could you answer to my (stupid) question? so, are French women skinnier and what size do they usually wear? I'm just interested...don't get angry, please!I mean, French are not very obese country, I think I heard that they are one of the skinniest in Europe according to studies.
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well, thank you guys ! well, about weight .... frankly ? my mother and her friends are all very thin ( a little bit more than 40 kg for 1m60). I am also quite thin (55 kg for 1m83) , and so are my friends ... I even think that I've never been with someone really fat in my class (I'm 17). However, it is true than you can see more an more obese people in the streets. But in the bourgeoisie, it is very rare ... a matter of money I think
My mother doesn't follow any diet, she just eats what she likes, but in small quantity ... I guess that's the key ... I can ask her if you want
But it is sure that there are much less fat people in france than in Great Britain for example ...
My mother doesn't follow any diet, she just eats what she likes, but in small quantity ... I guess that's the key ... I can ask her if you want
But it is sure that there are much less fat people in france than in Great Britain for example ...
Huysmans messages provide a good insight into the french concept of fashion: It should not dominate your life, but you must master the subject. I believe it is much easier if your mother and great mother can offer some advice. This subject is about do's and don'ts, it is full of rules which to some may sound too much hard trouble, but not if you like fashion and enjoy looking good.
My own mother (spanish
) never went out the door without properly styled hair, discreet makeup and perfume. And she was a housewife. Moreover, she taught me all about looking after my clothes and shoes. She taught me to wear confortable shoes inside the house, never sneakers or slippers.
I have noticed that in the UK fashion is more about experimenting, being original, outrageous, creating your own crazy combinations...but women rarely are well dressed. In France the end result is that you must look attractive, no matter what you wear.
In France, Italy or Spain women make the effort to look decent even if it is only to buy a loaf of bread. You may like not the result, but the effort is there.
My own mother (spanish
) never went out the door without properly styled hair, discreet makeup and perfume. And she was a housewife. Moreover, she taught me all about looking after my clothes and shoes. She taught me to wear confortable shoes inside the house, never sneakers or slippers. I have noticed that in the UK fashion is more about experimenting, being original, outrageous, creating your own crazy combinations...but women rarely are well dressed. In France the end result is that you must look attractive, no matter what you wear.
In France, Italy or Spain women make the effort to look decent even if it is only to buy a loaf of bread. You may like not the result, but the effort is there.
helena
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thanks huysmans & shadow - I really enjoyed your posts. I guess it corresponds with my own 'view' onto french style. But I am not sure that the french are less willing to experiment - i think the french are much more artistic/thoughtful in the way they put together outfits. In the UK people copy celebrities more & more & the french seem to have more of a mind of their own. Well this is my experience of Paris (go to the south of France & there are plenty of copycats wearing the sex & the city style).
I was in Paris last week and have come back with lots of great ideas mainly ones which I saw girls in the street wearing. French women are not slaves to the big t*t & *** phenomenon that the Brits & Americans seem to adore which I also like. I didn't see any girls wearing the JLo/Britney Spears bling/trash thing.
I especially like to walk around st germain & watch all the women (of all ages) wear their styles so well. Last week was not so good as usual given the extreme froid!
As for weight - here's a story - last night I wanted to make a chinese noodle soup & to make it I needed some spring onions (scallions) and mushrooms and I went into three grocery shops on my way home to get some - and none of them had any fruit or veg to speak of. There is no way you'd find that in France - anywhere. We, in the uK, eat take away meals three times a week (curry, pizza, chinese) and the rest of the time we eat stodge & microwave dinners. No wonder we are turning into a nation of fat bloaters! Cuturally we do not appreciate fine food & we are certainly not prepared to pay for it. We want cheap easy meals that allow us to slob out in front of the tV (much like what most people want from their wardrobes).
Sorry - I am on a bit of a rant.
I was in Paris last week and have come back with lots of great ideas mainly ones which I saw girls in the street wearing. French women are not slaves to the big t*t & *** phenomenon that the Brits & Americans seem to adore which I also like. I didn't see any girls wearing the JLo/Britney Spears bling/trash thing.
