ROYAL FLUSH

ho could disagree with that thought, inscribed on a stone tablet at a polo ground near ancient Kashmir? Certainly no one who attended last week’s much-anticipated opening of the Bridgehampton polo at Two Trees Farm!

There’s no more thrilling way to spend a day than watching this complex, majestic game, no more “royal” experience than feeling the pounding of the hooves and hearing the roar of the crowd as the horses and riders thunder across the pitch. If you haven’t taken in this spectacle, you must, and soon—for the excitement, for the fresh air, and, not least of all, for the social swirl. As Sarah Ferguson’s mother, the late Susan Barrantes, once said of her daughter’s introduction to Prince Andrew: “They met on the polo fields. But then, doesn’t everybody?”

Of course, the Hamptons being the amazing place it is, polo was just the first of Haley’s and my great weekend diversions. Next it was time for some shopping (when isn’t it time for shopping around here?). Have you been to Bella Casa in Sag Harbor, a beautiful home store filled with one-of-a-kind imported Italian furnishings? It’s one of our favorites, as is the new Brady Designs on Main Street in Southampton, which has somehow rounded up every treat, trim, or treasure you could possibly need to turn your summer home into your summer castle. And speaking of design, Hamptons magazine’s friend Nicole Miller told me recently that her favorite area restaurant is Bostwick’s in East Hampton—so after you’ve gathered your loot, be sure to get over there for a well-deserved feast.

And this issue will be one of your favorites, I think: It’s full of beautiful fashions, clever beauty ideas, smart house gifts (nothing better for staying on your hosts’ good side), hot real estate properties (if you’re not ready to buy, you can at least peek), and entertaining reads for the beach or pool (who’s vying to be Martha Stewart’s brand-new TV host? Turn to page 168 to get the whole scoop).

Stay cool!

 

—JASON BINN

P.S. I want to give a special mention to a truly special person that I was fortunate to meet about three years ago at an event in New York... Hamptons cover girl Beth Ostrosky. Beth, you deserve all the success in the world. I can’t tell you how much fun Haley and I had celebrating your birthday. Here’s to health, happiness, and most of all, love.