The Importance of Editing

Lily Vijayaraghavan

Lily Vijayaraghavan, antiques collector, on the importance of editing:

"To be a successful collector, you have to be an aesthete in all aspects of your life. This helps you develop an eye for the best pieces. That means being brutally discerning about the visual influences that you expose yourself to. Avoid people with bad taste. Avoid seeing things that are in bad taste. It takes years and years to develop good taste. I’m still developing my taste at the age of eighty-plus. And you need to be editing all the time—visually editing, that is. When I go for my daily constitutional, I am constantly classifying what I see as aesthetically pleasing or an abomination. For example, when I see an older woman wearing a red and black sari, I adore her, but when I see a woman in shocking pink--that is a color that suits absolutely no one. I am constantly honing and refining my definition of what is beautiful."