]

If interested, do check out her gardening books. They're wonderful guides!

[@bobl4419]

GREAT VIDEO THANK YOU AND WELL DONE!

[@CulturedElegance]

Thank you so much

[@mizfrenchtwist]

great share , thank you , for sharing🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@CulturedElegance]

Thank you so much!

[@Celluloidwatcher]

So far, I'm impressed with C.Z. Guest and how humble she was throughout her life amongst the super-rich, although she was born into wealth herself in Boston. She had that elegant style that people dream about all the time. I wonder if she was ever mentioned on that TV show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, with Robin Leach in the 80's and 90's? I could imagine she may have been. I'm also attracted to her cute attractiveness in her prime with the platinum blonde hair, stylish dresses and jewelry, swimsuits, and shorts. Quite a lady. Thanks for presenting.

[@rodneyhamon5793]

at appor. 16:33 the lady she is talking to is no one other than Consuelo Balsan (nee Vanderbilt).

[@carolwolff4251]

On Long Island, I lived near her house. I drove past it many times. I appreciated her love of gardening and found one of her books.

[@ladybuggermanshepherdog8707]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@CulturedElegance]

You are welcome!

[@jerifrench9378]

Back in the 70s one of my mother's friends was the show for for their family there were a lot of hilarious stories she and her husband were really really big drinkers no surprise

[@sans8888]

Very much enjoyed. Thank you.

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

Early on this video, I was wondering how the money would keep coming after her father died. He must have left a huge legacy and they spent it until the time of downsizing. Who wouldn’t want to party and not work.

[@JaneNewAuthor]

True style!

[@melissaking6019]

My grandfather's architect business partner, Marion Sims Wyeth, who designed Guest's Palm Beach estate called her 'vulgar'. He didn't like Guest but built a beautiful property for her.

[@CulturedElegance]

That is quite incredible! Thank you for sharing!!

[@philipfrancis2728]

Beautiful and tastefully done video. Congratulations.

[@CulturedElegance]

Thank you very much!

[@Thislife78-p1w]

Magnifique ❤🎉 just delightful ❤❤❤

[@fuzzypuppett]

Thank you, that was fun to watch. 🙂

[@CulturedElegance]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@matrixfree3480]

Your narration was tastefull, inviting and informative.

[@CulturedElegance]

Thank you kindly!

[@sakeenahm]

Beautiful

[@guldenaydin9918]

The epitome of elegance…

[@Martinique_36]

Timeless

[@Richardsonprincess00]

Hopefully to show off the rest of these homes and biography of these high society swans soon.

[@DDDD-pv7fw]

Great video thx !!

[@Teaally1913]

Love knowing this history of women.

[@utubelvrNYC]

Very well done!

[@athenaf8278]

I also recall CZ Guest’ hitting the social scene in my youth where she appeared to be quite popular in that social set…

[@adugan1017]

wait! that first photo shows she had cellulite!…..yipppeee..she is like the rest of us..hhahahhaha…

[@DavidCarroll-t5g]

Truman Capote: the Rasputin of New York high society.

[@mtaylor7307]

I love this! Is it a quote?

[@DavidCarroll-t5g]

My own :-)@@mtaylor7307

[@Suzzzie818]

We share the same birthday February 19 ❤ we are very alike, except the rich part, I Soon it will all change. My true elegance will be shown ❤️🙏

[@howardturner2905]

My birthday is also 2/19. We are all special people.😂

[@Alpha-Andromeda]

Elegance is the way you carry yourself and it’s not related to money nor expensive clothes. There are things which are beneath elegance, such as showing off, focusing on money, and being ungracious. Good vocabulary and a good use of grammar is elegance is your use of the word. Vulgar things such as low cleavage and rap music are opposite of elegance but you already know that. So no news there…

[@mrsbluesky8415]

I love her style but question her taste in friends.

[@dorrielove]

Loved your video ❤

[@shadrach6299]

I love CZ

[@ccmarcum]

She was so pretty and natural-looking, but those drawn-on dark eyebrows were so fake and heavy. Surely there were more natural shades in those days. She certainly wore clothes well and her wardrobe could be worn today--it was timeless.

