Jolie-Laide
Etymology: French
good-looking ugly woman :
woman who is attractive though not conventionally pretty.
from mr. webster
I am a fan(a big one) of EMILY EVANS EERDMAN'S blog & this particular post stuck with me-JOLIE-LAIDE The Beauty of Imperfection. Read the entire post here.
I think SARAH JESSICA PARKER fits the bill, as you must know from my little augury quote:
There is no excellent beauty
that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
Sir Francis Bacon(1561-1626)
I say Thank the gods for women like her in this day and age.
excerpted here: all words are Emily Evans Eerdmans'
It is much more interesting to look at something that is slightly imperfect, slightly askew - whether it be a room (MC would purposely pull her curtains off one or two hooks) or a face. And who else but the French would come up with a term for this? "Jolie-laide" or "pretty-ugly" is hard to define, and perhaps, like many French expressions, isn't meant to be.
...the 1963 cover of Harper's Bazaar by Richard Avedon
model Danny Weil
model Danny Weil
"Mr. Worthington sent me the 1963 cover of Harper's Bazaar (top photo) which apparently caused quite a stir: "Only recently it occurred to me that there was an elaborate insider's joke going on~ Richard Avedon was channeling Diana Vreeland with this model's navy blue hair, makeup, cigarette holder (inside the magazine, the same model wore a snood). Then, Walter Winchell ran a squib which implied that the model was in fact not a real woman at all! It was never verified and has intrigued me ever since." (again from EEE)
Whether this be so- the resemblance is distinct- as are the gestures.
Of course! DV's world-always on our minds-was just reimagined in a recent HARPER'S BAZAAR featuring SJP as DIANA VREELAND. Read the story here.
Why don't you just dress up like DV? I am certain she would be highly diverted!
Why don't you just dress up like DV? I am certain she would be highly diverted!
SJP channeling DV
Too bad Bazaar missed the opportunity to explore the DV-SJP likeness on its cover. Surprising? NO. Disappointing? YES.
Come now-Tell me what you think? JOLIE LAIDE? Who would you add to this beautiful LIST?
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