As a self-proclaimed fashionista (is there any other kind?) it was with some interest that I pounced upon a new biographical offering on one of the first ladies of New Zealand fashion, WORLD powerhouse, Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, namely All that glitters. However, rather than diving straight into the book to find out more about the “outrageous, fascinating and impish” doyenne I found myself quite taken aback by the cover photograph which features the impish one looking decidedly grey of hair. One of L’Estrange-Corbet’s signatures, other than her bright red lipstick is the sleek black bob that she usually sports and taking into account her high-flying fashion designer lifestyle the obvious lack of colouring on her head came as a bit of a shock.
It was then that I remembered an article that I’d read some time back about a movement among “ladies of a certain age” to eschew hair-dyeing in favour of a more “authentic”, age-appropriate look (they’ve even got their own graygirls website) So the question is, which one of the following books has Denise been reading, and as something of a trendsetter will fashionable ladies everywhere be following suit?
- Going gray : what I learned about beauty, sex, work, motherhood, authenticity, and everything else that really matters by Anne Kreamer.
- Going Gray, Looking Great : The Modern Woman’s Guide to Unfading Glory by Diana Lewis Jewell
Oh, and I think the gray looks fabulous on her, in fact I can’t wait until the bob turns completely white. She’ll be quite striking! And do check out All that glitters – she has had a fascinating life, dahlings.
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26 September 2008 at 4:42 pm
I read the Going Gray book and despite “only an American would write an entire book about going gray” qualms I enjoyed it a great deal. Being of the formerly ginger persuasion I was a little disquieted to read that women who have had red hair find going gray more upsetting than blondes or brunettes. Therapy (or should that be hairapy) may be necessary.