Fashion Rules

Denise Poiret wearing one of her husband's creations in 1919.

This post will serve a dual purpose: first, it’s to let you know that I have been swallowed up by the fashion machine, and will spend the next month covering the fashion shows here. (And my updates on this site may slow down a little due to these commitments, sadly.) But secondly, I wanted to pay homage briefly to Denise Poiret, model-muse to the late great designer Paul Poiret. She was everything in the early 1900s that the ideal woman would become by the 1920s, elegant, boyish, uncorseted, daring, and fun. As Paul told Vogue in 1913, “My wife is the inspiration for all my creations; she is the expression of all my ideals.” If I weren’t on the run just now I’d want to know all about this fascinating woman.