What makes fashionistas willing to pay a small fortune for a particular designer accessory -- a luxe handbag, for example? Why is it that people all over the world share the conviction that a special occasion only becomes really special when a champagne cork pops -- and even more special when that cork comes from a bottle of Dom Pérignon? Why are diamonds the status symbol gemstone, instantly signifying wealth, power, and even emotional commitment?

　　One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides the answer to these and other fascinating questions in her 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.

Introduction

 Living Luxe

1. How Much Is Too Much?

 The Rule of Celebrity Hairdressers

2. Fashion Queens

 The Birth of Haute Couture

3. Fashion Slaves

 Marketing la Mode

4. Cinderella's Slipper and the King's Boots

 Shoes, Boots--and Mules

5. From the French Cook to Creme Brulee

 How Cooking Became Haute Cuisine

6. The World's First High-Priced Lattes

 Chic Cafes

7. The Night They Invented Champagne

 When the Bubbly Became an Overnight Sensation

8. King of Diamonds

 Diamonds, Diamonds, and More Diamonds

9. Power Mirrors

 Technology in the Service of Glamour

10. Bright Lights, Big City

 From Streetlights to Nightlife

11. Waterproofed Walking

 The Original Folding Umbrella

12. A New Kind of Shopping

 Antiques, Fine Furniture, and lnterior Decoration

13. "The Most Sweetly Flowered King"

 Perfume, Cosmetics, and la Toilette

Coda: "The Most Magnificent Party Possible"

 Entertaining Versailles Style

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

INDEX