“A Dina Bandman room” is instantly recognizable: It’s classic and refined, but with an unexpected twist. Recall the San Francisco–based interior designer’s show-stopping riff on a master bedroom at Le Petit Trianon, this year’s Decorator Showcase canvas. A triumph staged in pale pink and white, Bandman’s charming tableau fused vintage elements (an antique secretary desk), clean Parisian lines (an insanely chic rectangular sofa) and out-of-this-world artwork (a floral branch sculpture creeping upward from the de Gournay–covered walls to the ceiling).
Both Marie Antoinette and Coco Chanel would approve.
Bandman’s keen eye for decor extends to her fashion sense, which is always appropriate and on point. “We’ve coined ‘fresh traditional’ for my design aesthetic, and I think that’s kind of how I would describe my fashion aesthetic also,” she says. “I really believe that what’s tried and true is not going to go out of style. You’re not going to look back on photos 10 or 20 years later and say, ‘Why was I wearing that?’” Bandman likes to “stay current, so I’ll mix in pieces that are a little trendier. But I would never buy a handbag that’s so current [that] I’ll regret it in a year.”
She gravitates toward clothing brands that are “always very girly and have a lot of frills,” like Dolce and Gabbana, Philosophy DiAlberta Ferretti, Zimmermann and Veronica Beard. “For handbags and shoes,” meanwhile, “I always find myself going back to Chanel.”
And for jewelry, she loves timeless vintage pieces and rare finds from collector Susie Hoimes’ shop, MDVII, on Vallejo and Polk in San Francisco. “That’s where most of my stuff comes from. … She has Chanel, YSL and brands and designers that I’ve never even heard of. And she has all different price points as well.”
It takes one seasoned curator to know another.
