Comments on: Fashion Friday: French Lessons

By: L

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:34:30 +0000

Can't recall if I commented on this before, but I loved this post so much that I've come back to it a few weeks later! Have you spotted any great animal print cardis anywhere? I was hoping to see one at JCrew this weekend but no luck.

By: samiya

samiya — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:10:47 +0000

sooooo in need of a jacket and suede boots.. hope i get them by the time season settles in

By: My name: Julie My design firm: SHELTER

My name: Julie My design firm: SHELTER — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:54:52 +0000

Yeah, I adore all these looks and can't wait to wear regular close {esp. pants} again.

xx,
Julie

ps. great post E.

By: s.

s. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:36:01 +0000

and oh, by the by, the wonderful Passage des Perles has a related post this week…
http://passagedesperles.blogspot.com/2009/09/when-french-women-shop.html

By: s.

s. — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:16:05 +0000

I lived and worked in Paris for years and years. There are plenty - plenty! - of Parisian women who are not at all beautiful, but they are all quite certain they are, and nothing convinces like confidence.

Love the fact that Parisian women tend to get good hair cuts (sadly, more often then not French women fail miserably when it comes to hair colouring) but then allow their hair to more or less do its own thing. I never met a single French woman under the age of 60 who owns hot curlers, hair spray or a straightening iron.

French Women Don't Get Fat is entertaining but mostly fictional. French women don't drink heaps of water nor do they "take the stairs" unless they live in a building without an elevator. However, they do not snack between meals, they consume very little pop, they obsess about their weight (in some ways, far more than Americans), they smoke like fiends and consume lots of coffee. And trust me - I worked for a company that studied these things; the French are quickly joining Americans in the Size Explosion; they're just lagging by a few decades.

Paris apartments - even the larger ones - have precious little closet space so Parisiennes own few items of clothing but definitely spend vast chunks of time deciding how to put together "effortless" looks. Style does not come easily to them, either, but they are disciplined in their application and also to their devotion to trends and therein lies the greatest difference between Them and Us.

By: Amanda Nicole

Amanda Nicole — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:18:40 +0000

Thank you thank you for this! I've always coveted the effortless beauty of French women, and this is a truly comprehensive guide. J'adore.

By: simply seleta

simply seleta — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:58:28 +0000

Just catching up on your blog and had to say: you could never be frumpy or gross!!! What are you on?!? Hello, swan swimming in a duck pond.

Okay, sorry about that.

But I'm having fun reading all of this. The Red Carpet was hilarious and informative. I think you need to host your own TV show.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:29:43 +0000

fun post, very enlightening.

what about the hair? please do tell…what's the look.

By: Roberta

Roberta — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:24:48 +0000

Loved this post Erin and wanted to let you know that it was the inspiration for my journal so I linked your post in my blog post today highlighting my journal. Thanks for sharing, fondly, Roberta

http://con-tain-it.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/09/day-10-the-21-challenge.html

By: Ashley

Ashley — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:14:03 +0000

This post is absolutely amazing! In fact, it inspired me to buy a blazer yesterday (when I should have been studying ha!) It sounds like you had a great trip and thanks for sharing some of the magic with us! :)