Fashionable estate sells in Connecticut

Fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger lined up a fitting offer for his East Coast manor, selling the English country-style estate for $45 million. He first offered it up for $47.5 million in September. The designer owned the 22-acre spread for more than a decade; records show he paid $31.375 million for it in 2010.

It looks a bit greener than it did when he bought it. Ivy crawls across the exterior, and the pastoral grounds feature grassy lawns, dense landscaping and English gardens with manicured hedges and stone walls, bringing fairy-tale charm to the entire property.

According to the listing, it sits at the highest point of Round Hill, a posh country club community that dates to 1922. Hilfiger’s place was built in 1939 and measures more than 13,000 square feet, including six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.

The dramatic exterior mixes granite and Holland brick. Inside, regal living spaces boast elaborate millwork, plasterwork, limestone floors and textile wall coverings. One of six fireplaces anchors the living room, which ascends to the second story via a sweeping wood staircase.

There’s also a pub with a bar, a gym with mirrored walls, a formal dining room and a plush movie theater. Latticed windows and a massive marble island anchor the kitchen under wood-coffered ceilings. The playroom includes a castle. The park-like property features a swimming pool, a reflecting pond and a tennis court surrounded by hedges. A twobedroom guesthouse completes the estate.

A native of New York, Hilfiger founded Tommy Hilfiger Corp. in 1985. He sold the fashion and lifestyle company in 2006 for $1.6 billion, and it traded hands for $3 billion once again in 2010. The 69year-old also owns a colorful threestory mansion in Golden Beach, Fla., which he tried to sell four years ago for $27.5 million.