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How to be cool (and cultured)

By Ann | January 25, 2008

Welcome to a new blog feature, Q&A, which is, well, exactly as advertised. Today we are thrilled to feature Nancy MacDonell, fashion journalist and author. Nancy’s first book, The Classic Ten: The True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites, offered readers a witty and urbane glimpse into the history of ten iconic fashion items. Her newest book, In the Know: The Classic Guide to Being Cultured and Cool, is a crash course in modern culture, covering everything the girl-about-town needs to know to be sophisticated, from modern art to high fashion. We sat down with Nancy and chatted about why she wrote this book, what defines cool, and where all those hip people are eating (this is a food blog, after all). 

What inspired you to write this book?

The idea for In the Know grew out of conversations with friends—mainly of the wouldn’t-it-be-great-if-there-were-a-book-that-covered-all-this-stuff sort. I think what everyone was wishing for was a book that would fill in the gaps that seem to exist in everyone’s general cultural knowledge. These gaps are either things you once knew but have forgotten about, things that you meant to find out about but never did, or things you’ve just never been very clear on. So hopefully it’s doing its job and helping people get all this ephemera straight!

The people, places and items featured in the book all share one characteristic: cool. What is the definition of “cool” and how did you make your selections?

Any definition of cool is necessarily subjective, of course, but one thing I was trying to do in the book was separate the trendy from the cool. I think there’s a conflation of “cool” and “trendy” in many people’s minds, but I’d argue that they’re quite different. For something to be genuinely cool, it has to have staying power—in other words, it has to outlive its trendiness and capture something of the era in which it was created. And it has to have a wide enough appeal to endure. That’s a bit tricky, because if the appeal is too wide then it’s not really cool anymore. For In the Know, I tried to pick things that fit into this framework, but obviously when you get right down to it personal preferences came into play. And it’s just one short book, not a set of encyclopedia, so lots of things didn’t make it in. Making those cuts was one of the most difficult aspects of writing the book, especially because there’s a tendency to view books of lists as definitive. But there can’t possibly be one definitive book about cool.

Your list of the ten most stylish restaurants in the world spans the globe, from New York to Paris to Sydney. Do you have a favorite among the ten?

I don’t think I could name a favorite, but the one I’ve been to the most is Balthazar. In fact, I was there for breakfast just last week. It’s a Manhattan institution now, which is a bit funny, because when it first opened it just looked like an institution. But now that it’s been around for a while, all the faux agedness looks genuine—when you’re there, you really do get the impression that it’s been on Spring Street forever.

Can staying at home ever be considered cool? Do you have any tips for making a dinner party classic, cultured and cool?

Staying at home can absolutely be cool. When you’re talking about a cool gathering, it’s the people rather than the venue that make it so. My dinner party rule is to make your guests comfortable—have something simple and tasty to eat, make sure there’s enough of what people like to drink, and keep the conversation going.

In the Know’s 10 Most Stylish Restaurants:

  1. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Paris
  2. Balthazar, New York
  3. Dave, Paris
  4. El Bulli, Girona, Spain
  5. The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire, England
  6. The French Laundry, Yountville, California
  7. Jean Georges, New York
  8. Pierre Gagnaire, Paris
  9. The River Cafe, London
  10. Tetsuya’s, Sydney, Australia

Topics: Q&A |

3 Responses to “How to be cool (and cultured)”

  1. Bob Says:
    January 27th, 2008 at 2:16 am

    I remember my wife and I had tobacco flavored chocolates with Herbert and Sybil Kretzmer at the Fat Duck, a really fresh herb salad at lunch with Susan Watt at the River Cafe, and a whole Sunday afternoon having lunch with Charlie and Maggie Jencks at the French Laundry. Three down and seven to go.

  2. joanna goddard Says:
    January 27th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    i love that book cover.

  3. Chris Says:
    January 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Agree with Joanna, especially because there is a picture of a pair of eyeglasses within striking distance of the word “cool.” I take this as a hopeful sign.

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