Shocked: My Mother, Schiaparelli, and Me
Presenting an unusual memoir, Volk (author of Stuffed, 2001, among other works) writes eloquently of her mother, Audrey Morgen Volk, a very fashionable, well-off Manhattanite, and of another woman of fashion who also influenced Volk’s life, who happened to be her mother’s polar opposite, Elsa Schiaparelli, the famous Parisian couturier and devil-may-care pal of artists Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau (and others). Young Volk secretly read Shocking Life, Schiaparelli’s autobiography, imbibing with gusto the scent of a risky life. She used both women—both polestars—in leading her to become a writer. Progressing through both women’s lives, Volk’s chapters center on one specific topic per chapter: gambling, for instance, and attitudes toward clothing and sex—and feature Audrey and Elsa anecdotes, punctuated with photos of both women. The contrast between the two couldn’t be more startling or poignant. Ever the smart NYC shopper, Audrey looks for deals at Ohrbach’s and Loehmann’s; her furrier copies the likes of Revillon, though not at that price. Elsa delights in doing startling things, and gives birth to baby Gogo, broke and deserted by her husband, a count. But parallels also abound, and through Volk’s history and memories, we get the best of both women and their impact on the author. --Barbara Jacobs