Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights

Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is a lifestyle guide for the Francophile and the Anglomaniac, the gourmet and the style maven, the armchair traveler and the art lover. It's an homage to the esoteric world of glamour that doesn't require much spending but makes us feel rich.Taking a cue from the exotic encyclopedias of the sixteenth century, which brimmed with mysterious artifacts, Jessica Kerwin Jenkins's Encyclopedia of the Exquisite focuses on the elegant, the rare, the commonplace, and the delightful. A com?pendium of style, it merges whimsy and practicality, traipsing through the fine arts and the worlds of fashion, food, travel, home, garden, and beauty.Each entry features several engaging anecdotes, illuminating the curious past of each enduring source of beauty. Subjects covered include the explosive history of champagne; the art of lounging on a divan; the emergence of "frillies," the first lacy, racy lingerie; the ancient uses of sweet-smelling saffron; the wild riot incited by the appearance of London's first top hat; Julia Child's tip for cooking the perfect omelet; the polarizing practice of wearing red lipstick during World War II; Louis XIV's fondness for the luscious Bartlett pear; the Indian origin of badminton; Parliament's 1650 attempt to suppress Europe's beauty mark fad; the evolution of the Japanese kimono; the pil?grimage of Central Park's Egyptian obelisk; and the fanciful thrill of dining alfresco.Cleverly illustrated, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is an ode to life's plenty, from the extravagant to the eccentric. It is a cele?bration of luxury that doesn't necessarily require money.

About the Author :
JESSICA KERWIN JENKINS was formerly the European editor of W and a senior editor at Women's Wear Daily. She currently writes for Vogue. She lives in Maine.

Review :
"A delightful ode to everyday elegance that brims with tales showing how beauty can be found in the most unlikely places. Encyclopedia of the Exquisite has the potential to make our lives that much more interesting. It left me truly inspired." —Sarah Jessica Parker    "A beautifully researched and written book. Every story — whether on the origins of badminton or the art of Renaissance sotleties — is fascinating and inspiring. I kept turning the page, wanting to learn more." —Tory Burch   "A wonderful mélange of chic and amusing tidbits — this book makes me smile." —Michael Kors “Jenkins’s wittily curated selection emphasizes the rare and not often considered, with a dash of Julie Andrews’s ‘favorite things’ sensibility. . . . There are enough fancies in Encyclopedia of the Exquisite to fill a castle of your own. It is a worthy trove.” —The New York Times Book Review “A select showcase of the unusual, the piquant and the frankly bizarre, enthusiastically researched and displayed with élan. . . . There is plenty to enlighten even the most world-weary terrestrial, not least in the form of new angles on some of our most comfortable clichés.” —The Wall Street Journal “Certainly one of the more unusual books you'll come upon this season, the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is an attractive compendium of literary sketches on unusual topics that appeal to one's sense of fancy. Random, unexpected, charming—the alphabetized entries in this ‘History’ are the perfect addition to any lady's bedside table this winter.” —The Free Lance-Star “I admit that it was the design of this book that first led me to pick it up; I was drawn to its unconventional, squarish trim size and glittering, red-etched cover. But, once it was in my hands, this odd, precious little object had me totally absorbed. . . . Jenkins has channeled her obsession into an idiosyncratic catalogue of the good things in life: hot-air ballooning, Champagne, top hats. Each item is explicated in a vignette just a few pages long, shaded with lovely observations.” —The New Republic “Encyclopedia of the Exquisite lives up to its unique premise . . . interesting and entertaining. [Jenkins takes] the reader on a fanciful tour. . . . Her goal is to assemble a collection that describes beauty of all kinds, interesting, affordable and, as collections of miscellany often are, eccentric. In this she succeeds, and Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is both attractive and addictive. It is certainly catnip for the trivia-besotted, but it also is a work that can easily be read in short bursts, and reread as the whim dictates. With its accompanying rich bibliography, it also provides an excellent starting point for the further pursuit of any of its myriad topics.” —The Denver Post "A stylish little index of the facts you never knew you absolutely needed to know about one hundred of the most wonderful things in life—from frilly lingerie and champagne to dining al fresco to trapezes." —Glamour "This gilded, graceful book is nothing less than a miniature encyclopedia of style, exploring everything from the origins of badminton to the art of origami to Louis XIV's love of the Bartlett pear." —Entertainment Weekly "A gallimaufry of curious and unusual entries, it's full of charm and erudition." —Avenue Magazine