UT HAD NO IDEA SHE WAS A WORLD WAR II HERO
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jazz lover, is still a force to be reckoned with and he and his brothers James and Ludovic continue to be amazed by her resilience.
He added: “Our mother is now 99 and, although she can only walk short distances, she is still as good company as she has always been.
“At nearly 100, she remains the most elegant, stylish and well-dressed lady I know.”
In 1945, Mary married Francois Vaudoyer – a member of a prominent family of French architects – in a society wedding at Notre Dame. From then on, her life became a whirlwind of parties, balls and social engagements.
Her passion for fashion, which developed as a child in Scotland, grew in the post-war years and she became a collector of fabulous haute couture garments, gowns, dresses and coats.
In the 1990s, she published Le Livre de la Haute Couture, a comprehensive work on fashion and the great designers, which
became a bestseller on both sides of the Channel. Christian said: “My mother has been passionate about fashion and throughout her life she was always buying pieces to add to her spectacular and vast collection.”
Although she still has some of her favourite pieces, the majority of Mary’s collection – which spanned a century – was auctioned off by Sotheby’s in Monte Carlo in 1987.
At the time, the auction house cited “The Mary Vaudoyer Collection” as the most opulent sale since the Windsor jewels, with fashionistas from across the globe gathering at Monte Carlo’s Royal Monceau Hotel to bid for 200 garments by top designers including Chanel, Givenchy, Lanvin and Balenciaga.
Before the auction took place, Mary said: “I am saving the Nina Riccis and many others I have of the period and will keep them for the grandchildren. As for the others, now that I have had my fun, it is time to share them with the world.”
Mary, who has eight grandchildren, never believed in dressing down and Christian istian remembers being trussed up in a kilt when he just six.
He said: “My mum bought my younger nger brother James and I a kilt. We only ever wore them once but luckily she managed too get a photo of us in them as we ran down the Champs Elysee laughing.”
And Christian says he is proud to be half-Scottish.
He added: “I’m very proud of my Scottishsh heritage. My mother and father created ed their own Auld Alliance and, althoughgh my mother chose to live out her life in n France, she remains a proud Scot.
“There are not many people outside e the fashion world in Paris and thee family who know about Mary Vaudoyer but she is an incredibly stylish and mysterious lady and her story deserves to be told.”