I especially like to walk around st germain & watch all the women (of all ages) wear their styles so well. Last week was not so good as usual given the extreme froid!
As for weight - here's a story - last night I wanted to make a chinese noodle soup & to make it I needed some spring onions (scallions) and mushrooms and I went into three grocery shops on my way home to get some - and none of them had any fruit or veg to speak of. There is no way you'd find that in France - anywhere. We, in the uK, eat take away meals three times a week (curry, pizza, chinese) and the rest of the time we eat stodge & microwave dinners. No wonder we are turning into a nation of fat bloaters! Cuturally we do not appreciate fine food & we are certainly not prepared to pay for it. We want cheap easy meals that allow us to slob out in front of the tV (much like what most people want from their wardrobes).
Sorry - I am on a bit of a rant.
Helena, you are sooo right about the food! If you eat processed ANYTHING you are eating more salt, sugar and cheap oils (palm and coconut) than if you cooked the meal yourself. But having lived in the UK and Ireland, I noticed that what people want is convenience, and spending one hour cooking dinner sounds crazy to the average person. People thought I was crazy because I made my own tomato sauce and my own hamburgers.
The way to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy is to buy raw ingredients and spend longer in the kitchen. The french know a lot about that.
The way to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy is to buy raw ingredients and spend longer in the kitchen. The french know a lot about that.
helena
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thanks shadow - yes I can see that. I think part of the issue also comes from the longer working hours in the UK and more people who commute. I think also women are less likely to work (full time) when they start a family. There are slightly more traditional roles which may account for more time to spend in the kitchen. do you agree?
I think that food in general is not a big issue in the U.K. If you notice how on friday evenings people go out boozing right after work without having had dinner first, it shows just how unimportant eating is. In Spain and France food is quite an obsession, everything revolves around it. It may be the hungry years of the war, I don't know.
Most of my spanish friends work outside the house and they still manage to cook a fish on the oven with onions and sliced potatoes in 20 min. There is a great pressure for women to be able to cook like their mothers (homemade croquettes and so on) while holding a full time job. Talk about liberation!!
Most of my spanish friends work outside the house and they still manage to cook a fish on the oven with onions and sliced potatoes in 20 min. There is a great pressure for women to be able to cook like their mothers (homemade croquettes and so on) while holding a full time job. Talk about liberation!!
helena
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Shadow - its not so liberated here either! Interesting how you have picked up on the binge drinking in the UK. Its mad! all my colleagues do it - its endemic in our culture now. Its a really big problem. There is so much pressure to get drunk - if you don't participate you are made a fool of.... obviously not in all circles of uk life but in many, including professional ones. I don't know about the more creative jobs though. Have you read the Fashion, culture & aesthetics thread (Designers & Collections) its quite interesting what everyone has to say....
When we get a government in the UK that actually prevents employers from exploiting their employees to work the longest hours in Europe , to the detriment of family life and ' quality time ' ; and equally a realisation on the part of those employees that to be a ' workoholic ' is NOT an essential sign of loyalty to one's employer in order to to retain ones job and a prerequisite for any promotion ; then workers have enough time to prepare their food properly and have time for rest and recuperation in the form of eating properly .
The quality of life , at the moment , in France , Germany , Spain , Italy etc , is FAR FAR better than in the UK . ( Although their governments are looking to adopt the various tenets of Anglo-Saxon capitalism . You have been warned !!! )
That's why , in the UK , we have to eat time-saving processed food and feed our schoolkids absolute sh1t costing £1.30 per meal , with the actual ingredient cost for each meal being 37p , or thereabouts !!!
THAT's why people binge drink at weekends , because it's an easy way to oblivion and it's almost always followed by a cheap ' restaurant ' meal , gulped down at speed accompanied by pints of lager , FULL of ersatz ingredients that can then , in many cases be spewed all over the pavement .
Sorry for the rant and going off - topic .
