'A Guide to Elegance, for every woman who wants to be well and properly dressed on all occasions', is a book by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. The book contains a number of encyclopaedic articles, ranging from accessories to zippers and from necklines to uniformity.

What is elegance?

According to the author elegance 'is a sort of hamony that rather resembles beauty, with the difference that the latter is more often a gift of nature and the former the result of art'. Essentially beauty is random, but elegance is truly democratic because, with time and attention, anybody can attain it.

'A guide to elegance' in literature

This book is featured in the novel 'Elegance' by Kathleen Tessaro. In 'Elegance' the main character buys the book 'A guide to Elegance' in a secondhand bookshop and gradually transforms her life. Somewhat modified versions of many of the entries are quoted.

Quotes

"A discreetly dressed woman attracts a passing glance at first; but the glance returns immediately and notes that every detail of her ensemble is in perfect harmony; the drab woman, however, is forgotten in a second."

"In order to figure out how much [a bargain] really cost you, ... take this price and divide it by the number of times you wear the article in question, and then acccord generous bonus points for the pleasure, self-confidence, and elegance it may have given you."

"Don't think for a moment that an elegant woman ceases to care about clothes after she has reached the age of seventy!"

See also

The men in your life also by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux