BOOK REVIEW: How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are * Love, Style and Bad Habits.

Impeccably chic in Paris. Photo © Radu Razvan Gheorghe.

I believe I may be the only American woman to have read every book there is on how to be more Parisian. From my childhood fascination with my mother’s French Creole roots (my grandmother’s maiden name is Golette), to weekly tutorials with my Haitian babysitter, completing French language studies in high school and traveling on several occasions to the City of Lights—my intrigue with French culture, Parisian culture in particular—has been lifelong. So, bien sûr, when I came across the book, “How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits,” by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret and Sophie Mas. I had to have it.
My first thought, dear blog reader … oh, those naughty French girls...

John Hazard Forbes on Old Money America.

The once exclusive gates of a Breakers mansion, Newport, Rhode Island.
Photo by Ritu Jethani. 

One of my favorite little books is by Mayflower descendant, Ivy League graduate, art expert and appraiser, John Hazard Forbes. Titled: Old Money America, Aristocracy in the Age of Obama, it "explores the attitudes and behaviors of long-standing, wealthy (American) families.” Their likes, dislikes, and utter abhorrence’s, are a source of considerable education and sometimes affable humor. Great lessons—especially for those that mistake the flamboyance, ostentation and gaudiness of many of our newly affluent—for those possessing class or what used to be called “good breeding.”