I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.

[TossDaily]

So there.

EVERYBODY looked fantastic. EVERYBODY. DP and I just sat open-mouthed in fascination. Whatever their age, they looked amazing.

So I'm sitting here on a diet, wearing an Isabel Marant jumper and frantically googling 'How to turn French.'

As far as I can tell, the rules are:

1. Be thin, despite the fact you are walking down the street at 11am gnawing a cheese and ham baguette the length of your forearm.
   

1. Have your hair the colour and texture of natural hair.
   

1. Have the most amazing skin, despite the fact you have a permanent Gauloise on the go.
   

1. Never get pissed and lairy, despite the fact you are having a glass of red wine with your lunch and it's Tuesday.
   

1. Wear shoes you can walk in.
   

1. Have an amazing coat.
   

1. Know how to tie a scarf so it looks like you have slung it on and it's just choosing to snuggle up to you because you are SO FRICKING GORGEOUS.
   

1. Have a pharmacy on every corner that is just an Aladdin's Cave of miraculous skincare delights for less than a tenner each.
   

Anyone else have any tips? Joking aside, I loved the style - the shops, ohmigod the shops! It was like I'd walked into my internet shopping history.

I could actually walk around in my biker jacket without feeling like a twat.

I want to be French. Aidez-moi.

[millifiori]

I used to work in Paris and was told how they were all so thin while apparently gorging.
First - they eat a pastry for breakfast but just one with black coffee. Then walk to work.
They eat a main meal at lunch time with a small vin rouge and then almost nothing for the rest of the day - just cigarettes and un petit cafe.
And they walk home from work and walk to see friends and go for a red wine.

When I lived in Paris I walked miles every day. And smoked. And was thin.

[Ttbb]

Absolutely no garish colour of patterns, yes I am looking at you Joules wearers.

[botemp]

I'd like to think, "Keep Calm and Carry On.''

The whitening creams have no efficacy, but genetically their main ageing concern is primarily pigmentation rather than wrinkles and sagging. So Asian skincare has a lot of Licorice Root Extract, Niacinamide, Fermented Yeast Extracts, and Hydroquinone derivatives (the full-blown thing does actually bleach but it's prescription only and quite risky, hardly prescribed outside Asia I think) and similar in it which reduces redness and inhibits melanin production (which leads to pigmentation) which are good for evening out skin tone regardless of ethnicity (outside of Asia it's usually marketed as brightening products), but the gold standard first line of defense still remains year-round diligent sunscreen use.

More scarves attached.

[Littlechocola]

botemp, can we be bff’s please? I have a scarf.

[Lissette]

Can't do the androgenous look, prefer French food and have some mediocre French rather than non existent Danish.

[cathyclown]

Oh I am loving this thread and missing France a lot now!

I would not like to live like that at all. Truthfully I would never survive on coffee and a pastry with a bit of rabbit food every day either! Life is for living, and I don't like the Stepford Wives thing of every woman in Paris looking the same apart from the way they drape their scarves! No wonder they are grumpy if their blood sugars are so low every day...

We had a tiny apartment in S of F. It was rented out for years, but as management costs rose we decided to sell. That took 10 months or so, yep, that's the way there. Which meant we were back and forth and I really enjoyed being there and having our own little crash pad in an area a bit away from the tourist mecca, local.

Never met a rude person. In shops and anywhere else once you do the expected thing of "Bonjour" and a "ca va" if you are nodding acquaintances all was good. We both speak a bit of the lingo but not anything near fluent, and managed fine. I loved it. We found a lovely restaurant owned by a lady from the Alps and she prepared food from her region. Was divine. We were her special customers, of course we were, the welcome any time we went there was great fun. Plenty of kissing and missing the right sequence and number of kisses, oh the laughs.

Anyway I hope I haven't bored you with all that. The thread just brought me back to a great experience in our lives. Gone now, but better to have loved........

[botemp]

A scarf, Little, as in singular? Quelle horreur! No worries though, feel free to call me bo

Don't give up on the Scandis, Lissette! Don't tell Paris but my other style city crush is Stockholm, though I equally love Antwerp, Seoul, and Milan. I like the approach to style in London and New York but it doesn't always work for me personally.

Sounds like a lovely period in your life, cathy There's something about the pace of life in S of F if you ignore the traffic that's very soothing.

[Lissette]

I have just bought 'Dress Scandinavian ' by Pernille Teisbaek Botemp but I'm leaning back to Paris already!

Antwerp is a fabulous city.

[TheMightyMing]

Following, I love the French style, and I’m very much a classic dresser.

Can anyone help with a red lip for a bark haired brown eyed , light olive skinned person. I need something blue red rather than orange I think. I’ve got nice but large teeth so I’m feel a bit self conscious.

[TheMightyMing]

Dark haired not bark.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

Why Chanel Dialogue, of course. Oh oui.

Or Blake's Red, L'Oreal.

But smudge with a finger, don't put it full on.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I know Blake's not dark haired or olive skinned btw, but it's a great red and will work with your colouring.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

Or Bobbi Brown Cherry Crushed lipstick.

[TheMightyMing]

Checking all of these out Thanks ! Keep them coming !

[Littlechocola]

Pardon bo, see I cannot speak English. I must be French.

[botemp]

Does it make for a nice read Lissette? I'm always wary with those types of books as they can feel a bit vacuous sometimes, intended stocking fillers and all that. Have you drooled over all things Totême from Elin Kling yet? Freja Berich Erichsen is a probably a bit of a bridge between Paris and Scandi in terms of style.

Ming, for a more full on red (neither orange or blue) but really sensational (though works well smudged too as mentioned above), Tom Ford Scarlet Rouge is stunning. Dior 999 looks pretty good on everyone too without a distinct undertone, I like the matte version for day.

[Trailedanderror]

Do they really smoke? Haven't lived in Paris for 30 years and they did then? All my old French friends seem to run!

[Littlechocola]

My current favorite red is lip couture 'day of the dead'. Although I am pale but I think it would suit olive skin.

[Lissette]

Twas a bit vacuous Botemp. Not nearly as informative as de la Fressange's Paris Chic. I'll look out for Freja Berich Erichse - thanks!

[TheMightyMing]

Thanks Bo .

[NamasteNiki]

I got lost trying to find Le Marais can you post a map?

[TossDaily]

It's in the 3er Arrondissement.

[TossDaily]

3rd

We were staying next to Le Marche des Enfants Rouge, just under where it says 3rd Arrondissement on the map.

Great area. Just surrounded by great shops, restaurants and bars but without being excessively noisy or rough.

[blueshoes]

Isn't it all just skinny trousers?

[DancingHouse]

I lost 4 stone on the diet of coffee, duck, pastries and fags when I lived in Paris for 6 months. 2 stone went straight back on when I came home.

Le sigh