Parisian Chic: The Book Report

Author: Ines de la Fresssange, with Sophie Gachet. Ms. de la Fressange is a fashion model, businesswoman with a chain of clothing boutiques, a designer, and a consultant for Jean-Paul Gaultier. Ms. Gachet is a French fashion expert.

Publisher: Flammarion, S.A. (English ed. 2011). Soft cover.

Discussion: Don't let the title intimidate. If written by an American woman and not a French one, the book could be titled "New York Chic" -- not meaning magazine chic, but the chic of real women who live in New York and find their clothing at interesting shops not on 5th Avenue.

The emphasis here is is on photographs (and lots of them) of people and goods found by the author in Paris. The author's comments on the shops and clothing are set out in a bullet style. The book also contains life style sections and lots of website references. This is a "shopping guide book" of Parisian everyday style that covers a lot of subject territory. The contents indicate that the subject of "Parisian chic" covers more than just clothing styles. If nothing else, it provides comfort that American everyday style is not as pedestrian as one might sometimes think.

Rating: Interesting and fun for the fashion conscious. If you just want information regarding Parisian clothing and styling, this book could disappoint, however.