Elegance - A guide

To quote from the Amazon review of the book I am going to discuss "Tessaro writes a lighthearted contemporary version of Pygmalion." The protagonist changes her life around by following the style guidelines in a 40 yr old manual ' the Guide to Elegance'. The book made for an interesting read since each chapter is based on a rule from this guide book.

Examples:

• Retire alligator skin after 5 pm - they are strictly sports and travel wear
• Always own suits
• Decollete increases as the night passes
• Comfort is unimportant in the larger scheme of things

Anyhoo, the list goes on and really in a lot of ways, what the style guide teaches you is a lesson in self worth - starting with self awareness. When you look good, automatically you are more confident since we live in a society that is governed by shallowness! By insisting a woman always look her best, she is insisting on being who she is. The book also states how every woman is not born beautiful and beauty fades but charm is something everyone can aspire to and it will last you a lifetime since it is an acquired skill.

I disagree in some cases tho - As you know I live in Mumbai which tho being a wonderful city prides itself on it's ability to showcase all kinds of people. Therefore it is not a crime to wander the streets in pyjamas or torn jeans or any statement making article of your choice or in some cases sheer laziness to change clothes. In Hong Kong on the other hand, all the girls are very well dressed in accordance with the latest fashion - here it's not just about style its about the style of the minute. Which is lovely however, I find that people who live in it also end up bowing to the pressure of being so perfect.

On the flip side, I really think I ought to do more on my daily elegance - I think I have it cracked for the gala occasion but as the book points out - why don't we look our best for the ones at home or the ones we love? Those people are subjected to holey trackpants and face masks at worse times. The flip side of this is that there are people who find natural wholesomeness much more appealing than any artifice.

I always want to be the sort of girl that has the perfectly manicured nails and prettily pedicured feet - always has fine eyeliner and pouting pink lips. In actuality, I have a halo around my head since my hair stands on end, my finger nails are always chipped and sometimes I cannot bear to look at my own feet. I'm not even going to get started on the hair situation since due to my many allergies, I may not visit the parlour for months at a time leading to me losing in a comparison with the juggler with regards to hirsuteness. I have never been able to stand lipstick and since lipgloss gets eaten within 30 seconds of application and I tend to rub my eyes leading to my kajal running and me sporting the not so latest Raccoon look, make up on a daily basis is not meant for the likes of me. I definitely dress for comfort not for fashion and tho I think I wear stylised outfits, salwar kameez 3 days out of 4 does not really make for high fashion statements. Since I have constipation issues, on the days I don't - jeans/pants are definitely not an option and only loose flowing tops save the day.

I do go through these phases where I do the make up everyday since a little bit goes a long way but I never keep to it. I am now deciding to carry around a little black liner and pinky brown lipstick so at least one swipe at work and one is presentable which always helps in dealing with boys which the lords knows, one has enough of at work. Also insisting on throwing out grubby clothes has helped as well since I'm forced to wear decent things to work! Here's hope the guide to elegance is not lost on me!

P.S. An Interesting article relevant to both the book and this post