Friends Katie Lee, Ali Wentworth, and Stephanie March share a similar sense of humor, love of a good bottle of rosé, and a special appreciation for summer in the Hamptons.
ON KATIE: Shirt, Equipment ($158). Equipment Soho, 110 Wooster St., NYC, 646-277-6496. Bikini top, Eres ($205). 55 Main St., East Hampton, 604-5544. Shorts, Dolce & Gabbana ($1,275). 717 Fifth Ave., NYC, 212-897-9653. Earrings, Oscar de la Renta ($195). 2114 Northern Blvd., Manhasset, 516-627-7440. ON ALI: Dress, Dolce & Gabbana ($3,545). SEE ABOVE. Bracelet, Ali’s own. Cuff ($755) and ring ($510), Aurelié Bidermann. ON STEPHANIE: Pierick top, Anne Fontaine ($150). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-1256. Trousers, Dolce & Gabbana ($1,275). SEE ABOVE. Necklace, Oscar de la Renta ($995). SEE ABOVE. Bracelet, Lele Sadoughi ($250). Alice + Olivia, 79 Main St., East Hampton, 702-7155
Katie Lee is driving from the Hamptons to the city for an appearance to promote her latest television show, The Kitchen; Ali Wentworth is at home, putting the finishing touches on her second book, a follow-up to 2012’s summer must-read Ali in Wonderland, while preparing for a trip to Los Angeles; Stephanie March has just returned from a tour of Africa with the charity organization OneKid OneWorld, which funds programs aiding children around the globe, and is in the midst of opening the second location of Rouge, the makeup application bar she launched last year with her Law & Order: SVU makeup artist, Rebecca Perkins.
Such is the schedule of three of the East End’s most alluring leading ladies. Each of them is successful (and extremely busy!) in her own right—with television tapings, writing assignments, business launches, and family obligations—but together during a rare moment of downtime, they’re a hysterical whirlwind that easily draws everyone and anyone into its circle. Here, the women encourage you to pop open a bottle of rosé, fill a plate with good food, and prepare to let the good times roll.
Stephanie March: I will start by saying the last time I was in the Hamptons was New Year’s Day of this year, so our house is living like a mirage in my mind right now. [Husband] Bobby [Flay] and I keep talking about August like that’s the promised land, when the restaurant has settled and we’ve got the Rouge real estate under control. When that happens, I hope to be smack by my pool, with a bottle of rosé, thinking about swimming laps…. Bobby has sworn to me, like some sort of dating website, we would take walks on the beach, because last year, I said over and over, “Let’s take a walk on the beach.” This time he says he’s going to follow through. Come sunset, you should see the two of us, probably drunk, staggering across the beach, hand in hand, and I’m really looking forward to it.
Katie Lee: I plan on doing as little as possible this summer. I just want to basically be at the beach, and not do my hair and makeup, and cook. I’m a little upset that Bobby and Stephanie are not going to be out until August; I really like going to their house for lunch. Stephanie makes really good cocktails and Bobby’s an okay cook.
Ali Wentworth: Ali is going to write a book; Ali is going to eat at Stephanie and Katie Lee’s often. My 11-year-old is a big horseback rider, so I’m actually going to try riding with her this summer. During the week, when [my husband] George [Stephanopoulos] is slaving away at GMA to afford me this fabulous life, I have invited lots of city friends out, so I’m going to be entertaining.
