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Overview
“Patricia on #SouthernCharm, like lookin’ in the damn mirror. Cheers queen.”—Lady Gaga
Fan-favorite Bravolebrity Patricia Altschul from the primetime show Southern Charm finally brings fans her eagerly anticipated opus on etiquette and living a glamorous Southern lifestyle. Patricia provides advice on every situation, from hosting a memorable cocktail party, to decoding the dress code for any event, to handling a drunken boor at the dinner table, to delivering the perfectly phrased insult—like her now iconic “shameless strumpet.” The Art of Southern Charm takes readers inside the world of Charleston’s most captivating grande dame, who (with Michael the Butler) offers a blueblood’s blueprint for curating and celebrating life at its best.
“Some viewers might watch the Bravo reality show Southern Charm to witness the escapades of Charleston’s young elite, but at T&C we watch just to see Patricia Altschul in action . . . She’s the show’s resident expert in decorum, manners, and entertaining.”—Emily Selter, Town & Country
“Since Southern Charm premiered in 2014, Mrs. Altschul, 78, has emerged as a tart-tongued matriarch doing the work of a Greek chorus for a cast in which half the members can barely figure out how to get out of bed before noon (and once there, how to proceed without a beer) . . . Some of Mrs. Altschul’s points of view may seem out of touch . . . But her commentary can also be incisive and funny, sparking roundups of her zingers across the internet.”—The New York Times
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781682308349 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Diversion Books |
| Publication date: | 04/30/2020 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 213 |
| File size: | 7 MB |
About the Author
Patricia has earned her status as a preeminent tastemaker. She received her Master’s Degree from George Washington University, where she lectured on Art History. She was a highly-successful art advisor who also amassed her own art collection and has served on the board of the New York Historical Society and other institutions. In addition to being an academic and a philanthropist, she has done a life-long tour-of-duty at the top of the social ladder in Washington, D.C., Oyster Bay, and on Manhattan’s storied Fifth Avenue, where she observed—and ultimately dictated—the modern-day rules of civility. Patricia, who really puts the “social” in social networking, has a glorious brain, the best legs, a killer sense of humor, and expertly curates every aspect of her life.
Deborah Davis is the author of eight books, including Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X, Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball, Gilded: How Newport Became the Richest Resort in America, The Oprah Winfrey Show: Reflections on an American Legacy, Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation, which won the prestigious Phillis Wheatley Award for best work of History in 2013, and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, Fabritius and the Goldfinch, which Amazon named one of the Best Books of 2014, and The Trip: Andy Warhol's Plastic-Fantastic Cross-Country Adventure.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Becoming Patricia 5
How to be Lovely 35
Diet 38
Exercise 42
Gilding the Lily 42
The Ritual Bath 46
Best Dressed 49
Casual 52
Cocktails and Evenings Out 52
Stockings or No Stockings? 55
When Did You Buy That Bra? 55
Caftans 56
Ask the Expert: Cathy Horyn 59
The Perfect Fit 61
Accessories and the Fur Flip 61
Tiaras 63
Jewelry 64
Gloves 65
Monograms and Family Crests 66
Decoding the Dress Code 67
Maintaining Your Wardrobe 69
Traveling in Style 71
Let's Behave 75
Here Are a Few of My Favorite Things… 80
And My Least Favorite Things… 82
And Then There's the End of Western Civilization… 83
Smart is the New Sexy 85
How You Speak Says it All 87
Getting it Write 90
An Up-to-date Contact List 91
A Stationery Wardrobe 91
Reading is More Fun than Sex 95
What's in My Kindle? 96
Like, Love, Marriage…and Everything in Between 99
Ask the Expert: Carson Kressley 105
A Fine Showmance 112
When You Think You've Found the Right One …Think Again and Again! 114
Ask the Expert: Georgette Mosbacher 116
Setting the Stage 119
Bedrooms 128
Ask the Expert: Michael Kelcourse 130
The Light on the Piazza 131
The Collector in You 132
Finding Your Style 136
Ask the Expert: Mario Buatta 136
Good Housekeeping 139
Organization 144
Ask the Expert: Joan DiPietro 145
Let Me Entertain You 147
Raising the Bar 152
The Infamous Dressing Drink 154
Dinner Parties 157
Ask the Expert: Carolyne Roehm 162
The Return of the Cocktail Party 169
Ask the Expert: Katie Lee 171
Everybody into the Pool (Especially Shep) 176
Entertaining on Holidays and Special Occasions 181
Easter 189
Horse Sense for a Kentucky Derby Party 190
Patricia's Party Recipes 193
A Good Ol' Southern Crab Feast 198
The Hostess Gift-Go Beyond the Candle 201
My Life Right Now 205
Pet Tales 207
The Reality of Reality Television 213
Acknowledgments 223