Tea at Trianon: What Makes a Woman Elegant

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, February 28, 2019

What Makes a Woman Elegant

From Aleteia:

The renowned runway judge Nina García interviewed several fashion icons, among them the famous Italian designers Donatella Versace, Giorgio Armani, and the Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana duo, asking them a simple question: What do they consider eternally elegant? Rather than pointing to expensive things that only money can buy as the main criterion, the fashion experts spoke of discovering elegance by looking inside. Below is what each designer said about true elegance:

“One could devote an entire book to this question. Another possibility is to respond in the shortest possible terms: elegance is the result of a natural balance between simplicity, taking care of oneself, and intelligence. All this generates that personal poise and special attitude we call elegance. It’s a quality that, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t require deep pockets.”

Armani reminds us that fashion can be expensive, but real style is not. It’s not about being photo-ready all the time. The elegant woman knows how to live in the simplicity of everyday life, even when not sporting perfectly matching clothes and the perfect hairdo. Beauty isn’t so much achieved through outer perfection, as much as it is a result of learning to love oneself and acting intelligently. (Read more.)

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