Even by the standards of the late 19th century, Elsa Schiaparelli had a miserable childhood, materially comfortable but emotionally deprived. At her christening her parents, who had been expecting a boy, didn’t have a name for her – put on the spot, they named her after her nurse. Her elder sister, Beatrice, was the beauty; believing herself ugly and unwanted, Elsa fantasised about being adopted. Later she would tell of trying to plant seeds in her ears, mouth and nose so that flowers would grow over her face and make it lovely.

Dec 2014

On the Trail of the Duke of Otranto

You Are What You Wear

Ladies of the Raj

Founding Mothers

Loom & Bust

Honour among Thieves

Jewel Identitites

Contempt of Court

Ladies Bountiful

A Life Less Ordinary

Halved Lives

Front Row at the Revolution

Stitches in Time

Martha, My Dear

The Ice-Breakers

When the Ship Goes Down

Alone in New York

Reach for the Skies

Martinique to Malmaison

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