The Essence of Style
Subtitle: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour
Publisher: Free Press
Published: July 5, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9780743264136
Subjects: History: World; XIV,; Popular Culture - General; History; Social Science; History - General History; Pop Arts / Pop Culture; Sociology; Louis; Europe - France; Fashion; Social History; Social Science / General; Customs & Traditions; Social life and customs; 17th century; Cookery, French; France
First sentence: Frédéric Fekkai jets between New York and Los Angeles so that faithful clients on both coasts can have access to his hairstyling genius.
Description: One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides an account of how, at one glittering moment in history, the French under Louis XIV set the standards of sophistication, style, and glamour that still rule our lives today. DeJean explains how a handsome and charismatic young king with a great sense of style decided to make both himself and his country legendary. When the Sun King's reign began, his nation had no particular association with elegance, yet by its end, the French had become accepted as the world's arbiters in matters of taste and style. DeJean takes us back to the birth of haute cuisine, the first appearance of celebrity hairdressers, chic cafés, nightlife, and fashion in elegant dress that extended well beyond the limited confines of court circles--and Paris was its magical center. --From publisher description.