when I was 17, in the late 80’s, I got to briefly interview erté, for my school paper (thanks to russ solomon) and afterwards we were looking at the view of the hideous industrial area we were in and he looked at me with his eyes open really wide and said “you must move to paris at once”

That's so amazing you got to spend that time with him!!

incroyable

it’s hysterical to me that this man, from the 1890s, who worked for poiret, a very old man who never became boring, told me the answer to my troubles, before my troubles had really begun, lol and I went home and told my parents and they were like …no you cannot have dreams of a better life