#simonetta: my gilded lily

[spindleprick]

She had shone her vividest at dinner, with the revolving brilliancy that collective approval always struck from her; and the glow of it still hung on her as she paused there in the dimness, her shining cloak dropped from her white shoulders.

Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country

[spindleprick]

She’s so hungry — greedy almost, but not quite — for all the wonderful things in the world.

Elsa Maxwell on Marilyn Monroe

[spindleprick]

She seemed aware of her beauty in the manner of someone with something she is determined you should enjoy.

Alexander Chee, The Queen of the Night

[spindleprick]

Men often complain of the wickedness of women. Of how we delight in what power we have over their hearts. But they reign over everything else, so of course, they grudge us this, should we ever come to rule over this thing the size of their fist.

Alexander Chee, The Queen of the Night

[spindleprick]

She was wonderful — you could eat her with a spoon.

Amy Greene on Marilyn Monroe

[spindleprick]

The fit of a dress determines the stride of a woman — whether she can bend at the waist, sit, or ride — and so for a woman to change her dress was to change even the way she walked and the speed at which she ran to her fate.

Alexander Chee, The Queen of the Night