[@UrsulaPowers]

Yawn.

[@djr6876]

The Palm Beach estate pool is reminiscent of that at Hearst Castle. Their final home I found to be the most charming.

[@J-Dune]

The OG WASP

[@andreahicks967]

Class act !

[@kjsf569]

Wondering if her mother-in-law had tons of money? Also, what was the IRS troubles shown in “the Swans?”

[@AppealToHeaven]

Impeccable! Modern women should take a leaf from CZ's book on style and discretion.

[@mariadelcarmenrouco8014]

Me encantan todas estas mujeres

[@elinordashwood7148]

I'm not sure if it escaped your notice but at 2 minutes and 47 seconds into this film, CZ is seated next to the former King Edward VIII of Great Britain, who gave up his throne to marry Wallis Simpson. She is seated right next to him.

[@solangelauthier2381]

Yes of course. And they both look bored…

[@rusteeheiress]

It was mentioned. Haha

[@TheLaurkenGroup]

I am fascinated by ‘old money” & the women it produced; “the Seans” in particular. . They were slim, well healed, well wheeled & just impossibly elegant. I know finishing schools have fallen out of favor. But I’m older and because of that,, I knew several women who were properly finished. Some of the things they learned in these colleges that taught Shakespeare AND & how to properly eat soup & enter a room??? Never be photographed with a cocktail or a cigarette. Yet, in many photos of these lovely examples of privileged womanhood, I see cigarettes. Never actually smoking (I don’t think) , but the cigs are lit and in hand.

[@miss_naomi7377]

Interesting, I’ve always been adverse to photos with people holding drinks 🍹, now maybe I know why.

[@marinedrive5484]

Had C.Z. Guest taken up acting she would have undoubtedly become one of Hitchcock's Ice Queens. Actually, luckily she didn't, considering Hitch's controlling behaviour towards his leading ladies - a' la Tippi Hedren. She looks way ahead of her time in the 1930s with her simple, effortless, and relaxed style.

[@ed_leonardi]

When rich people had class, elegance and culture, unlike today ( Rihanna, Swift and the Kardashians). So sad!

[@UrsulaPowers]

Yawn

[@TheCraziestCatLady.]

They were silly too😊

[@andreabee9474]

No one mentions the relationship to Francisco Franco, the fascist dictator or Spain?!

[@jeanieologist4456]

Truman was despicable

[@donwheeler5479]

Time 9am Philippines traveling.

[@donwheeler5479]

I knew CZ I believe in the 90's such a nice lady.

[@hawlikd]

So, what did she accomplish in life other than being born in a wealthy family.

[@CulturedElegance]

Haha

[@syourke3]

There’s nothing even remotely interesting about her or the others. They’re all just shallow egoists.

[@90sHONEY]

That was what the public wanted in these decades - rich people showing off. People simply loved to look at them. Nowadays we demand a little more of famous people. Or maybe not - look at the Kardashians...

[@mtaylor7307]

She authored books well received, created a pesticide, trained dogs and horses, created clothing and perfume lines, inspired many as a muse. She lived to age 83 on her own terms. Not a bad ride.

[@margaretaltink7152]

Sister Parish and Lancaster please

[@Zepster77]

“Simply by being themselves…” You meant simply by having the good fortune of being born into fortune??

[@gnostic268]

Winston Guest was previously married, had children and divorced before he met and married C.Z. I wonder how the families blended between the two.

[@CL-hf2fb]

But why her eyebrows look like that? All that money and they got her looking like that.

[@lesleyheller2271]

Too bad Gena Rowlands is too old play CZ - she looks so much like her!

[@motleymama6587]

Beautiful but I don’t understand the painted eyebrows.

[@beks5300]

She looks more like Carey Mulligan..

[@pkihu9910]

I liked this video . But the homes looked overdone , dusty and fussy. Too many layers of fabric. Her last home seemed to be pared down and inviting.

