“Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: A Guide to Living With Impeccable Grace and Style,” by Lucia van der Post (Da Capo, 382 pps., $25)
Lucia van der Post has written for several decades on style, travel and design for the British newspapers the Financial Times and the Times of London. How to take care of cashmere, how to get the right bra size, what to take on vacation (the beach, the city, the safari!), how to work and have a life — Van der Post doesn’t compartmentalize like so many American stylistas — her enduring lesson is that you can’t have a sense of style without a strong sense of self. And you can’t have a strong sense of self without deep interests and commitments. It cannot be fabricated or faked.
“Things I Wish” is full of extremely practical advice — how to shop the Parisian “puces” (flea markets), the best anti-wrinkle creams, how to choose the best perfume, a list of Van der Post’s favorite shops around the world, the best presents for every occasion and a list of “Ten Dead Easy Starters” for stylish meals (melon soup, fig and mozzarella salad, and others). It’s a dreamy book to read, cover to cover, in these ruthless days of constant loss. They can take away your savings, but you still know the best place to buy a gorgeous negligee. Conversely, you can pay a chief executive billions of dollars, but it doesn’t mean he knows how to hold a fork. Well, it’s something.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.
