The Quality of Mercy
“Although she went for months not thinking about what she wore, in London she tended to splurge in all her favourite shops. It was true that Vienna had its temptations, unlike war-torn Madrid. For a start, taxis were cheap – just fifty groschen for most journeys. At Zwieback’s, the department store in the Kärntnerstrasse, you could buy almost anything. The shoes were particularly seductive and she had bought several pairs at Coyle and Earle in the Karlsplatz, while for the hats she loved she wen...t to Habig’s . . . but all these were still in her apartment in Vienna so, of course, it was incumbent on her to buy more in London.
She could hardly go to dinner in Eaton Place in some old thing she’d bought a year before, she said to herself. As she had often argued – though never fully convinced herself – you didn’t need to be dowdy just because you were Communist. In London, she liked the restrained luxury of Bond Street. She loved Schiaparelli but this time, feeling rather guilty, she bought one of Coco Chanel’s classic black dresses and though she had hitherto never worn scent, was persuaded into buying Chanel No.MoreLess
She could hardly go to dinner in Eaton Place in some old thing she’d bought a year before, she said to herself. As she had often argued – though never fully convinced herself – you didn’t need to be dowdy just because you were Communist. In London, she liked the restrained luxury of Bond Street. She loved Schiaparelli but this time, feeling rather guilty, she bought one of Coco Chanel’s classic black dresses and though she had hitherto never worn scent, was persuaded into buying Chanel No.MoreLess
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