HOW TO BE PARISIAN (WHEREVER YOU ARE)

According to Anne Berest, Caroline de Maigret, Audrey Diwan and Sophie Mas (authors of How to be Parisian: Wherever You Are) this list should be read aloud every night before going to bed (even when inebriated). It contains within it, the secret knowledge (and Francophile-ian alchemy) to transform any woman into a true Parisian:

Wear a black bra under your white blouse, like two notes on a sheet of music. *  Find “your” perfume before you turn thirty. Wear it for the next thirty years. * No one should ever see your gums when you talk or laugh. * If you own only one sweater, make sure it’s cashmere. * One must live with the opposite sex, not against them. Except when making love. * Be unfaithful: cheat on your perfume, but only on cold days. * Go to the theatre, to museums and to concerts as often as possible: it gives you a healthy glow. * Be aware of your qualities and your faults. Cultivate them in private but don’t obsess. * Make it look easy. Everything you do should seem effortless and graceful. * Don’t be afraid of ageing. As the saying goes, don’t be afraid of anything but fear itself. * Not too much makeup, too many colours, too many accessories… * Your look should always have one thing left undone – the devil is in the details. * Be your own knight in shining armour. * Cut your own hair or ask your sister to do it for you. Of course you know celebrity hairdressers, but only as friends. * Always be sensuous: when standing in line at the bakery on a Sunday morning, buying champagne in the middle of the night or even picking the kids up from school. You never know. * Fashion rules the world and Parisians rule fashion. Fine, it may not be true. But the world still needs fairy tales.

And now for the most important piece of Parisian advice. If you forget everything else… Remember this: Take a deep breath and keep it simple!