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Back in May, Vanity Fair did a cover article on Grace Kelly, style icon, and there are two pictures in the magazine of her wearing a hat designed by none other than – GREAT AUNT MARCELLINE! According to Charlotte: “. . .here goes some family news. In the May 2010 Vanity Fair Magazine, there is a story of Grace Kelly, the 50’s movie actress that became the Princess of Monaco. I noticed a hat in one of the photos that I thought Great Aunt Marcelline had designed. I dug through my geneology box and I checked out the articles I have that Craig Kuglen gave me. Indeed, she designed this hat. There is a whole article from the NY Times describing Marcelline, the designer, and  showed the hat and who she designed it for that I have. The Vanity Fair article has been done because there is a museum in London that has opened with an exhibit of Grace Kelly. If anyone is headed to Europe this year it may be fun.”

Here are the pictures:

As usual, I began musing about Aunt Marcelline and her legacy.  I remember someone telling me that the comedian George Carlin’s mother had worked for her.  Since Mr. Carlin passed away last year, I couldn’t ask him directly, but I did some poking around and found the website of his daughter, Kelly Carlin.  (here is the link to her website)

http://www.thekellycarlinsite.com/theofficialkellycarlinsite/Home_.html .

I emailed Kelly and asked is she knew if this were true.  What I HEARD was that Mrs. Carlin had worked for Aunt Marcelline at Bergdorf’s in NYC. Kelly didn’t know, but she emailed her Uncle Patrick Carlin, who kindly responded.

The Carlins are OFFICIALLY awesome.

Here is what Uncle Patrick Carlin wrote about Aunt Marcelline’s relationship with the Carlins:

Hey Kelly,  I hope this will help.  I don't believe Mary Bearey ever worked at  Bergdorf's,

unless she was bullshitting some unwary employee to get "the employee's price".  She had a

good friend, Edith Sanford,who worked as a buyer for Bergdorf's. funny coincidence.

And now to Marcelline, who Aunt Aggie and Mary Bearey loved so well.  In  the conversations

to which I was privy, Marcelline was always spoken of with reverence about her hats  and it

seemed to me that she had her own hat shop.  I feel like one of those psychic readers, now

as I'm  thinking Westchester area or northern Bronx.  Anyway your granny was an advertising

gal, the Mercurial  Miss Bearey and she'd have lasted a very short time away from ad agency

antics which she loved so well. . . .  Love Jolly Old Uncle  Patrick

Cool, eh??  We visited Aunt Marcelline in New York when we went East in the summer of 1970 for Grandma Greene’s 80th birthday.  I remember her place was about a block from Lincoln Center and very elegant.   Here are couple of pictures of her from that trip:

Aunt Marcelline Kuglen

Aunt MArcelline and Sam Kuglen