A'Lelia Bundles
A'Lelia Bundles

She was born Sarah Breedlove on a plantation in Delta, Louisiana, where her parents had been slaves. At 14, she married to get a home of her own, to get away from a cruel brother-in-law with whom she was living. At 17, she had her only child, A'Lelia, who I'm named after.

A'Lelia Bundles
A'Lelia Bundles

Madam Walker was an incredible woman, but she wasn't the only one of her time who was. She just took it to the highest height.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

I generally only eat one meal a day, which is pretty unusual for a restaurant reviewer. It's not that I have a problem with food; I'll eat anything that doesn't involve a bet, a dare, or an initiation ceremony.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

Trying to learn to be a good man is like learning to play tennis against a wall. You are only a good man - a competent, capable, interesting and lovable man - when you're doing it for, or with, other people.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

Only people who live outside cities realize the size of them. London turns out to be huge; there are great swaths, vast panoramas, a whole diaspora I'd never imagined. The place I live in tends to be manageably small, a few familiar journeys and destinations.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

Nature gave you your look and there's only a limited amount you can do about that, but what you wear is the skin you choose for yourself.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

I don't know if English is the only language where some expressions only and solely mean the opposite of what they say but we do have an awful lot of them.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

A cravat is the only item of named after Croatians. Balkan mercenaries were brought to Paris by Louis XIV. Their strange and exotic attire attracted the French bon hommes, who were wearing formal ruffs, and who immediately took to the simple and relaxed military cloth tied at the neck.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

The only acceptable cravat is the original Croat one.

A. A. Gill
A. A. Gill

Personal adornment is the only cultural form that everybody in the world takes part in.