Perhaps only Garbo could get away with some of the outfits documented so lovingly in The Mystery of Style, including one shown in a late-1920s photograph: She wears what looks like a man's flannel bathrobe, accessorized with a big floral parasol and that mysterious half-smile. I guess that might look weird for a Saturday jaunt to the Farmer's Market, but don't you wish someone would try it? And it's true that Garbo loved her shoes: This book grew out of a museum exhibition in Milan last spring, put together by Salvatore Ferragamo -- the company's shoes were a Garbo favorite. (She once ordered 70 pairs in a single day.)
The exquisite, well-kept garments and accessories catalogued in the back of the book include a selection of Ferragamo flats, lovingly packed into a specially compartmented trunk. There's nothing flashy about them, and yet in their simplicity and their utilitarian elegance, they're far more beautiful than any four-figure, four-inch-heeled monstrosity. Take that, Carrie Bradshaw.
$33.75 @ Amazon