I don't remember who or what inspired me to buy Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl, by Debra Ollivier. But I just picked it up off my bookshelf, and found these words within the first 50 pages:
The French girl's preference for quality over quantity ties directly into her ability to say No: No to excess in people, things or ideas; No to what doesn't grace her world. Quality over quantity is not just about material things. Who inhabits her world, who feeds her mind, who's allowed into her private garden? ...
If she can't afford it, she won't buy it. If it doesn't fit (or make her feel good, or flaunt what she's got), she won't wear it. If she can't find it, she won't compromise. If she loves it, she won't toss it. ...
When the French girl shops, it isn't a solitary act of buying something new. It's part of a lifelong process of editing her environment, making small but meaningful additions or adjustments to her home, her closet, her life. ...
You invest in authentic things of quality that will endure and you focus on what's essential. ...
The French school of fashion advocates having those few perfect items: The perfect black dress. The perfect white blouse. The perfect pullover. The perfect overcoat. The idea here is singularity: pieces purchased one by one that slowly build up a quality wardrobe through discretion.
13 comments:
C'est vrai. Mais je pense que ce n'est pas juste les Français qui pensent comme ça, c'est tous les Européens.
En Amérique du Nord, on pense plus du prix que de la qualité. Si on exige la qualité de nos choses, on aura une meilleure qualité de vie.
Je pense que le problème est; c'est difficile à trouver les choses de bonne qualité.
HOW STUPID !!!!!
Merci bien, Jacki!
Here's the Google Translate version of what Jacki wrote:
True. But I think it's not just the French who think like that, it all Europeans.
In North America, we think more about price than quality. If it requires the quality of our things, we will have a better quality of life.
I think the problem is it is difficult to find things in good quality.
I completely LOVE this entry. Trying to start the trend of frugal living within my community, I find this article to be completely on task. if we become more selective, there is less waste and a better quality of life. I love the idea of living pleasurably but accumulating little.
Sometimes we buy something we know we already have, but can't find! How wasteful and excessive is that??? I agree, buy less, be more selective AND toss or give away what no longer works. Downsize "stuff" including shoes, eeekkkks!
I love this book, and can also recommend a new book she has out about how differently French women relate to men.
I also enjoyed
Design Your Self: Rethinking the Way You Live, Love, Work, and Play by Karim Rashid (Paperback - April 11, 2006). One of his priciples is tha you need to decide whether you'd rather have the thing or the space it occupies.
Glad you featured this -- it's probably my favorite "girl" book!
Contains a good Marguerite Duras quote about the distinction between charm and clutter:
"Charm represents the little details that reflect the character of the people who live in the home; clutter is a helpless, hopeless giving over to disorder that makes a house unbearable."
I like the work of designer Karim Rashid, too, so thanks also to kbfenner's comment.
Okay, I just went to Amazon.com and read the Publisher's Weekly review of Karim Rashid's Design Yourself book. Now I'm wondering if I might find his design work more appealing than his writing! I'll withhold judgment until I have a chance to read it.
I'm glad this post resonated with so many people. (I got e-mail messages, too.)
I'm intrigued by the Karim Rashid book. I'll have to check it out; I just reserved it from my library. (But a "no bookshelves" rule?)
Finally occurred to me to search for the blog post I wrote about this book. Here it is, if you'd like to take a look.
Cynthia, it was probably your post that got me to pick up Entre Nous! I knew it was a recommendation from a trusted source - I just didn't remember who.
One of the many things I like about working from home is not needing to have a large wardrobe. This has opened the door for me to buy things that I really love, that are comfortable and look good on me, and it's really quite wonderful!
Janet, how wonderful that you're now wearing items that suit you so well!
I think Debra Ollivier would say the French viewpoint is that no one needs a large wardrobe!
Here's a quote from her, from a recent LA Times article, sent to me by The Thoughtful Consumer: "American women are so surprised that French women will wear the same clothes over and over again, with a minor adjustment here and there. They have a certain relationship to simplicity that we don't."
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