" The French word for dressing table, "toilette, " he added, "actually came from the word 'toile, ' which means cloth.

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Everything is done by hand, from draping and pinning the toile to stitching perfect seams, and all of it requires complex skills.

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"I had a horrid kidney-shaped dressing table covered in toile, " she said.

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In Thirty Are Better Than One, the Mona Lisa is reduced to a pattern, like paisley or toile de jouy: perfectly flat, potentially infinite.

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He has stayed relevant with something like the black leather coat with gold Toile (you won't find this look on wallpaper), and he knows how to update the tweed suit.

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You and your favourite fellow envoy will have a hard time invoking immunity to the hotel's complimentary Internet access, Nespresso coffee facilities and individually designed guest rooms with sophisticated touches like toile wall treatments, nailhead trim and stately fireplaces.

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First comes the idea, then the sketching, then the draping of white toile (muslin), first over a mannequin and later over a live model, and finally the cutting of samples on a pattern that translates the temporary magic of the toile into a permanent garment in the fabric and colours of the designer's choice.

ECONOMIST: Which centre takes the crown?