KDHamptons

KDHamptons: How long have you been coming to the Hamptons?
Diana DiMenna: The first time I came to the Hamptons I was 20 years old, and I was hooked! I’ve been a Southampton resident for 18 years. I love the quick commute to Southampton. Just about the time we pass the Stargazer sculpture in Manorville, my pulse slows and my breathing deepens…ahh, I’m home! I immediately feel more relaxed. We come out weekends in spring and fall (who could miss Pumpkin Town!) and live full-time here in summer.

KDH: How would you describe the style of your Hamptons home?
DDM: We have lived for quite a while in a very old, traditional Hamptons home, a historic house. We are in the process of moving toward a thoroughly modern aesthetic, so that is very exciting. Our decorating style combines art and family living – a great balance for us.

KDH: You always look fantastic, how do you select what you will wear to galas?
DDM: I love fashion, but hate to shop! So I am totally reliant on two wonderful people: Julie Hacket-Behr, my personal shopper at Saks, and Jesse Garza, stylist extraordinaire of Visual Therapy Inc. They have taught me so much about fashion as a form of art, design and expression. Fascinating.

KDH: Do you have a favorite restaurant in the Hamptons?
DDM: I have to admit that my favorite meal is hamburgers off the grill in our backyard! But I do like to meet a girlfriend for a salad and glass of wine at Sant Ambroeus, or my husband and I take visiting friends to Robert’s in Water Mill.

KDH: Please describe your perfect Hamptons day in detail?
DDM: My perfect day in the Hamptons starts with the smell of coffee someone else has already gotten up and made. I get up, laugh with my kids and my husband over someone’s zany table manners at breakfast, then jump into my yoga clothes and drive my 1954 green Chevy pick-up truck to Sag Harbor [pictured left] to take Ashtanga class from Corey or Erika at Tapovana. After class, I go to Provisions for a smoothie or Sylvester + Co. for that ice coffee they have that has a hint of chocolate in it. Back home, my daughters are in the pool with some friends and I hear them laughing and playing even before I step outside to the pool area. One of my close girlfriends comes over with her kids, too, and we eat a big lunch of corn, tomatoes, mozzarella, grilled chicken and pie, all local. In the late afternoon my husband and I go ride horses and stay at the farm until dusk. Back at home the girls have done an art or craft project that they are dying to show us and we grill burgers and have more corn and tomatoes. Maybe another family or two comes over, and the adults drink chilled rose´while the kids run around catching fireflies. Heaven!

KDH: What is your best kept secret about the Hamptons?
DDM: My friends will kill me for spilling the beans, but I think “the cut” is one of the most fun things. It’s when the Town cuts through the sand from Mecox Bay to Flying Point Beach. It creates a giant water-rafting flow that my kids love, and so do I.

KDH: If you could invite anyone to your next dinner party, who would it be?
DDM: Oh, that’s easy! George Balanchine. I’m obsessed. I have read everything ever written about him and his incredible talent. How I wish I had known him and seen him teach and work! Lincoln Kerstein would be a great bonus.

KDH: How do you “do-it-all”? Share a couple tips for our busy readers?
DDM: With
 a great sense of humor and mischief! I have an amazing team who help me with my work, and my kids keep me jumping but bring me such joy. We all try to keep it fun and keep perspective, even when the wheels are coming off! And my husband, as husbands go, is pretty easy. He is amazingly supportive and helps temper all of my crazy energy. Any day I wake up and everyone I love is healthy, is a good day. Nothing else is really that important…

KDH: Which charitable causes are you most passionate about?
DDM: My husband and I are committed to the arts, education and the needs of children. Right now I’m in the throes of helping plan the magnificent Winter Ball for the School of American Ballet on March 5th. It’s a Russian theme this year, based on the famous Winter Palace Ball in St. Petersburg. At SAB they are training not just dance students, but the whole future of ballet! Recently, Joe and I helped create a children’s history museum at the New-York Historical Society and a classical music center for the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s. I also serve on the boards of Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Baryshnikov Arts Center and the Central Park Conservancy.

[KDHamptons readers~ Find out more about Diana’s upcoming charity benefit:]
The School of American Ballet’s Winter Ball annual benefit will be held on Monday, March 5th and will take place at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. This year’s glamorous black-tie dinner dance will be chaired by Diana DiMenna, Julia Koch and Betsy Pitts. The event features a one-time-only performance by the advanced students of the School of American Ballet choreographed specifically for this event by SAB and NYCB alumna Melinda Roy. Proceeds from the Winter Ball are used to award scholarships, maintain world-class studios and residence halls, and offer vital student programs beyond the classroom. This year, Winter Ball guests will step outside of everyday life and into a fantasy world as the school honors ballet’s Russian heritage. The David H. Koch Theatre Promenade will be transformed by Ron Wendt Designs and Van Cleef & Arpels into a dramatic and elaborate Winter Palace. The Encore is the Winter Ball’s after-party. For more information regarding the event or to purchase tickets please call the School of American Ballet Special Events Office at (212) 769-6609

KDH: Lastly, do you have a favorite image of the Hamptons?
DDM: Definitely in late-summer/early fall, when the light at 5:00 in the evening goes all pinky-gold and seems to slant almost sideways across the land. It takes my breath away.