yes, i realize we don't talk about my literature of choice here very often (though watch for a post from me soon about the april vogue...not that we're calling it literature, exactly...), but my current read feels very appropriate to share here. on a recommendation from a group of friends, i recently picked up entre nous: a woman's guide to finding her inner french girl
. the book is about, not surprisingly, learning some of the secrets of the french lifestyle. what makes french women so incredibly chic, carefree, and impossibly confident. i actually picked the book up as part of a "less is more" exercise i'm trying to focus on. and, sure enough, i might be on the right track. this book makes the point that, for french women, it's much more about quality than quantity. if it fits you well, and makes you feel amazing, it doesn't matter if it's "trendy." french women tend to have staple wardrobes, with classic items that stay in style season after season. they spend more on what they buy, but they buy less. and, it turns out, the french girl always look amazing because she only has that one black skirt, but it's by dolce and gabbana, it fits her like a glove, and she looks absolutely amazing every time she wears it. you can't really put a price on that, now can you? (though i'm sure D&G have managed...)
i'm not saying i'm prepared to change my "i want it, and i want it now" lifestyle overnight. but i do think there are some good, sound lessons contained in this book for the shopaholics among us. it's okay to ignore a trend if it's not flattering. and it's okay to spend your spring clothing budget on one amazing, timeless item. if you do that every season for 5 years, you're going to have a pretty fabulous closet of items that all work together perfectly, and always make you feel chic, carefree and impossibly confident.
