Elsie de Wolfe - Prominence

Prominence

In 1926 the New York Times described de Wolfe as "one of the most widely known women in New York social life," and in 1935 as "prominent in Paris society." Her morning exercises were famous. In her 1935 autobiography, de Wolfe wrote that her daily regimen at age 70 included yoga, standing on her head, and walking on her hands.

In 1935, Paris experts named her the best-dressed woman in the world, noting that she wore what suited her best, regardless of fashion.

De Wolfe had embroidered taffeta pillows bearing the motto "Never complain, never explain." On first seeing the Parthenon, De Wolfe exclaimed "It's beige—my color!" At her house in France, the Villa Trianon, she had a dog cemetery in which each tombstone read, "The one I loved the best."

Elsie de Wolfe was also able to transform interiors in the 19th century from Victorian style to a fresh new look. Most Victorian style interiors featured dark colors and not much light. de Wolfe used a new approach that featured light colors. She appreciated simplicity, and was involved with light and fresh colors. She did not focus on what could merely fit into a room; rather, what was appropriate to the room. The appreciation for this grew through her practices with yoga. The simplicity she exerted in her daily life reflected in her designs. She tried to unify a space, using all the aspects of the room, tying-in the upholstery to the paint, to the curtains, etc.

American Decades opines that "she was probably the first woman to dye her hair blue, to perform handstands to impress her friends, and to cover eighteenth-century footstools in leopard-skin chintzes."