How to be Parisian wherever you are Love, style, and bad habits

Anne Berest, 1979-

Book - 2014

"Four fabulous, smart, savvy French women offer up their highly amusing insider take on Parisian life, love, and liberty How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are brilliantly deconstructs the French woman's views on culture, fashion, and attitude. Unlike other books on French style, this one is full of wit and self-deprecating humor. The authors--Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, and Sophie Mas--who are all in their early to late thirties are unmarried though attached, most have children, and are highly accomplished. Bohemian freethinkers and iconoclasts, they are not afraid to cut through some of the myths. They say what you don't expect to hear, just the way you want to hear it. They are not against smoking in bed a...nd are all for art, politics, and culture; making everything look easy; and going against the grain. Sports are something to talk about in bars, and maybe, yes, your mother did do a little something subtle to her face after all. In 288 pages, with 100 black-and-white and color pictures--many taken by the authors--How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are will explain those confusing subjects: clothes, makeup, men, culture, and lifestyle"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : Doubleday [2014]
©2014
Language
English
Main Author
Anne Berest, 1979- (-)
Other Authors
Audrey Diwan (author), Caroline de Maigret, Sophie Mas
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xiii, 253 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 21 cm
ISBN
9780385538657
  • Introduction
  • 1. Get the Basics
  • Aphorisms
  • The Parisienne as Seen by a Parisian Man
  • What You Wont Find in Her Closet
  • The Most Famous Parisiennes Are Foreigners
  • 1:00 P.M.: First Date at the Cafe De Flore
  • A Serious Text About Humor
  • Parisian Puzzle-Winter/Summer
  • A Kind of Blue
  • A Mother with Flaws
  • How to Answer the Telephone When He Finally Calls
  • Virtues of the Signature Item
  • Au Naturel
  • Public Privacy
  • Faux Pas
  • Safety Kit Because You Never Know
  • Scenes From Parisian Life: Take 1
  • 2. Own Your Bad Habits
  • Yes, But No, But Yes
  • How to Make Him Think You Have a Lover
  • Her Own Highway Code
  • Kiss and Play
  • Hosting a Dinner Party: Behind The Scenes
  • Cool or Cold?
  • Where Does This Pout Come From?
  • Parisian Snobbisms
  • An Off Day at Work
  • Hard To Admit
  • Not Your Most Glorious Moments
  • How to Destabilize a Man
  • The 6:00 P.M. Debate: The Gym
  • Scenes from Parisian Life: Take 2
  • 3. Cultivate Your Allure
  • 24-Hour Look
  • The Essentials
  • Less Is More
  • On a Parisienne's Bookshelf
  • The Miniskirt
  • Save Your Skin
  • When You Can Have Anything
  • Women in Black
  • Off the Radar
  • Navy Blue
  • The Parisienne as Seen by an American Novelist
  • The Simones
  • In The Countryside
  • The Best Version of Yourself
  • Take Your Time
  • Trinkets and Treasures
  • Scenes from Parisian Life: Take 3
  • 4. Dare to Love
  • The Ideal Man
  • An Optimistic View on Love
  • A Woman's Real Assets
  • In Love with Love
  • A Mother's Advice on Love
  • A Little Extra Something
  • The Party
  • After-Sex Lunch-Happy Ending
  • Being Naked
  • Girls Gang
  • The One Who Got Away
  • Not A Wedding
  • Separate Bedrooms
  • Scenes From Parisian Life: Take 4
  • 5. Parisian Tips
  • Spending Time the Parisian Way
  • Paris Cutouts
  • The ABC's of Cheating
  • The Art of Make-Believe
  • Classic (And Foolproof) French Recipes
  • Setting the Table
  • On Your Mantelpiece
  • You'll Be a Man, My Son
  • Lighten Up
  • Playdate
  • Little Big Treats
  • Sunday Recipes
  • Ancestral Tips (We Never Forget Our Roots)
  • When You Watch These Films, You're in Paris
  • Scenes from Parisian Life: Take 5
  • What We Have In Common
  • Fifteen Words You Need
  • Address Book
  • Acknowledgments
  • Illustration Credits
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Four whip-smart, successful French women poke fun at the stereotypes of the "Parisienne" and give genuine beauty and lifestyle tips, recipes, and fashion dos and don'ts. They maintain that a good wardrobe should have a signature piece, plus essentials like ballet flats, a little black blazer, and a classic "but very expensive" T-shirt, but aim for overall stylistic minimalism. As for the don'ts, the authors renounce hair dye, plastic surgery, and glasses, so "you won't have to acknowledge people you know." The Parisienne on a first date at a restaurant finds herself on a "complicated path through the jungle of her culinary neuroses." Her sense of humor is described as "joyous despair"; she is melancholic and contradictory. Other topics include the French woman's attitudes on romance, infidelity ("don't treat your lover like a boyfriend"), weddings, friendship, and interior decorating. An "address book" lists essential spots to visit in Paris. De Maigret's photography and a witty, wise, often tongue-in-cheek delivery puts the reader on a sure path to achieving the French femme's je ne sais quoi. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved