RIP Angelo Rinaldi, French novelist and literary critic (1940-2025). I met him in 1993 at the bar of the Ritz hotel. He had a supermarket plastic bag containing his wet swimsuit, as he was swimming at the Ritz's swimming pool. I told him I wanted to be a writer, and he generously gave me some advice. Leaving the hotel, we walked to the nearby Guerlain store on Place Vendôme, where he bought a perfumed silk pocket square for a friend. Leaving the store, he told me "Elegance is to buy gifts for friends that we wouldn't afford for ourselves." #angelorinaldi

What a memorable encounter! Angelo Rinaldi's wisdom and elegance will always be cherished.