Friends and Acquaintances

“I looked in on Chips in London and found the Duchess of Kent, her sister Countess Toren, the reigning Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein, the Ranee of Kapurthala and the King of Egypt’s sister. It was like a stamp album."

Lady Diana, V. 1.0

Someday, when I'm a serious grown-up who knows what he wants to do with his life, I hope to have a few scintillas of the sublime self-assurance of the glittering creature seen here, Lady Diana Cooper.

A duke's daughter (at least nominally; there seems to be some question), she was the brightest of London's Bright Young Things who was not genetically a Mitford, a sometime actress and longtime memoirist, not to mention Ambassadress, bon vivant, and, from all accounts, terrifying motorist.

And, as you can see, she manages the rare feat of carrying off hauteur without seeming even a tad haughty - if perhaps just a smidge (like one of my favorite streets) naughty, bawdy, gaudy, and sporty. And for that, I say good on her. Why she came to mind this morning I can't think, but she's the kind of person who rather brightens up a Tuesday, don't you think?