In the days when executive’s wives had their own expense accounts and led glamorous lives that entailed Rose Balls at the Adelaide Town Hall, my mother would put her faith in Carla. My earliest memory was of a black silk organza explosion which eventually came to me when I had officially “come out” and was allowed to wear such sophisticated attire.

A three-tiered skirt and off-the-shoulder bodice, it was my entree into the university whirl of the Law Ball.

When I finally graduated and was lurched into my first job as a very junior public relations consultant, Carla helped me on my...