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Book Review: things I desire My mom had told Me

things I desire My mom had told Me: A guide to Living with remarkable Grace as well as style is by Lucia van der Post, who is (was?) a columnist for the Times of London. (The book came out last year in the UK, I have the new Americanized edition.) I hadn’t been a visitor of Ms. van der Post’s (and was dismayed to discover that she believed the Marc Jacobs “Tribute” bag was “witty”), so I amazed by exactly how much I delighted in her book.

First off, Ms. van der publish is a lady of a specific age, as well as that age is old sufficient to have grandchildren. I have never comprehended why people would want to checked out fashion guidance from somebody younger than they are. (Everything looks great on people who are twenty; getting fashion guidance from somebody who can sleep in her makeup without repercussion is like getting a restaurant suggestion from a fourteen-year-old boy.) fashion guidance ought to be dispensed, ideally, by stylish silver-haired matriarchs, who understand all as well as have seen all … like Ms. van der Post. even if you aren’t trying to disguise middle-aged spread, or fretting about wrinkle creams, well, forewarned is forearmed, I say.

And although the book is jam-packed with helpful information, like where to purchase vintage sun glasses (Cutler & Gross in the UK) as well as mothballs (Lakeland) as well as hats (nyfashionhats.com), the genuine value is in her insistence that fashion is about happiness (“Completely pragmatically, one observes that those who gown prettily, elegantly, or glamorously have a great deal much more fun than those who don’t.”) as well as that you shouldn’t take yourself as well seriously (“Only little people take offense,” she says, estimating her father).

In addition to the typical topics of style guidance books (hair, diet, clothes, accessories, manners, as well as men) there is an outstanding section on house decor, which doesn’t presume you will have hot as well as chilly running decorators or a fifteen-room manse to decorate. (My preferred home guidance was to purchase slowly, one by one, things you truly love, to ensure that you don’t squander money on short-term services … even though I am the queen of the “let’s purchase this $5 Ikea lamp up until we figure out what we truly want.”)

But the worklife section is a bit … antediluvian. “Usually — however by no implies always — it’s in the family’s interests for the man’s profession to be provided many interest …” Really? C’mon. You get the feeling that the “by no implies always” was inserted by the editor in a determined attempt to ward off the stink of irrelevance. as well as Ms. van der Post’s musing on whether any type of “… alpha lady (or any type of woman, come to that)” would want a “meek, docile, beta home husband”? Sheesh. If all “housewives” aren’t docile (and we understand they’re not) why ought to we presume all “house husbands” are?

Actually, when reading with it, I kept having the feeling — not a poor feeling, however a strong feeling — that this might be one of those guidance books from the early 1960s, like Dariaux’s Elegance, reprinted. If it weren’t for the URLs (and the strange mention of Uggs or Jennifer Aniston) there wouldn’t be all that much to set it aside from those earlier books. as well as even the year’s time because publication in the UK makes for a few of those “window on an earlier age moments”: Ms. van der publish suggests “Pepe jeans” as a great present for a “Young Boy,” in addition to “iPod socks.”

But really, that’s as it ought to be. Some type of guidance are ageless (iPod socks notwithstanding), as well as if we have to republish it every decade or so under a different name with different quirks, I’m pleased to checked out it every time. as well as really, who doesn’t requirement to be regularly reminded of a few of Ms. van der Post’s maxims, like “clean as well as neat less, as well as checked out more.” Or “Never go out with a guy who doesn’t make you laugh.” Or “Use the things you like every day. It’s never worth saving things for a special occasion.”

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