“I just want to be at the beach, and not do my hair and makeup, and cook,” says Katie Lee. ON KATIE: Sunglasses, Oliver Peoples ($340). Optical Shop of Aspen, 53 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 329-4318. Juste un Clou bracelet in 18k yellow gold, Cartier ($7,200). Americana Manhasset, 2060 Northern Blvd., 516-627-3200. Bracelet, Phillips House ($5,500). London Jewelers, 47 Main St., Southampton, 287-4499. Bracelet, Gucci ($6,750). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-365-0994. Wedges, Stuart Weitzman ($398). Shoe Inn, 66 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 329-4500. ON ALI: Sunglasses, Chloé ($26). Optyx, 10 Main St., East Hampton, 324-5441. Bracelet with clear pavé Swarovski crystal ($550) and eclipse cubo pearl bracelet ($575), Vita Fede. Intermix, 64 Main St., Southampton, 283-8510. Ring, Jennifer Miller ($135). 55 Main St., East Hampton, 329-9061. Wedges, Christian Louboutin ($695). Hirshleifers, Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-3566. Earrings, Ali’s own. ON STEPHANIE: 18k yellow-gold small Atlas hoop earrings, Tiffany & Co. ($2,500). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-2277. Stone slider bracelet, Lele Sadoughi ($250). Alice + Olivia, 79 Main St., East Hampton, 702-7155. Bracelet, Jennifer Miller ($195). SEE ABOVE. Wedges, Oscar de la Renta ($775). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-7440. Gold-link bracelet, bangle, and red bangle, Stephanie’s own. White sling chairs, Serena & Lily Beach Market ($350). 332 Montauk Hwy., Wainscott, 537-5544
SM: Katie and I have often said about having guests—because we’ve both gone through periods where we’ve had nothing but revolving doors—“It’s a lot of work for a scented candle,” because that’s what someone’s going to bring you.
AW: I’m going to register, so they’ll know exactly what to get me. The summer, you always have these big plans. I’m not even going to say, “I’m going to get healthy and learn Pilates,” but I will ride a horse, and I’ll play tennis, and I, too, will walk hand in hand with Bobby Flay on the beach. This time of year is always, like you said, Stephanie, the dream of the Hamptons. Just the idea of beaches and clams and people and fun. If I don’t get Lyme disease, I consider it a great summer. I’ll have you over, just don’t expect pancetta calzones or anything. We keep it simple. But I will tell you—and you’ll both be really impressed with this—I have my own vegetable and herb garden.
SM: Do you really? Oh, I am impressed.
AW: My 8-year-old is really obsessed with it. She weeds, and then we eat the two cucumbers and the four tomatoes that we finally procure.
“Bobby and I keep talking about August like that’s the promised land,” says Stephanie March. ON KATIE: Top, A.L.C. ($325). Intermix, 64 Main St., Southampton, 283-8510. Trousers, Michael Kors ($1,250). Americana Manhasset, 2060 Northern Blvd., 516-365-3512. Earrings, Oscar de la Renta ($195). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-4400. Ring, Gucci ($3,100). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-365-0994. Wedges, Christian Louboutin ($695). Hirshleifers, Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-3566. ON STEPHANIE: Shirt ($950), bikini top ($159), and swim bottoms ($120), Michael Kors. SEE ABOVE. My Dior earrings ($7,600) and cuff ($30,000), Dior Fine Jewelry. Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-365-5680. Sandals, MICHAEL Michael Kors ($150). SEE ABOVE. Bracelet and bangle, Stephanie’s own. ON ALI: Top, Milly ($215). Bloomingdale’s, 1000 Third Ave., NYC, 212-705-2000. Pants, Michael Kors ($950). SEE ABOVE. Necklace, Lele Sadoughi ($265). Alice + Olivia, 79 Main St., East Hampton, 702-7155. Wedges, Jimmy Choo ($550). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-627-5058. Earrings and bracelet, Ali’s own
SM: Ali, what are you heading to LA for? Is it a big secret?
AW: It’s not a secret at all. I am writing my second book this summer, and I just wrote a comedy film. I’m going out to Los Angeles because I just finished at Yahoo! with my online show, Daily Shot with Ali Wentworth, and I want to do that on a bigger platform.
KL: I loved your show; I loved your first book. I got on an airplane and read it, and I was laughing out loud.
AW: I’ve heard that a lot—everybody read it on an airplane. Doesn’t anybody lie on the beach anymore?
SM: You’re going to have to do some book signings in airports. What is [your book] about? You already have such a glamorous life; what else have you got in there?
AW: There’s nothing glamorous about it. The book is basically, I take an inspirational quote, and I try to live my life by it and fail miserably. I’m supposed to embrace every stranger as I would a loved one, but I end up telling the taxi driver to f--k off—I just can’t do it. Oprah would be really upset with me.
SM: No, this is good; you’re demystifying the perfect self. There’s something really frustrating whenever—people do this on Twitter a lot—here’s my quote of the day, and I just think, Oh, go to hell; I don’t want to deal with your quote of the day. You know what I want you to do? Send me $5, that’ll help.
AW: The inspirational quote is actually very stressful. People read inspirational quotes and think that they don’t have a real life unless they’re living by these. I felt that when I worked for Oprah; I was like, “I’m not having any ‘Aha’ moments! What does that mean?”
KL: Ali, can you say what your movie’s about?
AW: My movie is basically based on my experience at Yahoo! I just wrote this, I have no interest in participating in it, but it’s about a young woman who ends up being swallowed up by the corporate world. In the meantime, her best friend is having a baby and she ends up hanging out with all kinds of women who are all about baby books, and she feels kind of left out. It’s like the Bridesmaids kind of crazy. Stephanie, what’s going on with you?
SM: I just came back from three weeks in Jordan and East Africa. I was working with this nonprofit I’ve been working with for many years. We rebuild schools, and we were able to go see a lot of the projects that we’ve been working on over the last few years. It was a tremendous experience; it was this freewheeling, sprawling, fantastic, tough, great trip, and then at the end, my friend Tracy and I spent a few days in Zanzibar, which was pretty outstanding. Then yesterday, we started looking for Rouge location number two. We want to do Midtown East, so we can get the business of all those bright ladies who work in the Midtown area, but I want it to be accessible to the ladies from the Upper East Side. This time last year, I really started to get serious about Rouge, and now I feel lucky to have it. You can only do once, once—it has to be launched right.
AW: If anybody knows that, it’s your husband. Is he a launch expert?
SM: He’s been launching so much I can’t wait for him to land. He swore to me up and down the block, he said, “[Gato] is it, this is the last one, this is the last time I’m doing this.” I know that’s not true.
“I don’t really look at you [Katie Lee] and think, Yep, track pants,” says Stephanie March. ON STEPHANIE: Dress, Diane von Furstenberg ($445). Scoop Beach, 51 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 329-6800. Bracelets, Stephanie’s own. ON ALI: Sundress, Diane von Furstenberg ($325). Scoop Beach, SEE ABOVE. Earrings, Shawn Ames ($10,500). Michelle Farmer Collaborate, 2491 Montauk Hwy., Bridgehampton, 604-1850. My Dior yellow-gold cuff, Dior Fine Jewelry ($30,000). Americana Manhasset, 2060 Northern Blvd., 516-365-5680. Necklace, Ali’s own. ON KATIE: Dress, Brunello Cucinelli (price on request). 39 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 324-3400. Necklace, Ela Rae (price on request). Intermix, 64 Main St., Southampton, 283-8510. Rattan picnic basket for two ($99) and Schott Zwiesel stemware ($72 for set of six), Pottery Barn. 1 Hampton Road, Southampton, 283-0141. Sheesha pillow, Calypso St. Barth ($310). 21 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 329-0033. Throw pillow, Etro ($211). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-365-0101. Linen towel, Fredericks & Mae ($300). Rosé, Wölffer Estate Vineyard ($17). 139 Sagg Road, Sagaponack, 537-5106
KL: I wonder, this time next year, Stephanie, how many Rouges you’ll be launching?
SM: We’d like to get just a few going here, and then, you know, global domination—we’ve made no secret of the fact that that’s our goal, and if at any point some luxury brand would like to buy us for millions and millions of dollars and put us in Tokyo and Paris, great! We’re totally open to that, but we have been really proud of what we’ve built so far, and I hope that doesn’t stop.
KL: Yesterday I turned in my latest cookbook, and next week we’re doing the photo shoot for it, and then I’ll have to wait nine months, like a child, for it to come out. It’s a summer cookbook with all Hamptons-inspired recipes. I’m also shooting my show, The Kitchen; we just got another renewal, so we’re really happy.
AW: Are you surfing?
KL: I have not been surfing nearly enough this season. This month has been a lot of back and forth to the city, and I just haven’t been in the water as much as I’d like to. The other thing, I’ve been working a lot with the Wildlife Conservation Society, so hopefully by the time this interview comes out, ivory sales will be banned in New York—that’s been my passion project for the last few months. Ali, what’s your writing process like?
AW: I can’t write at a desk; it hurts my back and I feel like I’m at secretary school, so I get into bed, I watch an episode of Law & Order: SVU with Stephanie March…. Stephanie, I don’t know why you’re not a kazillionaire, because there’s a marathon every five minutes….
SM: That’s a sad story for another newspaper called Crain’s New York Business….
AW: …So I watch that, I have a cup of tea, and then I surf the Web—just to make sure I didn’t miss anything on One Kings Lane or Huffington Post—and then I start to get mad at myself because I haven’t written anything. Then, when I feel like I’ve got everything from Page Six and TMZ.com, I click onto my book and write for a while. Then, of course, it’s lunchtime, so I have to stop and watch Law & Order: SVU while I’m having my sandwich. I probably write for an hour, an hour and a half, but it’s a six-hour process.
KL: It’s like going to the gym—I really don’t want to sit and do it, and then once I do, I’m okay.
“I am a girl who can go from J.Crew pajamas into a dress in a matter of seconds,” says Ali Wentworth. ON KATIE: Bikini top, Tory Burch ($155). 47 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, 907-9150. Jeans, Frame ($200). Intermix, 64 Main St., Southampton, 283-8510. Love hoop earrings in 18k yellow gold, Cartier ($3,850). Americana Manhasset, 2060 Northern Blvd., 516-627-3200. ON ALI: Milos jumpsuit, Tory Burch ($395). SEE ABOVE. Ring, Jennifer Miller ($135). 55 Main St., East Hampton, 329-9061. Earrings, Ali’s own. ON STEPHANIE: Milos one-piece bathing suit, Tory Burch ($255). SEE ABOVE. Skirt, Tibi ($325). Bloomingdale’s, 270 Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station, 425-6700. Atlas small hoop earrings in 18k gold, Tiffany & Co. ($2,500). Americana Manhasset, SEE ABOVE, 516-869-0800. Red bangle, Stephanie’s own
SM: But you’ve written both cookbooks and a novel, which is, I’m sure, a very different process.
KL: Very different. I felt like with the novel, it was much easier to procrastinate. With the cookbook, you actually have to be in the kitchen, and if you buy the ingredients they’ll go bad, so you have to do it. The novel I enjoyed because I could be in pajamas until 5 pm. I like being in things with elastic waistbands.
SM: I don’t really look at you and think, Yep, track pants.
AW: Me, however… but I am a girl who can go from J.Crew pajamas into a dress in a matter of seconds. I’m not going to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars to have a makeup person come to my house only because I am just going to walk down the red carpet really quickly; I don’t need individual lower lashes. Stephanie, do you and Bobby have pets?
SM: [Laughs] We got a cat for Christmas.
KL: Taco! I follow him on Instagram!
SM: Do you really? Taco has nearly 7,000 followers on an Instagram page that Bobby set up; I didn’t even know that Bobby could use the Internet. We are those people who do not have a child together, who live in Manhattan, who are obsessed with and talk constantly about our cat. I must have been in the middle of Africa and didn’t have any signal for about three days, and I finally got a hold of Bobby and I was like, “Hi, how’s Taco?” And he was like, “Stephanie, I’m fine, thank you for asking. The restaurant’s going really well.” I said, “Have you turned on the faucet for him; have you let him have a play date?” Bobby grew up with cats and he loves them, actually, but this is the first pet I’ve ever had as an adult. I’m really crazy about him. We’re excited to bring him to the Hamptons. Currently, at Gato, when they drop the check, there’s a postcard and it’s a picture of Taco. I didn’t know that was happening until I got one.
AW: Katie Lee, you better heat up that pizza oven too this summer.
KL: I’m doing pizza on Friday. I actually went to pizza school this year.
AW: What were your grades at pizza school? Did you fail crust? I don’t want a B-minus pizza.
KL: There was a written exam, and I missed some of the questions about the history of pizza. I have a fantasy of moving to Naples and spending a year as an intern in a pizza place.
AW: Why don’t you do that? You can do a book while you’re there. Instead of A Year in Provence, A Year in Rome. And Diane Lane will play you in the movie. I would like to take five percent of whatever happens with that idea.
KL: This is being recorded, so I guess I’m forever indebted to you.