Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat, and her new book, French Women Don't Get Face Lifts, (hmmm), says it's because there's no age culture in France so women are more confident, they truly believe that age is just a number and therefore have more confidence in themselves as they age gracefully and naturally. OK my American sisters we can do that! I agree that when we believe that age is just a number we are naturally more confident.
As far as why French women don't get fat, this still escapes me. I know, they eat very small portions and the cheese and wine and bread is in between the fish and salad. But realistically, when I was in Paris I ate my weight in baggeuets and if there's cheese in front of me I can tell you right now that 'just one bite' is never going to happen. It's the whole wedge OK. I'll walk 20 miles in Paris to walk it off but it's the whole loaf and the whole wedge. And don't get me started on the macaroons and le pain au chocolat.
So let's look at 11 dynamic chic French women, ages 45-77. I think the lesson from them is find your Joie De Vivre which means exuberant enjoyment of life. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a good trench coat, a great pair of ballet flats and a beret. And at home if you can manage a fire place with a great gold mirror over it, that wouldn't hurt either, just sayin'.
When asked by French ELLE what the best age is, 75 year old actress Eveline Hall said "I would say it's this very moment. I would like to be an inspiration for young women, to prove there are no age limits. My face reflects my life, my personality."
Marion Coltillard, 45. Academy award winning actress, musician and the face of Lady Dior.
Caroline de Maigret, 45. Model and author. In an interview with OnOther, she was asked why people are so fascinated by the mystique of the French woman. "I think there are some countries where people have a tendency to put big pressure on themselves to be perfect, for some reason, in France, we've lost, or we don't have that same quest for being perfect; it's not an achievement, your not chasing utopia. As for Aging, it's not that we're completely fine about it, it's just the pressure is less".
Carla Bruni 52. Song writer, model and former French first Lady. In Vanity Fair explaining why she's still in therapy ~ "With aging, if there is no philosophy, there's no serenity, there's no wisdom, there's nothing but falling apart. Wrinkles without wisdom are boring. I want to become mature, I want to become wise".
Emmanuelle Alt 53. Current editor and Chief of Vogue Paris.
Isabelle Huppert 67. Academy award nominate actress. She says she doesn't want to age gracefully, she wants to age gloriously.
Juliette Binoche 56. Academy award winning actress.
Ines de La Fressange, 63. Model and the author of Parisian Chic City Guide.
Carine Roitfeld 66. Formally Editor and Chief at Vogue Paris and now runs CR Fashion Book and is the Global Fashion Director at Harper's Bazaar.
Catherine Deneuve. 77, actress and Yves Saint Laurants original muse.
Garance Dore. 45, photographer, illustrator, blogger and author of the New York Times best seller Love Style Life.
Add a little French flare to your wardrobe with a few basic staples.
And bring a little French feel into you home, gold mirrors, candles, plants, books, chandeliers, fleurs.
Here's a few pictures through my lens of Paris in 2019. You can see more and read my post Two American Girls In Paris here.
And here I am channeling my inner French girl.
