How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are

More Information & Critical Reviews

Some of the fashion and lifestyle advice offered in How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are:

On the style front:

• You don’t always have to be made up, but you should always be well dressed.
• Your look should always have one thing left undone – the devil is in the detail.
• Either go all grey hair or no grey hair. Salt and pepper is for the table.

Or on how to answer the phone when he finally calls:

• The Parisienne lets the phone ring. (She’s not waiting by the phone.)
• She feigns surprise upon hearing his voice. (She wasn’t expecting his call.)
• She asks if she can call him back in five minutes. (She’s in the middle of something.)
• The thing is, she’s not alone… (Et oui: you should never have kept her waiting.)

What the Parisian won’t let near her wardrobe:

• Logos. You are not a billboard.
• Ugg Boots. Enough said. Don’t even ask.
• Skimpy top. Because you’re not fifteen anymore.
• The fake designer bag. Like fake breasts, you can’t fix your insecurities through forgery.

The ideal man to be seen with:

• He’s not muscular (You’d rather think of him reading a book than lifting weights)
• He’s unshaven (Just enough so that you never fully see the man behind the stubble)
• He’s funny (Until he disappears)
• He’s got something special (And it’s not a car)

There are many books on a Parisian’s bookshelf:

• The books you claim you’ve read so many times that you actually believe you have.
• The books you read in school of which you only remember the main character’s name.
• The books that you’ve been promising yourself you’ll read next summer…for the past ten years.
• The books that you think make you cool.
• The books you keep for your children, just in case you ever have any.
• The books you own simply because you must and, taken together, form intangible proof that you are well read.