"How to be Parisian..." Book review
Intro
As i promised a couple of days ago i have returned with a brand new post about the book i am currently reading. I always saw on Instagram and other social media that this particularly book is pretty famous and it became very fast a best seller over the world. So in no time i said to my boyfriend i need to have it, even though in Turkey is hard to find it in English so i had to ordered it from abroad first and then have been shipped to my address here in Trabzon. I think it took about 1 week or so but i got it around April this year so i just had time now to actually dig into her and see if it's worth it.
Believe or not i almost finished reading this book in less then 2 days of course is very easy to read and the posts are very well organized around the page so it can give you that comfort once you read it. "How to be Parisian wherever you are" if you are a girl for sure you have heard about this book, it has been classified like a ''Bible'' of Parisian women with everything you need to know about fashion, lifestyle and love plus other surprises as well. But let's get into it, shall we?!...
The title and cover
I find the cover very original with a white background and basically black on white writing which is super classy and of course very French. A chill girl enjoying a coup of coffee and a cigarette ready for a new working day, this is my thought about it. The title is very bold in attractive alphabet and is pretty catchy to the eye, i love it. Of course this is just a paper cover and once you remove it there is the hard cover with the same girl illustration.
The Authors
There are four authors, all women of course and in the same order they appear on the cover are : Sophie Mas, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret and Anne Berest.
As i can see from the last page note about them Sophie was born and raised in Paris, she graduated from the Faculty of science and currently she is living in LA, New York and Brazil as she works as a film producer which is super interesting.
Audrey she graduated from journalism and she became a scriptwriter and currently she is directing her first film plus working for the ''Stylist'' magazine.
Caroline she studied at Sorbonne university in Paris and then she moved to New York to pursue modeling. She returned to Paris and started her own music label, she also became ambassador for ''Chanel '' and recently ''Lancome'' luxury brands. Way to go Caroline!
And last but not least Anne she already released 2 books and she also writes for television and theater.
There you can see their pictures as well. Such cool girls!
The Content
What i like before i start digging into the content is once you open the book on the first page you see this red pages in the beginning and also in the end as you can see above, it reminds me of the "Louboutin" red shoe color. It's pretty classy and of course Parisian. Super nice design!
The book is divided into 5 big chapters, all with sub chapters on their own, i will just mention the chapters :
- Get the Basics
- Own your bad habits
- Cultivate your allure
- Dare to love
- Parisian tips
First chapter
First chapter has 16 under chapters and are about numerous tips for example what you may find inside a Parisian women's closet or what a man thinks about the french women, a history reminder of who the most famous Parisian women were, what a first date should look like, how to go all natural with the makeup and of course what there must be in your purse. What i love about this book so far is that it has bunch of illustrations throw out and the covers are like hard plastic kinda of like. First chapter was great and very funny, i think i read it so fast in less than 15 minutes. I enjoyed every tip and seriously i learn many things.
Second chapter
This chapter is more about love and tips on how to make him think you're a lover or how to host a dinner party and what i love the most is the fact that food recipes are posted inside of course French recipes with step by step instructions on how to cook them like in Paris. I did got some tips which i am going to prepare soon. Also main courser and desserts you may find throw out the book which is totally amazing and maybe that's why became so fast a big hit. More chapters like French snobbism and how to get motivated to go the gym or work. Great stories and tips as well!
Third chapter
This chapter is more about fashion on how to choose the most important pieces to own to how to maintain a 24 hour look to what books should be in your bookshelf. What i love about this chapter is that they teach you with example how to reach that self confidence attribute and many things about the skin, clothes and how to find your own fashion sense.
Fourth chapter
Is going back to second chapter and love sort off, they show us how the ideal man should be from the Parisian perspective and how to keep an optimistic view on love. How to acknowlegde your own true assets. More chapters about loving your own body naked and how to party like a Parisian and what are the perspective on marriage and some advises from the point of view of a mother. What i love about this chapter is that i found myself in it, i mean like Romanian and East European way of thinking on marriage, my mom and me consider that marriage is no longer what it used to be and you can easily stay many year with somebody without that piece of paper to it which is the same taught as French women.
Fifth chapter
Last chapter is by far my favorite and because is so funny and so great pictures with a lot of cooking recipes, for example the classic crepes recipe with the good old recipe for mayonnaise and tips on how to set a table and how to choose your own perfume until you became 30 and last but not least what to do if you are in Paris, what to visit and a bunch of addresses for cool places. Also a glossar with the most famous things Parisians are known for such as the crosissants and la province and the rose wine. Last page is about the English French words that everybody shares. And of course another great picture with the girls all sitting together on a table in Paris.
The price
This book as i ordered from abroad it cost 16. 99 Pounds which i think it was around 80 TL ( 20 something euro's ) if i am not wrong because i did bought many months ago.
Conclusions
I am not so much a reader lately but i was back in my days, whenever i find a book so good it literally keeps me going until i finish it and this book was by far one of those especially if you are into fashion like me. I cannot recommend this book for boys sorry but i think every girl should definitely read it or at least give it a try. It's a great lecture, funny as hell and bunch of illustrations and many times you will find yourself throw the pages and examples. I gave it 5 star rating because is that good seriously, buy it!
Photo gallery
Content available in other languages
Want to have your own Erasmus blog?
If you are experiencing living abroad, you're an avid traveller or want to promote the city where you live... create your own blog and share your adventures!
I want to create my Erasmus blog! →
Comments (0 comments)