[@carlaschultheis3662]

I think she is my new aspirational idol.

[@jennifers6435]

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[@nancyrobertson8661]

I love your channel. But the word you're looking for isn't simplistic which carries the notion of being so overly simple that nuance and important details are lost. Just use the word simple. It's perfectly adequate and correct.

[@user-nq9gz4xf7f]

I like CC especially she seemed more natural, didnt outcast Capote, and liked gardening. Didnt seem too narcissistic, BUT maybe she was ultra conservative or politically blind. Hanging with General Franco and the Windsors is pretty yucky for a classy beauty.

[@mariadelcarmenrouco8014]

Imponian estilo

[@Alpha-Andromeda]

The American folly of “achieving celebrity status simply by doing… nothing”…

[@AngelicaSiobhan]

Guess you missed the part where she wrote books and developed an insect repellent

[@TheQuietOne4454]

Dang she looks alot like Kate Bosworth

[@pkihu9910]

Her daughter is much more interesting....a video on her would be great

[@judyjsmail]

I think I now know who Martha Stewart copied!

[@susanacuratolo1200]

P.S.....THANK GOD FOR CZ!

[@luisnieves8242]

too bad she and hubby were friends with the dictator Franco.

[@harrietbrown8807]

Grace Kelly double

[@virginiaviola5097]

I miss Class.

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

😢As someone lurking in the sidelines of CeeZee the Magnificent, I can say to you, she was not a happy woman. She was not a nice woman. She was not a nice person. She had spent so much time looking down on everyone, that when the bottom fell out, she had no friends. Oh, yes,there were the exiled Nazi Sympathizers, personas non gratis in the British Isles, the homeless Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Queenie Elisabeth's uncle. They were in no position to refuse a free meal, and CeeZee never met any publicity she didn't crave, so it was sublime destitution, chowing down on baloney sandwiches and fresh, homemade, potato salad, served up with the distinct 1967 Boston Tea, aged in the trough out back, near the horse. Later, after the Winsors left to continue on to other ports in the storm, in their quest to wear-out their welcome in other ports of the storm, CeeZee tried fronting foreign firms. Not much avail in that arena. Something wasn't right. Gloria had made millions selling pants. With CeeZee, something wasn't right. So, then she became an author, just like Truman, with a children's brief book about gardening, illustrated by Cecil Beaton, a children's favorite all over the place. Then she sold Bug Repellent. Let it be said, that CeeZee Guest was experienced in Repellant. She knew first-hand how best to repell. Everybody who was anybody said so. No, she wasn't comfortable in her own skin, or anybody else's either. She tried to sell-off Cornelia, they needed money, but there were no buyers. That apple didn't fall very far. I think Karma might have been CeeZee's un-doing. Lots of Karma, and all of it bad. She was ahead of her time. She taught Trump, if you tell enough lies enough times, people will start to believe them.

[@UrsulaPowers]

Wow, bitter?

[@thesilentdiva]

I love how they "downsized" 💀

[@Ggyoutube1]

And where are these self absorbed people now?Heaven or Hell ?

[@kusheran]

Rage, rage against the dieing of pale empire.

[@Taylor0118]

Gwenth Paltrow favors C.Z.

[@Luca.78]

Cz Guest was Great because l prefere the life of the Princess Lee Radziwill with your style and your controversial life .....sorry ❤

[@coutureclown333]

WHAT exactly does Cuktured Elegancecwith FAITH mean? Any person of FAITH would not be creating these worshipful videos on rich people.

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

CeeZee liked horses and dogs but she sure didnt care for humans.

[@lance8080]

Boring

[@jw77019]

Your remark is not helpful. You have the option of not watching.

[@liana2136]

​@@jw77019I found Lance's remark very helpful. It's good to know that not everyone is impressed with hoity-toity society types.

[@ME-hd2xt]

Dogs and gardening. What more is there to a happy life? Oh, right, money. Still, she was an icon of style and grace. Compare her to the women in the "Housewives" franchise. Ridiculous clowns all.