1. Are you sophisticated?
Russell Grenning
Well,whatdoessophisticatedmean?
One definition,attributedtoLeonardoDaVinci,is “Simplicity is the ultimatesophistication.”
It means,tovaryingdegrees,worldly,cosmopolitan,experienced,cultivated,stylish, urbane, chic,
suave andclassy.And,yes,there are othermeaningsdependingonyourpersonal interpretation.
ThinkaboutAudreyHepburnwhowore a little blackGivenchy dressasHollyGolightlyin “Breakfast
At Tiffanys”- that issophisticated.Thinkaboutthe garishcostumesmanufacturedfromfeathers,
sequinsandbeadsandwornby showgirls –that isvulgar.
Thinkof a single strandof perfectlymatchedpearls –that issophisticated.Thinkaboutclunkygold
jewellery –thatis vulgar.
Andyou don’thave to be rich to be sophisticated.Thinkof HughHefner,the founderof the Playboy
empire,andhisPlayboyMansionwhere bustyblondsare shownthe door whentheyreach about23
– that isvulgar.Andthere isnothingsophisticatedaboutthe “nouveau riche”whodesperatelytryto
impresswithostentatious,luridandcompletelytastelesshomesfull of fake LouisXIV furniture and
stuffedwildanimals.
WhenI was a kiddyand wentto my first“grown-up”partyinabout 1959 – on reflection,Ithinkthat
my parentscouldn’tgeta babysitter –I was tremendouslyimpressedbylittlesnacksthatconsisted
of a pickledonionandabit of cheese ona toothpick.If I hadknownthe word “sophisticated”thenI
wouldhave sodescribedthisdaringinnovationwhichwassomuchmore excitingthanmummy’s
plainoldlamingtons.
WhenI was inHigh School andI visitedaclassmate’shome Iwasalmostsweptawaybythe cutting
edge decor– gosh, the emptysquatItalianwine bottles,swathedinstraw andwitha candle stuckin
the top spoke tome of daring,of decadence and,above all,of sophistication.“Thatsoundscheap to
me,” saidmummywhenIbreathlesslytoldherof thisandshe added, “Don’tthey haveproper
candle-stickholders?”
I wentto a couple of partiesat myfriend’shouse and,wow,weren’ttheysophisticated!The men
and womenactuallymingledandchattedtogetherwhichwasaneye-openerbecause previouslyI
thoughtthat at grown-uppartiesthe menclusteredaroundthe kegwhile the womenwere atthe
otherendof the establishmentswoppingrecipesandknittingpatterns.
To be accusedtodayof beingunsophisticatedcanbe a sociallycripplingexperience yetthiswasnot
alwaysthe case.
Throughoutthe 19th
century,“unsophisticated”wasaterm of praise,particularlyforyounggirlsasit
impliedpurity,innocence andunworldliness - thinkof the novelsof CharlesDickensandJane Austin.
Howeverbythe nineteen-twenties,“sophisticated”startedtomeanhavingworldlywisdomanda
stylishflair. Yetduringthe inter-warperiodthe wordwasoftenusedwithirony –there wasstill a
distrustof the posturingandartificialitywhichitseemedtosuggest.

2. In Noel Coward’s “PrivateLives”(1930), Amandasays,“I suffered a greatdeal, and had my heart
broken.Butit wasn’tan innocentgirlish heart.It wasjagged with sophistication.I’vealwaysbeen
sophisticated,fartoo knowing.”
Noel Cowardcertainepitomisedsophisticationthroughouthislife.Thatcouldn’tbe saidof Henry
Lawsonwhowas a simple,salt-of-the earthbloke yetitwouldbe unfairandunjusttocriticise himas
beingunsophisticated. He washisownman and,as many wouldsayinhisdefence,he didn’tputon
airs andgraces. Coward,apart fromhisawesome talent,wasalmostall airsandgraces.
Australianauthorswhocouldbe consideredsophisticatedincludePatrickWhite andThomas
Keneallybutitisanythingbutsophisticatedtohave theirbooksclutteringupthe coffee table totry
and impressvisitors. Bryce CourtenayandColleenMcCulloughwhobothwrote some rollickingyarns
don’tquite meetthe sophisticatedbar.
We have a tendencytoassociate sophistication withcontinental Europe andparticularlywith
France.Thisgoesback to the 17th
centurywhenthe courtof LouisXIV was elegant,epicurean,
hedonisticandsexuallypermissive.However,while there wasasneakingregardforthislifestyle
amongsome,generallyitwasseentobe bothoffensiveandchallengingtosolidAnglo-Saxonvirtues.
Today,we use phraseslike “savoirfaire”to suggestqualitiesthatcannotquite be describedin
Englishandwe still regardthe French as leadersinhaute couture andfine diningandtheirpopular
culture isseenas highbrow,asanintellectualformof glamour.Thenagain,some mightconsider
themto be a bunchof wankers.
The word “posh”isone of several wordsthathave undergone asubtle change overthe years.Once
it describedsomethingthatwasluxurious –and,by extension,sophisticated -butnowadaysitcanbe
usedas a term of derision.Allegedly, “posh”isanacronym, the word beingderivedfromthe initials
P –O-S-Hmeaningportout,starboard home whichmeantthe shadyside of the shipon the voyage
to fromthe UK to Indiaand thenback.
Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Ihavethe simplesttastes.I am alwayssatisfied with the best.”
Nowthat issophisticated.