What a women reads makes her more attractive and more elegant than what she wears

Roitfeld doesn't believe that it is the clothes that make the woman. "It's often the case that what a women reads makes her more attractive and more elegant than what she wears," she says.

You can't learn how to be elegant; you can only learn how to avoid mistakes. The rest is instinct. Elegance is about the way you cross your legs, not the label or the newest clothes from the latest collection.

Yves Saint Laurent once said that the purpose of clothes is to make women more beautiful but that a coat must never attract more attention than the woman wearing it.

S: Do you have any fashion principles?

R: I don't change my handbag every season. I believe in the Yves Saint Laurent woman who either has her hands in the pockets of her pantsuit or is holding her lover's hand. She doesn't need a bag.

S: You also always wear high heels.

R: Yes, they give you power. You move differently, sit differently and even speak differently.

SL: So you never wear flat-soled shoes? Not even when going for a walk?

R: I don't go for a walk very often. I wear flat-soled shoes on vacation, but I also travel in high heels, which is why I'm regularly stopped by customs officials at the airport. Wearing high heels in an airplane is suspicious. Nobody else does that.

S: Do you have any fashion tips for us?

R: If you don't want to make any mistakes, buy black clothes. That's always good. And from age 50 on, you can slowly start adding a little beige. That's softer. Every five years, you should take a critical look at your own wardrobe