NOUVEAU IS BETTER THAN NO RICHE AT ALL

by Marylin with Monsieur Marc Bender ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 1983

The title, authorship, and PR-presentation here are misleading: this isn't a full-length study of 1980s ""nouveau"" society, but rather the fawning memoirs and unremarkable style-tips of hairdresser Monsieur Marc. Bender (The Beautiful People) provides only a 35-page opening chapter, haphazardly cataloguing assorted signs of the supposed society/celebrity trend toward a nouveau fiche, money-flaunting style: designers like Bill Blass, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein are briefly mentioned; there's a sketch (cf. Marie Brenner and others) of Jerome Zipkin, bachelor-confidant to the Reagans, the ""nexus of bi-coastal society and the European Concorde set""; and Bender also includes bisexual-chic and Anglomania as features of ""nouveau."" Then, however, come 200+ pages of the jottings of Monsieur Marc, hairdresser to Nancy R., the late ""Babe"" Paley, and others--who may or may not have anything to do with nouveau fiche. Marc gushes about going to the White House, with endless flattering remarks about his hosts. He tells us that he's ""a sensual man."" He recalls his shampoo-by-shampoo apprenticeship in Paris, his arrival (with hair-master Guillaume) in N.Y., the opening of his own salon in 1961. Mrs. Paley made his reputation; Nancy ""sent me a note saying she wished she could wrap me up and take me home."" Fame, fortune, and travel--for skiing and duck-hunting--followed. (""At the Gasthof Post in Lech, Queen Juliana of Holland remarked on the haircut I had given the owner. . . ."") But the bulk of the Monsieur's chat consists of: numbing hair-salon shoptalk (""The reception desk monitors the flow of activity""); largely banal advice on hair, dress, and grooming (""There is no end to what can be done with a scarf to freshen your wardrobe""); do's and don'ts for would-be elegant women and men; recipes from favorite restaurants and hostesses; and ""Monsieur Marc's List of the Most Elegant Women."" With enough substance, perhaps, for one or two articles in Hairdressing Today: bloated piffle, of browsing interest only to name-dropping addicts and the most naive elegance-seekers.

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION