Reviews for A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions

The average rating for A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-08-20 00:00:00 Andrew Marschall I'll admit, I am not a candidate for elegance most days. I came across this book just as I was eyeing up my closet and realizing that I am going to have to do one hell of a clearout because it it bursting at the seams with completely interchangeable crap. I'm the type who buys a serviceable work sweater from Banana Republic in three different shades, or goes to an outlet mall and picks up a black skirt if it fits. I look fine, but that's just it -- I look FINE. Acceptable, standard, blah. And the good stuff gets mixed in with the bad stuff, and I never go to the dry cleaner's often enough, and I sometimes have snowdrifts of clothing piled up in a corner. I have too much stuff, basically, and none of it is real quality or perfect for me. Hard to say why I love this book quite so much, but I do. I loooove it. The writer's tone is fabulous, a sort of kindly advisor who actually sounds like an old-fashioned shop assistant -- you know, the one who acted a bit more like a personal shopper and was a wealth of information, rather than today's salesgirls who are more like dressing-room runners. There's an interesting split on how people interpret the advice, too. Some people appear to read the book and hear a snotty Frenchwoman laying down the law and dismissing nonconformists as sartorial wrecks. But the the thing is, this is not a book about fashion, it's a book about elegance, which is related to being fashionable but not as closely as some seem to think. Elegance appears to have a lot more to do with manner, behaviour, classic dress, and a certain hyperfocus/care regarding how you present yourself to the world. Do I WANT to be elegant? Yes. I've got a bit of a fixation on being graceful and classic, and have very little interest in trends, so I'm already well-positioned to like the advice coming my way. So that's why it's easy to skip over the 1963 bit about veils and stoles and instead focus on the advice about investment pieces, or the comments on gloves and makeup. And honestly, just in reading the advice, I found myself nodding a lot. It makes sense. I don't often find myself looking at an article of clothing a woman wears and thinking how it makes her look elegant; the woman herself is elegant, and the clothes/makeup/jewels/accessories are all the results of behind-the-scenes stagecraft. And that's how D'ariaux is instructing readers: surefire ways to increase your elegance quotient via management and coordination. If you don't follow the rules, you're probably still perfectly acceptable, so don't worry -- but if you want to be standout, then it can't hurt to take the tips, can it? Anyhow, this might be hit-or-miss for some people, but for me it was a hit all the way. I'm taking D'ariaux's advice and scouring my closet straight down to the ground, and then I'm going to start looking for the perfect gored tweed skirt. And maybe a pair of gloves. And, obviously, a bright winter coat.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-09-01 00:00:00 Bryan L Mon Fabulous, very detailed book I will perhaps return to write a proper review one day. But until this happens, please note this book is: - packed with useful information on vitage style (50s/ 60s); written unlike the now-fashionable books of the "French chic" books, it is very informative, filled with tips, outfit formulas, lists and addresses - to the point where it would make a fascinating source material for anyone wishing to write a novel set in this period. - a fascinating document of the crushingly materialistic and politically incorrect mindset of the period, where evening handbags made of antelope skin, with a clasp from Cartier, place mats made of saris, and men making huge, impractical purchases for their lovers were the norm. - written in a wonderfully caustic style, and evidently by a very intelligent person who has seen it all. Strongly recommended if you are interested in vintage fashion of fashion industry in general.