Mixed Media
Lady in Red: Kristina Lyons, wearing a Nicole Miller dress, Blur leather jacket, and Bittersweet Designs necklace, kicks back at home. (Photos by Jesse Burke)
Kristina Lyons has always been drawn to the more eclectic things in life. Consider the Brookline home she and her husband, Patrick, bought in 1998—a mishmash of styles, from its Jacobean exterior to its Italianate, Renaissance, and Tudor interior elements. The place is grand enough to host guests, but warm details—nine fireplaces, gum-wood paneling “the color of an Irish setter”—also make it cozy and familiar.
It’s here that Lyons’s inherited furnishings share space with her stylish duds, all of which are influenced by time and place. “When I lived in L.A., I used to go once a month with my boyfriend to comb the Rose Bowl flea market, and I still have some treasures from those days,” she says. But since she and Marina Kalb opened Portobello Road in Chestnut Hill six years ago, shopping has become a job, albeit a “very fun one.”
Now Lyons prefers to hunt for things when she travels, “especially for items specific to that culture or country.” Her wardrobe favorites come from as far as the Prada outlet just outside Florence and as close as Saks, Good, Barneys, and her own boutique.
Lately, she’s been trying to practice a more minimal—or, at the very least, more moderate—approach to dressing. “It’s hard,” she says. “I value organization and clean lines, but at the same time I’m a romantic and love beautiful things from so many eras. I have a hard time getting rid of anything that has a memory attached to it.” Here, she shares a few of her favorite items.
Light It Up: Shoes by Sigerson Morrison and Miu Miu capture the glow of a lamp found at an antiques warehouse in Malden. The blouse is by the L.A. brand Clover Canyon, and the painting, Eat Rite, is by the Brooklyn artist Robert Mars.
Perfect Scents: Lyons’s favorite fragrances include Diptique Oyedo, sold at Midnight Farm, on Martha’s Vineyard, and Royal Apothic City of Angels, sold at Portobello Road. The rectangular silver box was a wedding gift from her bridesmaids, and the earrings were a surprise birthday present from her husband, purchased on a trip to Istanbul.
The Glitterati: A pair of Miu Miu shoes, worn by Lyons’s daughter Lucy to her ninth-grade graduation, accompany a Jamin Puech bag from Portobello Road. The fleece rug is from Costco. “I have them everywhere,” says Lyons of the furry accents.
Crown Jewel: Lyons piles on bracelets daily, including these bangles by Renee Sheppard. “I’m constantly selling off my wrists to all the most glamorous women,” she says. The black Lucite necklace is by Lanvin, and the charm necklaces come from Tokyo’s fashion district.
Shop Girl: These artsy-chic accessories—including a Chan Luu bag, handmade Calleen Cordero clutch, Jennifer George necklace, and Matta scarf—“define Portobello Road in so many ways,” Lyons says.
Past Perfect: A pair of Calleen Cordero boots display a charm bracelet that belonged to Lyons’s mother. It includes her father’s wedding band and an Eiffel tower, which represents the time her parents lived in Paris. The books speak to Lyons’s present: She optioned the film rights to, and wrote the screenplay adaptation of, Jenna Blum’s novel, Those Who Save Us.
Life of the Party: This Chan Luu dress, accessorized here with necklaces from Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori marketplace, is a showstopper. Fabulous Las Vegas, pictured in the background, is by the artist Greg Miller.
