you can’t bottle je ne sais quoi.

Being smart, sexy and impossibly French requires effort and more than

a little 'je ne sais quois.' quips Helena Frith-Powell, author
of 'Two Lipsticks and a Lover'.

As Coco Chanel once said, “Elegance is refusal.”

the French can also lay claim to singer Charles Aznavour; Amore'

No city, with it's street style chic and beauty is blogged or beloved
more than Paris, France. I doubt you'd disagree.

We women long to possess the French savoir-faire, and men long to
have the occasional illicit romance, or 'les petites aventures', accepted
as part of their culture. Women I'd say, are catching on quickly to
that philosophy.

We all desire the French version of sexual napalm.

The architect Christian Biecher once said,
"French style at its best is the art of turning your back on fashion."

The secret of French woman in the view of author Edith Kunz who wrote the
book, "Fatale; How French Woman Do-it", one word: confidence.

"They are confident in themselves, confident with their age, their body, with their power. I don't see them burning bras! They are sensuous even at work. In the U.S., you cannot even open the door for them. They might believe you are being solicitous. I don't know what made American women so angry. Here, I don't see the anger. They charmed men to death, and it is fun for both. It looks like a lot of sensuousness".

"It’s not part of our genetic make-up to just let ourselves go"
quoting an unnamed French woman

French women assess their assets and make the most of them.
What they don’t do is follow trends.

"French women take a few cues from fashion professionals but are even
more likely to trust their own instincts", states Bourjois spokeswoman
Celine Kaplan, a Parisienne-turned-New Yorker

"Allure, to us is more about a statement than physical beauty."says Frenchwoman Nathalie Rykiel, daughter of designer Sonya Rykiel

Exquisite and expensive matching underwear is 'de rigeur'
and a bad hair day is simply out of the question.

"French women, by contrast to American women, shop with a plan and buy selectively. They only head to a clothing store when they need a particular item",
writes Leah Bourne of Forbes.com.

"No one does a head-to-toe look of a particular season or a particular
designer", say's Celine Kaplan. "You mix and match, you go vintage."

"French women are not just picking something because it is in fashion,"
designer Cathrine Malandrino explains. "She gives more thought to it.
How many times can she wear it? Is it versatile enough to go from day,
to work, to cocktails? And will she want to wear it again and again?"

The interior designer Jean-Louis Riccardi, currently renovating Paris's Crillon, says the French can be the worst-dressed men in the world. "Change is not a way of life for the French, that's their weakness, but also their strength," he says. It's a tradition he feels at home with. "I like strict clothes," he adds, "My ideal is the priesthood."

As Frith-Powell observes, “If you cut a French woman in half, you will see
the words 'liberte, egalite, fraternite' written throughout like a stick of rock.
And of these the most important is liberte.”

"The whole notion of freedom is deeply inscribed in the French psyche. Marrying and then misbehaving is seen as being free", says Frith-Powell

"The real reason French women don't get fat: They're masters of detox—tinctures, teas, weekly spa treatments. Plus, in hiking the subways, walking (briskly, even in heels), and cycling the streets, they amass heaps of incidental exercise". -
Ying Chu for MarieClaire.com

One of the most outstanding, and knowledgeable, blogs in the sphere
is Haute World. The author gives her readers the most thorough of
educations in the world of French fashion and savvy style
throughout this Haute World.

-

"If you want to be indefinably French and gorgeous it is vital to make time for yourself; visit the hairdresser, walk instead of drive, pamper your body potions, eat smaller portions, buy yourself a lipstick or two and entertain a lover on the side"; not bad advice by Frith-Powell.

As Vicomte de Valmont says in the book Dangerous Liaisons,
“It is beyond my control.”

"What you see in terms of French Chic beauty are plenty of gorgeous brunettes with simple, stylishly undone hair, natural eyebrows, minimal appearing makeup with a “no make-up” feel, smoldering kohl lined eyes, natural lip color or a bold crimson lipstain all creating the facade of better than natural, but still very approachable, confident, and unfussy", quoting fashion expert Sharon Havor of focusonstyle.com

Le Magnifique

Sacre bleu!

{go forth and live responsibly}

feeling French

Happy Weekend Dear Friends x

story and photo credits; fashionation.wordpress.com. style.com; tommy ton, blogcritics.org. NYtimes.com, Rebecca Voight, cq.com, momlogic.com