From her book Always Ask a Man: The Key to Femininity" - "The Guide to Chic":
| Chic is: | Chic is not: |
| An evening dress with long sleeves. A gay dinner hat. A man’s black umbrella when it rains. An accessory that matches your hair. A trademark too ingenious to be corny. Flexibility in appearance and attitude. English, beautifully spoken. Beautifully matched lingerie. Perfumed fans. The absence of a summer tan. The arts, appreciated. A bad habit, a stale passion, discarded. Taupe. Acting your age. | Diamonds at breakfast. More than three colours in an ensemble. White shoes, daytime. Plastic shoes, anytime. Being seen in curlers in public. The contrived. Ostentation. Sloppy grooming. Sleeveless dresses on overweight women. Tight pants on anyone. A strident voice. A fad that everyone’s adopted. Playing it safe. An aggressive manner. |
Sad news. Another glittering star of "The Golden Age of Hollywood" has departed for Fabulon...
RIP, Arlene Dahl (11th August 1925 – 29th November 2021)
I loved me some Arlene Dahl. She was so definelty chic.
ReplyDelete"A trademark too ingenious to be corny". Indeed. Jx
DeleteWow. I had no idea she'd held on so long. Love her list. And her line of wigs! I am so NOT chic. Sigh. Kizzes.
ReplyDeleteHave you been "seen in curlers in public" - again?! Tsk, tsk. Jx
DeleteWords to live by! And as relevant to today's lifestyle as when Dahl first wrote them in '65!
ReplyDeleteI do disagree with "Taupe" being anywhere near "Chic" - maybe in 1965? [And I have been guilty of breaking the rule on "Tight pants on anyone", meaning in the UK of course "trousers" or "jeans" - I was young in the '80s when such things fitted...] Jx
DeleteI was going to raise a carefully drawn eyebrow in response to 'Taupe' - but it seems you have already covered it.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I probably still need to go on a course, an elocution course. BUT, I'm not giving up my jeans.
Sx
Taupe is a colour suitable for envelopes, not clothing. Jx
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