After Three Marriages, a Renovation, and Becoming the Breakout Star of a Reality Show, Patricia Altschul is best person able to give us ten valuable lessons for a timeless Classy & Fabulous appearance & style.
Patricia Altschul born April 16, 1941 is an American socialite, art collector, and personality on the reality television series, Southern Charm. She is the widow of Arthur G. Altschul, a former Goldman Sachs partner and prominent art collector and philanthropist. Mrs. Altschul has been a director or trustee of several nonprofit organizations including the New York Historical Society and Historic Hudson Valley (the Rockefeller Family properties). In 2012 Altschul was given a Woman of the Year award by the Police Athletic League of New York City. In 2013 she received a Carolopolis Award from the Preservation Society of Charleston for her renovation of the historic Isaac Jenkins Mikell House in Charleston, SC.
The historic 1854 Isaac Jenkins Mikell House is said to be “one of the finest pre-Civil War residences” in Charleston, according to the Preservation Society.
On “Southern Charm” Patricia plays “the resident madcap grande dame” according to a profile in Architectural Digest.”Pat quickly became a fan favorite last year and has even drawn the affection of celebrities like Lady Gaga who claimed ‘that looking at Patricia is like looking in a mirror'”, commented TV critic Christine Lo in her blog.
Patricia Altschul, the resident grand dame on Bravo’s Southern Charm, is a force of nature. Based in the idyllic city of Charleston, the reality show follows eight cast members as they navigate their way through the trials and tribulations of living life in the Holy City. With galas and polo matches to attend, confessions of unrequited love, and hatchets that seem as though they’ll never be buried, Altschul serves as a much-needed den mother of sorts, dolling out advice and the dry one-liners to the younger set in the series.
Having been to the Met Gala more than once, married three times, and lived up and down the East Coast, she certainly has the life experience to draw upon.
It also doesn’t hurt that she serves up a mean martini—or any other libation you could ever want—on a silver platter via her butler Michael to friends who come a-knocking on the door of the Isaac Jenkins Mikell House, a Greek Revival mansion she restored with the help of architect Lewis Graeber and iconic decorator Mario Buatta when she returned to her roots and moved south of the Mason Dixon line in 2005.
1. Don’t forget to put your face on!
Today, women run around in their sweatsuits. Their hair is uncombed, and they look just ghastly. When you look like you’ve just been shot out of a cannon you can’t be attractive to the opposite sex, or any sex for that matter.
2. Makeup is important, but you need a light touch.
You don’t want to look like the Whore of Babylon. In case you don’t know who she is, the Whore of Babylon was “the mother of harlots and abominations of the Earth” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation. Apparently, she was a flashy, overdone sort, with tacky makeup and loud clothes—not someone you want to emulate.
3. Plastic surgery certainly isn’t off the table, but only make subtle improvements.
Some plastic surgery can be a boon, but you don’t want to look as if you’ve been through a wind tunnel, where everything is stretched so tight you’re begging for slack. Cosmetic surgery and injections should not make a person look like a reject from the cast of La Cage aux Folles.
4. Nothing beats a million-dollar smile.
If you are making an investment in your appearance, put your money where your mouth is. Clean, white teeth will always make you look pretty and young. It is so important to take care of your teeth. Explore straightening, bonding, whitening . . . anything you can do for a better smile.
5. There’s something to be said for keeping the same hairstyle.
Truman Capote said that if a woman maintains the same hairstyle over the years, she will never age. This philosophy applies to hair color, too. If you were a brunette, stay with your natural color as long as you can remember it! Too many women drift into being blonde or redhead as they get older, when their skin tone is screaming for a more authentic shade. If you’re not a natural blonde, think twice about adding too many highlights; they can strip your hair and make it dry and brittle.
6. Curate your wardrobe.
Don’t buy trendy clothes. Instead of having an excess of lesser “options,” add one really good piece to your collection every year.
7. Refuse to wear ripped jeans.
They make a woman look as if she has been dragged through a thorny hedge backward.
8. Get a good tailor.
Most people don’t know this but a good tailor can make a garment look as if it were made for you. Simple alterations—a slight pad to offset uneven shoulders, a hem adjustment, a seam taken in or let out—can make all the difference in the world. Bulges and pooches are never a good look, so buy the correct size and then let a tailor customize your clothing to minimize your flaws.
9. Don’t schlep.
Evening bags should always be small—a little clutch, for example—holding lipstick, money, keys, and if you can squeeze it in, a cell phone. Just the essentials.
10. Know the news.
Always stay up to speed on current events. I believe in Southern belles, not dumb belles, wherever they’re from!
By the way …
Season 4 of Southern Charm returns to Bravo on Monday, April 3 at 9:00 p.m. / 8:00 p.m central time.
The Art of Southern Charm will be released on April 18th and is available for pre-order on Amazon now.
Main Source: British Vogue
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