Taste: Acquiring What Money Can't Buy (Hardcover)

by Letitia Baldrige (Author) "A PERSON acquires taste not by accident, but by spending years training his or her eye and learning how to make good judgments..." (more)
Key Phrases: White House, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Baldrige, who served from 1961 to 1963 as Jackie Kennedy's social secretary and chief of staff, was labeled America's leading arbiter of manners by Time in 1978. Her 20-plus books include Legendary Brides and the 736-page New Manners for New Times. The premise of this volume was suggested by her editor-publisher, Truman Mac Talley, who listened with aplomb to my shocking tales of what is happening today in social mores. Probing the history and nature of taste, Baldrige examines the role taste plays in the average person's life and explains how to educate your eye. She surveys celebrated tastemakers, from British art dealer Lord Duveen to Coco Chanel, with chapters on interior design and entertaining: The best dinner parties are those without any ulterior motive. They're rare but wonderful. The core of the book covers taste in fashion (where even the fabric is snob-important for some), encompassing such topics as wigs, jewelry, jeans, the application of lipstick in public, influential designers and shoe fetishism in Louis XIV's court. Throughout, she interweaves her own experiences with Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and others. This patina of personal memories and anecdotes adds to the sheen of her polished prose. The vulgarians may be at the gates, but Baldrige is doing all she can to keep them away.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The eternal question of what is taste isn't directly answered by guru Baldrige. Instead, she quotes a designer, doyenne, or well-known wit--such as Coco Chanel, who opined that taste was the opposite of vulgarity. And she weaves enchanting tales of the Camelot White House (Baldrige was chief of staff for Jacqueline Kennedy); of postwar Parisian entertaining; of the elegant couture houses, such as Jean Patou and Vionnet; of Parish-Hadley and other designers extraordinaire. This narrative is more about her life than about taste per se; it is through her stories that the themes are developed. One theme is the absolute necessity of training the eye through museums and show houses and nature's visuals--not through the wallet. The second is paying attention to even the smallest detail, whether that be unchipped nail polish or correct silverware. And the third is the embracing of a sense of humor and kindness, two traits that define a real tastemaker. She says it best this way: "I believe that happiness comes from looking around us and finding the good and the beautiful in our own culture, and choosing to live with that taste." Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Truman Talley Books (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312351739
• ISBN-13: 978-0312351731
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #233,479 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A YUMMY - YET NUTRITIOUS - READ, June 30, 2007

By	J'MO (New York) - See all my reviews

This is the perfect book for our A.D.D. addled times. This distillation of some-number-of-year's experience as America's leading tastemaker and etiquette goddess is a fun-to-read, easy-to-absorb hommage to something we call could use a little more of - good taste.

Letitia Baldrige is truly the stylistic "power behind the throne." She has reigned in Paris, Rome, Washington, New York and, most likely, Podunk. She knows her stuff inside out and could look down her nose like the haughtiest of grande dames at the daily blasphemies that are passed off as "world class" taste, but she never does, for two reasons: she has a kind heart and a well of humor that never seems to run dry.

Read this book - you'll take away so much. One may not have silver-gilt flatware and haute couture clothes, but TASTE shows that one doesn't need them if you have the things that really matter - a curious mind, the aforementioned kind heart and an indomitable spirit.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The advice for which you have been waiting..., July 3, 2007

By	A Bon Vivant (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This book contains the advice you have been looking for from that fabulous elder aunt. The book has been divided into five sections: Just Who Is This Person of Taste?; Good Taste in Fashion; Go, See and Educate Your Eye, Good Taste for Entertaining; and Tasteful Surrounds. In each section, La Baldrige tells tales of the iconic women whom she had the privilege of knowing, the official "rules" regarding each topic and, at times, she expounds on the standards of taste in today's society.

Just like your fabulous aunt.

But, just like your fabulous aunt, you will not agree with all of her expectations and, sometimes, her tales read more like a good Vogue magazine article than a book.

If you are looking for an academic analysis of the demoralization of society, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book that is a quick read, full of guidance (however personally impractical it might be for you, the reader) and stories of iconic women straight from the source, buy it and enjoy!!

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bland, September 24, 2007

By	Y. Chow (Somewhere in California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is based on a wonderful premise: 1)taste is subjective and varies with each individual; 2)taste is not naturally inborn, it is something that can be acquired and refined. I had high hopes for this book, unfortunately I was disappointed. I give credit to Baldridge for being sensitive to personal preferences, particularly those influenced by non-European cultures. She also tries to remain current and makes references to the new McMansions and Paris Hilton. However, I would have liked to see more suggestions on how one can refine his/her taste, or at least how to gain more exposure to the finer things that have long been exclusive to elites. Instead what we get are meandering anecdotes that don't really seem to have a point. To acquire taste, she writes, one should look look look look look at everything. That is the extent of her advice. It would have been nice if she had suggested some criteria to determine what is tacky and what isn't? Workmanship? Quality of materials? Popularity? Beauty? Utility? Value/Market price? I don't know. That's why I bought the book. I returned it for a refund the next day, by the way.