How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits
By Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, & Sophie Mas
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Culture, France
ISBN: 978-0385538657
Source: Received E-ARC from Publisher
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From four stunning and accomplished French women — at last — a fresh and spirited take on what it really means to be a Parisienne: how they dress, entertain, have fun and attempt to behave themselves.

In short, frisky sections, these Parisian women give you their very original views on style, beauty, culture, attitude and men. The authors–Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas — unmarried but attached, with children — have been friends for years. Talented bohemian iconoclasts with careers in the worlds of music, film, fashion and publishing, they are untypically frank and outspoken as they debunk the myths about what it means to be a French woman today. Letting you in on their secrets and flaws, they also make fun of their complicated, often contradictory feelings and behavior. They admit to being snobs, a bit self-centered, unpredictable but not unreliable. Bossy and opinionated, they are also tender and romantic.

You will be taken on a first date, to a party, to some favorite haunts in Paris, to the countryside, and to one of their dinners at home with recipes even you could do — but to be out with them is to be in for some mischief and surprises. They will tell you how to be mysterious and sensual, look natural, make your boyfriend jealous, and how they feel about children, weddings and going to the gym. And they will share their address book in Paris for where to go: At the End of the Night, for A Birthday, for a Smart Date, A Hangover, for Vintage Finds and much more.

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are will make you laugh as you slip into their shoes to become bold and free and tap into your inner cool.

***

As a Francophile, I was very much interested in what this book promises to deliver, a how to guide for every Francophile itching to embrace the French lifestyle from wherever they are around the world until they make it to their favorite city in the world. Because as they say in the book, “Yes, the Parisienne often comes from somewhere else. She isn’t born in Paris, but she’s reborn there.”

This book delivers. While there is heavy focus on fashion and embracing the freethinking Bohemian style, there are also recipes for crepes and the Ile Flottante (Floating Island) to name a few as well as restaurant, cafe, and market recommendations and what would a Parisienne guide be without a look at the best of its culture?

Now if you can get past the often biting tone and zone in on the advice here for the girl or guy looking to embrace the everyday Parisian lifestyle, you’ll be good to go. This book is written by a handful of women who all agree and self identify themselves and Parisians in this way: “They openly admit to being snobs, complicated, a bit self-centered, unpredictable but not unreliable. Bossy and opinionated, they are also tender and romantic.“

Of course, the above is nothing to be proud of or desire to emulate and even with these attributes, there’s more to Parisians (or anybody for that matter) than this. I’m pointing this out because the matter of fact, take it or what are you doing reading this book attitude is what you’re gonna get here. It takes a lot to ruffle my feathers so while I noticed the tone and thought it worth mentioning, I personally wasn’t phased. So, if you’re picking up this book, just be aware of this. Or, you know, pick up another book with the same great advice but without the sass.

So what else have we got in here? Well, the ladies outline what we (American audience) have in common with lists of French words used in English and English words used in French. There are other fun tidbits in the book as well but I don’t want to spoil it all. But if you’re wondering…

Here are 20 tips and tidbits that I highlighted on my kindle:

• If you own only one sweater, make sure it’s cashmere.
• Wear a black bra under your white blouse, like two notes on a sheet of music.
• Everything you do should seem effortless and graceful. Not too much makeup, too many colors, too many accessories…
• What you won’t find in her closet: Logos. You are not a billboard.
• Faux Pas: Matching your purse to your outfit
• She always wears her sunglasses.
• The Parisienne’s signature item is that vital detail that brings her outfit together, from head to toe… Whether it’s a trench coat, a pair of stilettos, or a leather purse, the item is precious. Take excellent care of it, but most important, wear it — with jeans, ballet flats, or a cargo jacket.
• Wear navy blue with black. (And red with pink à la Yves Saint-Laurent.)
• The Essentials: Jeans, anytime, anywhere, and any way. Take a Parisienne’s jeans out of her closet and she feels stark naked. The bag. The little black blazer. Ballet flats. A small silk scarf. The white shirt. A long trench. A thick scarf. The oversized sweater that slips off your shoulder. Basic oversized sunglasses. An oversized shirt. The V-neck sweater that matches the color of your eyes. Navy blue.
• The Parisienne wears very little jewelry.
• Always put on perfume before going out, especially on the nape of your neck and your wrists.
• Every Parisienne has a notebook in her purse, preferably a black Moleskin, in which she’s constantly jotting down all sorts of things.
• Before throwing out a juiced lemon, rub it on your fingernails-it’ll strengthen and brighten them.
• Eat croissants and buttered toast for breakfast-because it’s Saturday morning and you burned enough calories last night, damn it.”
• Treat yourself to some flowers to brighten up your apartment.
• The Parisienne does not stop existing the day she has a child.
• Go to the theater, to museums, and to concerts as often as possible. Culture is like eating fruit and vegetable: it gives you a healthy glow.
• Books: The Stranger by Albert Camus, Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq, Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen, Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Foam of the Daze by Boris Vian, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire, Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust, and if you make your way to Paris
• Visit the Bibliothèque Mazarine (Library)
• Movies: Love Songs, La Discrète, The Last Metro, Hôtel du Nord, and actress Catherine Deneuve

So, fellow Francophiles, this one is for you! How do you embrace the Parisian lifestyle?

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, & Sophie Mas is available today.