DeJean, Joan E. <br/><br/>
The essence of style :  how the French invented high fashion, fine food, chic cafés, style, sophistication, and glamour / 
Joan DeJean. 
 - New York :  Free Press,  2005. 
 - 303 p. :  ill. ;  24 cm. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-286) and index. 
<br/><br/> One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides an account of how, at one glittering moment in history, the French under Louis XIV set the standards of sophistication, style, and glamour that still rule our lives today. DeJean explains how a handsome and charismatic young king with a great sense of style decided to make both himself and his country legendary. When the Sun King's reign began, his nation had no particular association with elegance, yet by its end, the French had become accepted as the world's arbiters in matters of taste and style. DeJean takes us back to the birth of haute cuisine, the first appearance of celebrity hairdressers, chic cafés, nightlife, and fashion in elegant dress that extended well beyond the limited confines of court circles--and Paris was its magical center. --From publisher description. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>0743264134 9780743264136 0473264137 9780473264130 
<br/><br/><label>Standard No.: </label>9780473264136 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2005040019 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Personal Names: </label><br/>Louis XIV,  King of France,  1638-1715 --Influence.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Fashion--History--17th century.--France<br/>Cookery, French--History--17th century.
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Geographic Terms: </label><br/>France--Social life and customs--17th century.
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>DC128  / D326e 2005 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>391/.00944/09032