A slightly rebellious high-society woman was a rare breed in the 1930s and 1940s, and so Rogers was a favorite of the press. According to Hamptonstyle magazine, “She was a regular at masquerade balls and became known for her lavish costumes—a gipsy maid, a glittering sorceress; she cut a striking image against the fray of socialites wearing dove gray and white.” She traveled frequently and had a long list of well-heeled, often aristocratic admirers, including, it is said, Edward Prince of Wales and Ian Fleming. She married three times while young—an Austrian count, an Argentine playboy and then an American stockbroker, each union dissolving as hastily as it had occurred. She had a serious fling with Clark Gable.
Rogers also spent time in Virginia, though how much is not entirely clear. She owned the Claremont estate, in southeastern Virginia, from 1940 to 1950 before moving to Taos, New Mexico, where she became known for collecting Navajo jewelry and designing Indian-inspired jewelry pieces of her own. There is a Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos today.
Given her Virginia connection, we thought it would be fun to evoke the fashion style, personal spirit and pedigree of Millicent Rogers. A name that came to mind was Tinsley Mortimer, née Tinsley Randolph Mercer. Mrs. Mortimer, a Richmond native, is attractive and intelligent; she was educated at St. Catherine’s, the Lawrenceville School and Columbia University, from which she graduated with a degree in art history. She lives in New York City and has her own Standard Oil connection: Her husband, Robert (Topper) Livingston Mortimer, is the great-grandson of Henry Morgan Tilford, a president of the Standard Oil Co. of California. He’s also a descendant of John Jay, the first chief justice of the United States.
Latest Comments