 | Style tip--match your clothing to nearby artwork |
If you google Paris style, you’ll get a thousand articles that tell you to cuff your jeans at the ankle, wear a striped shirt, and eat delicious food while miraculously remaining a size two. That kind of help I could do without.
Then I moved to France, and I saw that these women have truly got it going on. They look great! Effortlessly chic, no matter what package nature gave them. But what’s their secret? They don’t dress fancy. They order the same things I do in restaurants and shop in the same stores. They just look fabulous.
I took it upon myself to get to the bottom of this. After countless hours sitting in cafes observing the natives in their natural habitat, asking pharmacists for beauty advice, and getting my Paris personal hygiene routine worked out, I’m ready to tell you all I’ve learned.
The main thing?
French women just do what the rest of us knew we were supposed to be doing all along, and they do it for their whole life long.
That’s the secret. I’m sorry it isn’t more glamorous. I’m sorry you can’t buy it in a bottle and slather it on. They just do all the things your mom and your doctor told you to do.
First, there is this French thing they call allure. In English, the word allure usually refers to charm or appeal; however, in French it is so much more. It’s comportment and appearance and how you hold yourself. It’s how you present yourself to the world. French parents teach it, schoolteachers teach it. As far as I can tell, it is comprised of two parts: posture and lock and load. Let me explain.
Posture. Your mom always said STAND UP STRAIGHT and it turns out she was right. French women have terrific posture. They look like they’re really, really proud of their torsos. They hold themselves up straight, as if their torsos are a beacon of light in a dark world. Let’s do it, ladies--let’s be proud of our torsos! Think about it. Your torso holds all your major organs, lets you breath and digest, supports your body with that splendid spine, and may have temporarily contained and sustained a whole nother human being. Your torso rocks! What’s that you say--you aren’t proud of your droopy old torso? Well, fake it till you make it, sister. A little posture goes a long way.
Lock and load. It took me a while to figure this one out, but then I realized that while every French woman might not be runway material, she acts like she is. She owns the sidewalk like it’s a catwalk. She’s not frazzled or scattered. She’s together. I think that every morning, French women snap their outfit into place with dark magic, and never touch it again until it comes off at night. There are no wardrobe malfunctions. They do not fidget or twitch. They do not adjust straps, hoist pants, tie shoes, extract wedgies, reapply makeup, push up sleeves, pull up socks, swing their foot while sitting, bite their nails, pick their nose, sway, rock, or scratch. You never see a woman carrying her coat (she always wears it, even when it gets hot), or slinging her arm over the empty chair next to her or clutching her unzipped purse to her chest. She gets the whole package ready before she leaves the house, and it stays in place all day.
Don’t fidget, said your mom. Stop biting your nails, said your mom. Don’t pick at your face, said your mom. I hate it when she’s right.
This is hard for me. I’m a hair-twiddler. It just feels so right.
So why don’t French women get fat? I was hoping it was something like a chemical reaction between French wine and bread which magically gives women the metabolic rate of an Olympic triathlete. No. That’s not it. Here is it:
They eat only very delicious food, and they eat tee-tiny portions of it.
That’s the secret. They eat plenty of vegetables,with tiny bites of meat, itsy bitsy slivers of cheese, adorable little glasses of wine, peanut-sized bites of cake, and only the occasional croissant or side of fries. If they have a big lunch, they eat a light dinner. In restaurants, I’m the only woman I’ve seen that cleans her plate. Because they only eat delicious foods, they don’t feel deprived or go carb-crazy or stand in the pantry eating chocolate chips out of the bag. They don’t exercise much because life is to be enjoyed, not sweated. They sleep long hours every night, don’t snack, and spread those tiny lunches over an hour and a half. They drink lots of water and herbal tea. I’m sorry if this is disappointing, but that’s pretty much what our doctors told us all along.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that every pharmacy has a solid wall of cellulite-busting creams and pills, there’s a French Jenny Craig in every block, commercials on TV tell you you can lose 22 kilos by Christmas, and French women would rather smoke than get fat.
I think I’ll just keep my muffin top.
Go high and low. French women never look too matchy-matchy, not just concerning colors but concerning everything. They’ll wear jeans and a tshirt (low) with red lipstick (high). A business suit (high) with a cloth tote bag (low). An all-black miniskirt-tights-blouse outfit (high) with sneakers (low). A practical working-on-your-feet-all-day outfit (low) with pink spiky hair (high). See? That way you look normal, but better. It’s casual chic.
Ok, mom and the doctor never said this. They were raised in the matchy-matchy era. Go, French girls!
Health before beauty. These ladies favor a natural look in hair and makeup, with minimal fussiness. You know why? They spend more time getting their skin and hair healthy than with putting on makeup and styling. They have extensive but affordable beauty routines that include serums, masks, toners, moisturizers, and other potions that are still a mystery to me. Didn’t our moms tell us this? “Wash your face, use moisturizer, not too much makeup, wear sunscreen.” I can hear her now.
I’m working on it, because if I can look better and be healthier and spend less time putting on mascara, that’s a big win.
They wear what looks good on them. They pick a body part they’re proud of and show it off, but keep the rest under wraps. What’s your body part? Maybe age and gravity have compromised whichever body part you rocked at twenty, but that’s ok. You didn’t have the experience and life skills then that make you so attractive now. So pick a body part--your wrists? Hair? Collarbones? Lips? Long tapered fingers? Pick one, highlight it, swath the rest, and rock you being you.
Did your mom tell you this? My mom never actually said it, but she always dressed like a business woman and kept her nails, hair, and makeup in tiptop shape, even when she struggled with her weight. She rocked what she could. I guess she taught me that lesson non-verbally.
Then I moved to France, and I saw that these women have truly got it going on. They look great! Effortlessly chic, no matter what package nature gave them. But what’s their secret? They don’t dress fancy. They order the same things I do in restaurants and shop in the same stores. They just look fabulous.
I took it upon myself to get to the bottom of this. After countless hours sitting in cafes observing the natives in their natural habitat, asking pharmacists for beauty advice, and getting my Paris personal hygiene routine worked out, I’m ready to tell you all I’ve learned.
The main thing?
French women just do what the rest of us knew we were supposed to be doing all along, and they do it for their whole life long.
That’s the secret. I’m sorry it isn’t more glamorous. I’m sorry you can’t buy it in a bottle and slather it on. They just do all the things your mom and your doctor told you to do.
First, there is this French thing they call allure. In English, the word allure usually refers to charm or appeal; however, in French it is so much more. It’s comportment and appearance and how you hold yourself. It’s how you present yourself to the world. French parents teach it, schoolteachers teach it. As far as I can tell, it is comprised of two parts: posture and lock and load. Let me explain.
Posture. Your mom always said STAND UP STRAIGHT and it turns out she was right. French women have terrific posture. They look like they’re really, really proud of their torsos. They hold themselves up straight, as if their torsos are a beacon of light in a dark world. Let’s do it, ladies--let’s be proud of our torsos! Think about it. Your torso holds all your major organs, lets you breath and digest, supports your body with that splendid spine, and may have temporarily contained and sustained a whole nother human being. Your torso rocks! What’s that you say--you aren’t proud of your droopy old torso? Well, fake it till you make it, sister. A little posture goes a long way.
Lock and load. It took me a while to figure this one out, but then I realized that while every French woman might not be runway material, she acts like she is. She owns the sidewalk like it’s a catwalk. She’s not frazzled or scattered. She’s together. I think that every morning, French women snap their outfit into place with dark magic, and never touch it again until it comes off at night. There are no wardrobe malfunctions. They do not fidget or twitch. They do not adjust straps, hoist pants, tie shoes, extract wedgies, reapply makeup, push up sleeves, pull up socks, swing their foot while sitting, bite their nails, pick their nose, sway, rock, or scratch. You never see a woman carrying her coat (she always wears it, even when it gets hot), or slinging her arm over the empty chair next to her or clutching her unzipped purse to her chest. She gets the whole package ready before she leaves the house, and it stays in place all day.
Don’t fidget, said your mom. Stop biting your nails, said your mom. Don’t pick at your face, said your mom. I hate it when she’s right.
This is hard for me. I’m a hair-twiddler. It just feels so right.
So why don’t French women get fat? I was hoping it was something like a chemical reaction between French wine and bread which magically gives women the metabolic rate of an Olympic triathlete. No. That’s not it. Here is it:
They eat only very delicious food, and they eat tee-tiny portions of it.
That’s the secret. They eat plenty of vegetables,with tiny bites of meat, itsy bitsy slivers of cheese, adorable little glasses of wine, peanut-sized bites of cake, and only the occasional croissant or side of fries. If they have a big lunch, they eat a light dinner. In restaurants, I’m the only woman I’ve seen that cleans her plate. Because they only eat delicious foods, they don’t feel deprived or go carb-crazy or stand in the pantry eating chocolate chips out of the bag. They don’t exercise much because life is to be enjoyed, not sweated. They sleep long hours every night, don’t snack, and spread those tiny lunches over an hour and a half. They drink lots of water and herbal tea. I’m sorry if this is disappointing, but that’s pretty much what our doctors told us all along.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that every pharmacy has a solid wall of cellulite-busting creams and pills, there’s a French Jenny Craig in every block, commercials on TV tell you you can lose 22 kilos by Christmas, and French women would rather smoke than get fat.
I think I’ll just keep my muffin top.
Go high and low. French women never look too matchy-matchy, not just concerning colors but concerning everything. They’ll wear jeans and a tshirt (low) with red lipstick (high). A business suit (high) with a cloth tote bag (low). An all-black miniskirt-tights-blouse outfit (high) with sneakers (low). A practical working-on-your-feet-all-day outfit (low) with pink spiky hair (high). See? That way you look normal, but better. It’s casual chic.
Ok, mom and the doctor never said this. They were raised in the matchy-matchy era. Go, French girls!
Health before beauty. These ladies favor a natural look in hair and makeup, with minimal fussiness. You know why? They spend more time getting their skin and hair healthy than with putting on makeup and styling. They have extensive but affordable beauty routines that include serums, masks, toners, moisturizers, and other potions that are still a mystery to me. Didn’t our moms tell us this? “Wash your face, use moisturizer, not too much makeup, wear sunscreen.” I can hear her now.
I’m working on it, because if I can look better and be healthier and spend less time putting on mascara, that’s a big win.
They wear what looks good on them. They pick a body part they’re proud of and show it off, but keep the rest under wraps. What’s your body part? Maybe age and gravity have compromised whichever body part you rocked at twenty, but that’s ok. You didn’t have the experience and life skills then that make you so attractive now. So pick a body part--your wrists? Hair? Collarbones? Lips? Long tapered fingers? Pick one, highlight it, swath the rest, and rock you being you.
Did your mom tell you this? My mom never actually said it, but she always dressed like a business woman and kept her nails, hair, and makeup in tiptop shape, even when she struggled with her weight. She rocked what she could. I guess she taught me that lesson non-verbally.
 | Here is my example French woman. Her name is Valerie and she owns a little boutique in my neighborhood. I’ve been in several times because she sells cool funky pretty stuff that actually fits. She’s also very good at helping me pick clothing. Sometimes I’ll come out of the dressing room and she says C’est parfait! and sometimes I come out and she just says Non. And she’s always right. That chunky mustard-yellow sweater just wasn’t me. If you go to Paris, stop by her shop and treat yourself.  Donna Cusumano, 38 Boulevard des Batignolles, Paris, and yes, that’s a gas station to the right of her shop. |
That’s it, girlfriends. (And guys, if you’ve stuck with me this far.) Get good sleep, eat healthy, figure out what works for your body, and let your torso shine like the light that it is.
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PREVIOUS: Too Bad Harvey Weinstein Never Watched M.A.S.H.
NEXT: Are You the Ti?