French Women Don't Get Fat

Have we all been traumatized by Mireille Guiliano and French Women Don't Get Fat? The idea of the chic French woman has been in existence for centuries. When I lived in Paris for a glorious year at the age of 20, I arrived with a new wardrobe for the experience. None of it was quite right. The French women of the time were dressed in a chic uniform: pale grey coats, plain black shoes with small heels, their hair in a chignon and, even back then, a scarf arranged in a cunning fashion. Under the coat things were a bit more diverse but the clothes were always classic, conservative and in black, grey, cream and white.

Some of you will remember my stressed out state before I left Canada, wondering what kind of clothes would be appropriate. What to take so I wouldn't be immediately branded as an unfashionable hick? French women have such a reputation for chic that it is hard not to be intimidated. And yet, the truth is they are not all chic or thin. Because we believe they are, we look at them differently and at first glance, we only see the ones who are dressed with flair. Now that I have been here a while, I am beginning to see (with some relief) that there are lots of women who are a bit overweight and who are not dressed in the latest styles. But the difference seems to be that 95% of French women take care. When you see Canadian women out shopping on a Saturday in their jeans and fleece, they often look as if they just got out of bed; as if they haven't given their appearance a thought. Is this perhaps the result of feminism in North America, that we think it is unnecessary to care about how we look? Or is it that the cult of casual and comfort has taken over the fashion landscape? Otherwise, how can it be that the country that invented jeans looks so awful in them and here, jeans are the uniform of choice of almost everyone and they look wonderful? I think the difference might be that French women think about looking good and sexy most of the time. There are hairdressers everywhere: within two blocks of this apartment, there are at least 10 and they all have customers. There are little spa salons and nail shops galore and lingerie boutiques in abundance. And of course, there are many choices for buying creams and cosmetics. Pharmacies sell all sorts of special skin creams and the pharmacist will consult with you on the best one for your type of skin. There are endless numbers of body creams for cellullite, special herbal capsules for weight loss. I wonder if this notion of looking after yourself, caring about yourself is the reason for this je ne sais quoi of French women?  The idea that "I am worth spending time and money on" may in fact inspire confidence? And that confidence then makes her present herself to the world differently? Whatever it is, it is impressive.

Underwear shops are full of lacy, sexy underwear. French women do not buy these 'for good'. They wear them every day. I can say this with authourity now that I belong to Women Fitness. I am amazed and impressed with what is underneath the clothes of these women. The older women who belong are equally decked out in frilly things. This week, Laurence, who is my age or older, was wearing bright orange matching bra and little pants under her jeans and sweater. I had to comment! At first, she seemed surprised that I would find this unusual, "Mais, c'est normale!" she replied. But she also shared with me where to buy good quality and beautiful underwear like hers.

The fashion scene has clearly changed and loosened up a bit since I was 20 in Paris. However, the idea of uniform still seems to exist. In La Rochelle, women are wearing skinny jeans tucked into high boots, thigh length jackets and of course, the scarf tied in many clever ways. Long skirts have been popular this winter, usually with asymetrical or pouffed hems, also worn with boots, sometimes ankle height, sometimes high. So after Christmas I went off to buy new boots at the wonderful 'soldes'. I do not think of myself as thin and in comparison with some French women, I am downright fat! However, I have always thought my ankles and calves were shapely and attractive. Imagine my horror upon discovering that I couldn't fit my calves, let alone my calves AND my jeans, into any of the boots on offer! I felt like Cinderella's sisters as I struggled with boot after boot. Then I felt worse as the store clerks searched for something with wide elastic inserts. I returned home completely undone. Finally, I found a pair but I don't really like them. I think I will sell them to the second hand clothing store before I leave.

So, it's not true that French Women Don't Get Fat, or that they are uniformly chic and well put together. However, my impression is that they spend more time thinking about and working on their appearance than Canadian women. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?