Rosamond Bernier, Fashion Icon

I had the privilege of hearing this great editor (for Vogue, in Paris), publisher (of L'OEIL, a fabled review of the arts), and finally lecturer (for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) in the late '80s. No matter what her subject, she was effervescent and marvelously informed. And more to the point, dressed to hilt in a designer gown and jewelry that was not so much statement as exclamation.

Here she is in a brief excerpt from her last lecture at the Met, dropping names like there's no tomorrow, but what names! Carmel Snow, Oscar de la Renta, Fernand Leger, Balenciaga . . . plus a bonus tip on how to get haute couture at a bargain price.

The lesson for us mortals? I'm convinced her necklace is a two-parter; the triple strand of pearls with a huge brooch pinned on, to add that extra bit of oomph Bernier loved. If, like me, you can't get enough of her, also have a look at her YouTube video for Yoox, the online fashion retailer, in which she gives a masterclass in more subtle accessorizing.

Note the chiffon scarf softly looped at the neck, toned in to match the jacket, and the two brooches just south of her left shoulder . . .