Books : A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 646.7042
EAN: 9780060757342
ISBN: 0060757345
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: August 01, 2004
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: July 27, 2004
Sales Rank: 14885
Studio: William Morrow
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Product Description:
The original What Not to Wear from one of fashion's most enduringly stylish women ...
Written by French style guru Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, Elegance is a classic style bible for timeless chic, grace, and poise -- every tidbit of advice today's woman could possibly need, all at the tips of her (perfectly manicured) fingers. From Accessories to Zippers, Madame Dariaux imparts her pearls of wisdom on all things fashion-related -- and also offers advice on other crucial areas in life from shopping with girlfriends (don't) to marriage and sex.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
To all those who had their politically correct, democratic, egalitarian toes stepped on by this great book...did you read the title?
It's called "A Guide to Elegance" not a "Guide to How 'Recent' Women Dress". Elegance has a timeless quality that stretches over centuries and the reality is that a smaller and smaller percentage of women today choose elegance over... what have you. That's exactly the point of the book: the average woman today is not really elegant. Boo-hoo. Cry me a river, but it's true. The trend is towards unformization, vulgarity, lack of individuality, plasticization, stultification. Your average "modern" woman (often equivalent to American or dressed in American style) may be comfortably dressed, sporty, trendy, sometimes stylish, rebellious, you name it - but one way or the other, the tendency for the masses is not towards elegance. Yeap...even if you see armies of women with trousers and high heals everywhere (or the particularly apalling jeans and high heals), even if it has become perfectly acceptable to dress like this, that STILL doesn't make such vulgar combinations "elegant". Call them modern or "in", but not elegant.
Elegance doesn't change much over the years and this is exactly why it does not matter that the book was first written in the 1960's (let alone that it was updated in 2003). If Americans were not so touchy about authoritative voices (is it some form of Simon-phobia or what?), they might actually be able to learn something ... Read More
Rating:  -
Unless you have tons of money, this books basic guide to elegance is lots of money and shopping all day. Save your money.
Rating: -
I was salivating to read this little book of which I thought I would pluck many tried and true style gems. What a disapointment it was. The advice is extremely outdated, tho I love and adore the 40s, 50s, 60s. There are tons of ridgid, unapplicable fashion dos and don'ts in this book, but you won't get from it what you are hoping - and that's ways to look chic and smart. Buy it to read yesterday's quaint point of view on fashion, not a timeless view--and almost no practical applications for today. Matching your shoes to your bag is no longer one of fashion's ten commandments that must be religiously observed, and hardly helpful as a notion of what "must" be done. Telling women over 40 to dress in navy, brown, cream and to skip color and avoid black isn't acceptable concepts of aging stylishly any longer. Looking like the queen of England is no longer to what we aspire or hold up as respectable or fashionable. Style has opened up a whole new universe of choices and ideals since this came out decades ago. Following it for the most part will make you look dated -if not dowdy. The jargon used is that of a couture dressmaker and it's difficult to comprehend at times (tho I did learn a few things!) It's not a feel-good book, either, more of a 'slap your knuckles', 'put you in an old woolworth's box', book of fear experience. This book made me feel really bad, frankly. It's very represenative of the mindset and time in which it was composed. Fashion and style should an adventure. Not ... Read More
Rating:  -
Although this book does contain some good information, it seems to be aimed more towards the 30-50ish crowd. There are some excellent tips in the book, so I do not regret buying it. Most of the info is common sense, but just in case, if you are really clueless, pick up this book...however, if you want something geared towards 18-29ish women, I recommend finding "How to Walk in High Heels" by Camilla Morton instead.
Rating: -
I bought this book as a young teenager when it was first published. It has been my guidebook ever since. It lays down timeless principles of simplicity and elegance which, in this day and time, have been forgotten. Although some of the advice is a little outdated, the time has come to return to its eternal principles of dressing beautifully.
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