Talk:Elsa Schiaparelli

message: I have added a reference in the popular culture section to Dennis Wheatley's novel The Devil Rides Out. Wheatley has a character visiting Schiaparelli's but in London.  He places the premises in Upper Grosvenor Street and has another character drop her there and drive across the street to the International Sportsmen's Club. This was a real club and was accommodated in the Grosvenor House Hotel at that time (one side of which runs along Upper Grosvenor Street). This would place Schiaparelli in the north-westernmost block of Upper Grosvenor Street (which I think will be the lower number end of the street).  Was this pure invention by Wheatley or did Schiaparelli have a London outpost.  If so, is anyone able to supply the details? 5.83.11.49 (talk) 16:01, 16 March 2014 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yes. Don't recall offhand when it opened (I think it was 1934) but it closed in 1939 at the outbreak of war. Simone Mirman worked as a milliner for Schiaparelli London. Mabalu (talk) 16:09, 16 March 2014 (UTC)
replies: text:  That's a good suggestion, it should certainly be in the article. I wonder whether we should split it off into articles on the designer and the House of Schiaparelli, especially as it's been revived. Something to ponder. Mabalu (talk) 00:18, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  London branch? 

message: While there are a lot of disagreements on how to pronounce the name, it seems that Scap-a-reli is the most commonly agreed on pronunciation. My source was supported by Judith Watt, a well known fashion historian and scholar who published a book on Schiaparelli and confirmed the name is pronounced Scap-a-reli as per Pronunciation Guide: Elsa Schiaparelli. LOTS of sources - H. Palmer White, etc, appear to agree that "Schiap" was pronounced "Scap," as follows:
Contemporary sources:
* 1949: "her close friend Schiaparelli, or "Scap."
* 1940: Butterick's Dressmaking Book: ELSA SCHIAPARELLI (Scap-a-relly) (these books always provided pronunciation guides)
Actually there's a 1935 source that backs up the "Skyap" claim but this appears to be isolated. One other book says that the Skyap pronunciation applies to Giovanni Schiaparelli see here, but there are literally dozens of Google Books hits making it clear that "Scap" (spelt phonetically) was how Schiaparelli was known.
Secondary sources:
* H. Palmer White: Schiap, (pronounced "Scap")
* Academic American Encyclopedia, (1980) Volume 17: Schiaparelli,. Elsa. [skee-ah-pah. -rel'. -lee. The French fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (Scap)...]  (NB: This gives an alternative pronunciation)
* Fashion Innovation and Marketing, 1978: "Schiaparellil: Scap-ah-rel-ee"
However, Harper's Bazaar have apparently ignored all this well documented historical precedent (just look on Google Books) to declare a pronunciation of skyap-uh-RELL-ee. It seems pretty clear that that isn't how Elsa Schiaparelli said her own name. What authorises an single isolated article in Harper's Bazaar to go against so many documented instances of "Scap" to declare it is pronounced Skyap? As a comment points out, the Harper's Bazaar article also gets the pronunciation of Ralph Lauren wrong, despite Lauren himself presumably knowing how to say his own made-up name.... I would therefore suggest that we stick with the "Scap" pronunciation as much more widely and authoriatively documented. Mabalu (talk) 17:11, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thank you for addressing this talk page discussion. I'm not saying you don't sound convincing, but is it reliably documented in relation to the designer? We have to rely on published sources and other Wikipedia pages cannot be used as references unless there are references given on those pages to show where the reasoning came from. The thing is that Wikipedia is about published sources, and when sources cannot agree on pronunciation (especially if the sources make demonstrable errors elsewhere; see the Harper's Bazaar article which gets Ralph Lauren's name wrong - if it can't get the correct pronunciation of a still-living, super-famous designer's own made-up name that he must have said out loud millions of times, how can it be treated as a reliable source for the pronunciation of such a very controversial name?) I would be VERY interested to know how Elsa Schiaparelli said her name herself - am sure there must be interviews with her out there where she says her own surname - there's this YouTube link of her appearance on "What's My Line?" which seems to say "shup-are-relly" but I have a hearing impediment so not certain - interestingly, someone comments that this is wrong in the comments too...! Mabalu (talk) 09:18, 23 July 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pronunciation 

message: Under the heading "The House of Schiaparelli", the final sentence reads "Schiaparelli, using a hyper-exclusive business strategy, is to sell its first collection exclusively at a by-appointment boutique in Paris." (emphasis added) "Hyper-" is not an adjective to simply be tacked on to any word, to give it more emphasis, nor is "exclusive" a descriptor for a business strategy.  I understand the editor's intent, but it needs to be rephrased into a sentence more appropriate to an encyclopedia. Bricology (talk) 17:46, 27 March 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  "...hyper-exclusive business strategy..."? 

message: — Assignment last updated by Sage (Wiki Ed) (talk) 19:06, 31 May 2022 (UTC)
thread_title: Wiki Education assignment: Gender and Art