The quality of life , at the moment , in France , Germany , Spain , Italy etc , is FAR FAR better than in the UK . ( Although their governments are looking to adopt the various tenets of Anglo-Saxon capitalism . You have been warned !!! )
That's why , in the UK , we have to eat time-saving processed food and feed our schoolkids absolute sh1t costing £1.30 per meal , with the actual ingredient cost for each meal being 37p , or thereabouts !!!
THAT's why people binge drink at weekends , because it's an easy way to oblivion and it's almost always followed by a cheap ' restaurant ' meal , gulped down at speed accompanied by pints of lager , FULL of ersatz ingredients that can then , in many cases be spewed all over the pavement .
Sorry for the rant and going off - topic .
hi i just wanted to say merci to huysmans adn hola to shadow. shadow de k parte e España eres?yo soy de bilbao.Anyway i would lke to add that i think dressign in a fashinable way in france speacially paris(i think) is part of their heritage. about the cooking in spain e have an important issue with good food. Imean we cook a lot of things with fress stuff and are not much into unfreezing and micro but do it ur self from starch.For example i have a american guy in my class and he says ham(normal type, not serrano, iberico or one of those) tastes much better here. He said that in the US he didn't like it at all. I guess that will help him live withouot rootbeer and penut butter.
Thanks for ur great posts
Thanks for ur great posts
well, that's nothing ! It is pleasure to share one of of the few things i've got some knowledge about.
And I am sorry to destroy the "myth", but stop admiring Charlotte Gainsbourg ! She is not the perfect frenchwoman ! I've met her for real for the third time recently, and let me say you : Don't believe the photos, because there is a huge difference between being classily messy and plain dirty ! And Charlotte is dirty, it seems that she doesn't have any respect for herself !
However, her half sister Lou Doillon, whom I saw at Jil Sander avenue Montaigne, is way cleaner than her, and incredibly pretty !
If you re looking for great looking women from all generation, go and see Ludivine Sagnier, Catherine deneuve (no matter what you think about her, she is full of elegance) and, as far as i am concerned, Anna Mouglalis, who is so intelligent, beautiful, well dressed, it is sickening ! Plus, she's a good actress ...
And I am sorry to destroy the "myth", but stop admiring Charlotte Gainsbourg ! She is not the perfect frenchwoman ! I've met her for real for the third time recently, and let me say you : Don't believe the photos, because there is a huge difference between being classily messy and plain dirty ! And Charlotte is dirty, it seems that she doesn't have any respect for herself !
However, her half sister Lou Doillon, whom I saw at Jil Sander avenue Montaigne, is way cleaner than her, and incredibly pretty !
If you re looking for great looking women from all generation, go and see Ludivine Sagnier, Catherine deneuve (no matter what you think about her, she is full of elegance) and, as far as i am concerned, Anna Mouglalis, who is so intelligent, beautiful, well dressed, it is sickening ! Plus, she's a good actress ...
Very interesting topic. I should visit Paris soon. I'm living in the west of germany so it's not that far away, but I've never been there. I think I'll get some sort of 'overload' there, because I only get one or two sightings a week of people with real style here (if I'm lucky).
Almost everone here belongs to the overall H&M or celebrity copy or to the "praktische" group (practical, convenient). There also seems to be one important law: If you become parent, you have to forget every little thing about fashion or style, by all means! You have to switch to "praktische" clothes, "praktisches" Auto, "praktische" shoes. Ban high-heels completely! Buy Birkenstocks (the ugliest shoes ever) Urgh..
Speaking of my own style, I've just learned in the recent two years what Huysmans has said:
the main thing is to know your best features and to use them.
But I had to teach myself. No one told me, my parents are rather not stylish..
Almost everone here belongs to the overall H&M or celebrity copy or to the "praktische" group (practical, convenient). There also seems to be one important law: If you become parent, you have to forget every little thing about fashion or style, by all means! You have to switch to "praktische" clothes, "praktisches" Auto, "praktische" shoes. Ban high-heels completely! Buy Birkenstocks (the ugliest shoes ever) Urgh..
Speaking of my own style, I've just learned in the recent two years what Huysmans has said:
the main thing is to know your best features and to use them.
But I had to teach myself. No one told me, my parents are rather not stylish..
Hello Lifeis! Soy de Asturias . How I miss the beaches of the North.
My absolute french Icon is Catherine Deneuve, (pity about the arrogance) but I would say that Vanessa Paradis epytomises now that Je ne sais quoi that some french women have.
I have a friend with three kids and a part time job and she is always perfect (she's french). One day she came up to pick up her kids at my place, sooo stylishly dressed (and she was not going anywhere) that I had to ask her where she had the energy to do it. She said that she felt instantly better when she was all done up, that it gave her a kick.
It is VERY unusual to find a mother with young kids who bothers at all about her appearance. In Germany and Holland ( Ajott, you are sooo right!) they do go for the confort, Esprit is a chic make there!
Finally, when I am in Paris (rarely) I feel so exhilarated with what I seel that I dare to dress in a way that I would probably not do back home, for fear of calling unwanted attention (very silly of me)
. How I miss the beaches of the North.My absolute french Icon is Catherine Deneuve, (pity about the arrogance) but I would say that Vanessa Paradis epytomises now that Je ne sais quoi that some french women have.
I have a friend with three kids and a part time job and she is always perfect (she's french). One day she came up to pick up her kids at my place, sooo stylishly dressed (and she was not going anywhere) that I had to ask her where she had the energy to do it. She said that she felt instantly better when she was all done up, that it gave her a kick.
It is VERY unusual to find a mother with young kids who bothers at all about her appearance. In Germany and Holland ( Ajott, you are sooo right!) they do go for the confort, Esprit is a chic make there!
Finally, when I am in Paris (rarely) I feel so exhilarated with what I seel that I dare to dress in a way that I would probably not do back home, for fear of calling unwanted attention (very silly of me)
I think it's not French people who have great style, Parisiens have great style. I have family in the south of France (Marseille, Montpellier, Perpignan and Nice) and they dress quite bad, but I have some friends from Paris who dress beautifully. Their clothes are pretty normal, but it's the way they put it toghether that mades them look gorgeous.
i just came to think about it and the thing probably is that people in france (paris) wont give u the looks u get in other places. And that buils up ur courage and ur creativity.
Like i know that if i was to dress really different and walk around my town which is very pijo (i think the word in english is preppy but not sure) i would have to hear people's comentes and they would no tbe nice.
Hola Yppe (mas gente de españa!
p 
Like i know that if i was to dress really different and walk around my town which is very pijo (i think the word in english is preppy but not sure) i would have to hear people's comentes and they would no tbe nice.
Hola Yppe (mas gente de españa!
p kit said:When we get a government in the UK that actually prevents employers from exploiting their employees to work the longest hours in Europe , to the detriment of family life and ' quality time ' ; and equally a realisation on the part of those employees that to be a ' workoholic ' is NOT an essential sign of loyalty to one's employer in order to to retain ones job and a prerequisite for any promotion ; then workers have enough time to prepare their food properly and have time for rest and recuperation in the form of eating properly .
The quality of life , at the moment , in France , Germany , Spain , Italy etc , is FAR FAR better than in the UK . ( Although their governments are looking to adopt the various tenets of Anglo-Saxon capitalism . You have been warned !!! )
That's why , in the UK , we have to eat time-saving processed food and feed our schoolkids absolute sh1t costing £1.30 per meal , with the actual ingredient cost for each meal being 37p , or thereabouts !!!
THAT's why people binge drink at weekends , because it's an easy way to oblivion and it's almost always followed by a cheap ' restaurant ' meal , gulped down at speed accompanied by pints of lager , FULL of ersatz ingredients that can then , in many cases be spewed all over the pavement .
Sorry for the rant and going off - topic .
The problem with that is that productivity is far lower in nearly all industries in Britain than in other countries in Europe. We do the same amount of work, we just seem to do it more slowly, and complain more.
The rumpled style of Charlotte is a copy of her mother and father's (Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg) and Lou is more of the same. A carefully studied nonchalance mixed with rumpled hair, a wrinkled raincoat and a whiff of nicotine from Gitanes. I don't like it either.
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