Dowdy wife gets dolled up. Louise Canova is dimly aware that her
marriage has grown cold-her husband Colin, a successful but dull
actor, calls her Pumpkin, or, less kindly, Ouise (pronounced
"Wheeze"). He doesn't even care when his mother-in-law, a
still-glamorous former model, is icily condescending toward his
unhappy wife. Oh, what can this little brown wren do? (She has no
idea.) Then, dawdling in a secondhand bookstore in London, Louise
comes across a slim, jasmine-scented volume from 1964, penned by
the ineffably soignee directress of a French couture house, and she
experiences an epiphany. In A to Z format, the very grand and
deeply conservative Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux offers advice
on all aspects of dress and fashion, which Louise takes quite
seriously. Fur-trimmed suits with gloves for afternoon? Six-acre
peignoirs for those intimate evenings? Maybe her husband, if only
she could afford such sartorial splendor, would notice her. But
Colin seems, well, embarrassed that she would even want to change.
And he knows perfectly well there's nothing at all wrong with their
relationship. On the other hand, if Louise wants to see a marriage
counselor by herself, he sees nothing wrong with that. Now, if she
would just listen to his remarkable plan for organizing the kitchen
garbage: big bits of rubbish in the big bin, small bits in the
small bin . . . . Louise's thoughts are understandably elsewhere as
she remembers ill-fated shopping excursions with her mother in
Pittsburgh. Her mother was a little brown wren, too, a scientist
who cut her own hair and wore frumpy clothes (never mind her
intellect or education: this trite tale never questions why
appearance is so important-it just is). Perhaps, muses Louise,
that's why she never thought about taking care of herself,
remaining now unlovely and unloved. It's all very sad-until other
men begin to notice her. Oh, dear: Should she let Oliver take her
out for a drink? Should she spurn the attention of the much younger
Eddie? Familiar fare, and stale indeed. (Kirkus Reviews)
It was a slim, grey volume entitled Elegance?
Louise Canova is at a crossroads in her life. Her marriage is faltering and the insecurities of adolescence have returned to haunt her. Browsing in a second-hand bookshop, she stumbles across a faded grey volume. Written by the formidable French fashion expert, Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, Elegance is an encyclopedia of style. It promises to transform plain women into creatures of poise at all times. And from Accessories to Zippers, there is nothing that Madame Dariaux can?t advise upon ? including inattentive husbands, false friends, and the powerful bond between mothers and daughters.
When Louise vows to follow Madame?s advice, her life is transformed in ways she never imagined. Within the book?s pages lie clues to her own past. And as she begins to unravel them, she discovers a courage she never dreamt possible.
However, everything, even elegance, has its price.
Starting with A and finishing with Z, Elegance is a unique journey of timeless fashion, true friendship, and the rare, unexpected gift of love.
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