The Art of Femininity~ A French Girl Friday

Femininity is not all about lace, flowers, and ruffles. For a lot of women, they simply are not comfortable wearing things, but in the same turn fear that if they do not, they will come off as a tomboy like. You do not need to dress in such things or even wear a lot of make up etc to be exude femininity. The typical French woman wears very simple, classic clothing, they do not wear a lot of make up and they keep their hair very simple. It is more about an attitude, about confidence and how they carry themselves with just a few "girly" touches to complete the picture so to say. 

*vintage Dior

In reading Jennifer L. Scott's book " Lessons From Madame Chic" , I had another one of those " Uh Oh, not sure I can channel my inner French girl side of femininity" I do not have the classic French bob, though I once did, I happen to have breast implants, though I do plan to have them removed...OH did I shock you??? That is a whole other blog, but let me just say after three kids and a lot of weight put on and taken off, and it being the 90's I opted to go that route, but now wish to go au natural, but as I stated that is another blog for the future... back to this one. So, I do not have the bob, I have the fake breasts, and I also have fake nails. French women tend to find all that pas nécessaire. But the more I thought about it, I could channel my inner French girl side of femininity in other ways and already do and well who knows where my hair will be... a bob might be in my future again... the nails, well I am partial to the classic natural or red tone on my acrylic nails ( I have them by the way due to very brittle nails so it is a health thing), that I do my best to keep at a natural length and shape. 

*Jean Patchette 

So what is some of the ways that French women show their femininity ? I think the easiest way to go over the "bullet points" is to start at the end of the ninth chapter of the book, with the "Le Recap" ....

" Cultivate good posture and constantly 

check yourself until it becomes naturally to you " 

My Mom was always telling me to stand up straight, pushing my shoulders back etc etc. It became such a habit with her that it soon became a habit to self check myself. I now do my best when I realize that I am slouching to stand up straight and push my shoulders back. There is an upside to this, it makes me look taller, slimmer and my clothing looks better. Physically it feels better as well. 

" Explore the world of perfume and either 

choose a signature scent or a capsule perfume wardrobe.

Delight in the process, as perfume is one of the great joys 

of life. "

I love perfume and cologne . I always have. I try to wear at least a scented body spray. I do not have a signature, but my favorite Chanel No. 5, though I do love all the Chanel perfumes. I am fickle and like to wear scents that match my mood or my outfit feel, but I definitely feel feminine as I spritz on my scent for the day. I could be wearing a tank top and shorts, and be working out in the garden, but I have my daily scent on. 

" Strive to always have well groomed nails-

whether they are just buffed and filed or elaborately painted"

I love my nails. I have had acrylics most of my adult life. I have very brittle nails ( I will save you the gory details) , so they save me from a lot of pain. I have gone through my times of having them look over the top, too long, outrageous colors, designs painted on them, and currently I have a splash of glitter on them . Decidedly American, yes, but I love them and I feel very girly and get a lot of enjoyment from them. I have been sticking with classic red, a pretty pink or a nice nude shade, I keep them shorter now, and a very nice oval shape, no more "square round" for me. I am sure as I age I will finally let go of the glitter... I do desire to show a more classic side of myself as I age, and though I shall always have acrylics, having them appear more natural might be my way of channeling that inner French girl appearance. 

" Healthy hair in an attractive style does wonders

for femininity "

I have had a simple bob many times in my hair style history, but it is a lot of work to keep it up, I have very thick and wavy hair and now that it is all natural it is very coarse and wire like without using a lot of product or heat tools. I do always keep my hair styled and groomed. I am rather OCD when it comes to my hair. Right now I have a poofy layered short bob, as it is growing out from my ultra short pixie cut, it is still easy care even if I do have to wet it and style it each morning, it does not take me very long... bobs on the other hand.... If I were to let my hair do it's own thing as it gets longer it would look as if I stuck my finger in a light socket. 

I am told daily how feminine my new
longer hair makes me look, I must admit
I do feel more girly.. the pink and pearls help.

" The intangible aspects of femininity, 

like self confidence, and a sense of humor and adventure,

are the most important. Never lose sight of these things."

I can have a fragile self esteem, again that is a whole other blog post and one years ago I discussed here, but I have as I have grown older done my best to build my confidence and I know how to fake it quite nicely, most people would never guess I am not super confident. I have a sense of humor, and love to laugh, but just like how I hide the fact that I am not confident, I often hide my sense of humor and appear, come off as very serious and my family keep telling me to lighten up, I am not sure where that comes from, I guess I have two more things to work on to adopt more of the French way of showing femininity.  I have stated many times over the years of doing the French Girl series, I am proud to be an American, but I truly believe there is a lot to be learned from how the French carry themselves and their art of femininity is something to strive for, at least for myself.... how about you? 

* photos from various google searches found over several months, bullet points of the Le Recap taken from the book Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott