"The great beauty for me," she said of parasols, "is they're a good conversation piece. I always have one in the car. I might use a really exotic one or silk one in New York. Out in the country, I'll use cottons with wood handles. One of my favorites is an embroidered, black eyelet cotton batiste. I call it `Morticia.' I thought of the design while at a funeral, where it was brutally hot."