Being a Gemini, I am often caught vacillating between two conflicting concepts of lady-ness. This paradox was born in my upbringing. One of my grandmothers was legitimately a “broad” (I do not consider this to be a derogatory word. Rather, it conjures up images of strong, able women who took no shit). A feisty, opinionated woman who essentially raised my father alone, she picked cotton in the fall and was a school cafeteria worker the rest of the year. She threw trash out of the car window when it became an inconvenience (and she was senile) and cursed like a sailor. She gossiped with intense vigor and gave my dad money for cigarettes in order to (in her mind) keep him from stealing. She was one of those poor people who never learned to drive because she could never buy a car to begin with (and the men did all the driving anyway).
On the other hand, my maternal grandmother was elegant and reserved. She was a proper Southern gal with the “right” family and fancy sensibilities. She bought me nightgowns from Saks Fifth Avenue and had an extensive Hummel figurine collection. She taught me a few practical manners for everyday living, which I practice to this day:
1. A good hostess always has a bowl (or fancy silver dish) of nice candies on the coffee table in anticipation of unexpected guests.
2. Bathing is not complete without “dusting powder”
3. Ladies sleep in nightgowns
4. Hanging your clothes out to dry keeps them looking better than putting them in the drier
Ok, so maybe that last one has nothing to do with lady manners, except that a lot of the ladies I know do laundry.
Recently, I picked up a copy of “A guide to elegance for every woman who wants to be well and properly dressed on all occasions” by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux and I am giddy with excitement over how much I am LEARNING. Not since one of my college flat mates, Madeline, brought home a copy of “The Rules” have I felt so CLUED IN to the secrets of a certain kind of woman. This book holds not only the secrets to looking your best, but also to living a ladylike existence.
I now dream of moving to France and attending soirées with copious amounts of Brie and Bordeaux. Honestly, when traveling in my youthful, carefree days, I remember someone telling me that Americans were instantly recognizable in any country due to very obvious deficiencies in the fashion department. Well, American women, we can change this! And France (well, Genevieve Antoine Dariaux at least) can help us! We can be elegant, demure minxes while still maintaining our feminist spirit! Since when did we have to wear belly-bearing shirts and pants to be feminists anyway?
A few highlights/words of wisdom from Genevieve Antione Dariaux:
On dealing with what you’ve got (be it junk in the trunk, “flat-booty”, or any number of other challenges): pg. 77
“Even if nature has been rather stingy with you in its gifts, it is useless to moan about what you haven’t got. Instead, exercise your ingenuity in playing up your best features and camouflaging the rest.
Elegance is also a matter of good humor and of optimism.”
On hair (ahem, Lindsay Lohan): pg. 70
“Nature has given us a complexion tone and eye colour which usually harmonize perfectly with the original shade of our hair, and in most instances we have every interest in sticking to it.”
On Shopping with girlfriends (MEOWW!): pg. 59
“It is a good rule never to go shopping for clothes with a girlfriend. Since she is often an unwitting rival as well, she will unconsciously demolish everything that suits you best.”
On gestures: pg. 58
“A complete lack of spontaneity in a woman is extremely irritating, and in the end it is just as destructive to her elegance as the undisciplined behaviour of a tomboy.”
On bathing suits: pg. 13
“It is undeniably much more agreeable to swim and sunbathe in a minimum of clothing, but unless your figure is absolutely impeccable, unless you are under twenty-one years old and your skin is golden brown, it is preferable to wear a one-piece bathing suit, which is much more figure-flattering than the two-piece kind and much more fashionable besides.”
Quite frankly, the entire book is filled with gems similar to the ones above. It will provide years of entertainment/life lessons.
No comments:
Post a Comment