French women

[Sylph]

[EricMontreal22]

Even when I lived in Montreal (far and away the most fashionable city in Canada--maybe N America) I noticed this particularly with the Francos.

[Sylph]

Montreal is the most fashionable city in Canada? Really?

Kind of obvious, but then again...

[Cat]

Proud to be à moitié française!

Not to shatter the illusion, but the "everybody has extra-marital affairs" myth is just that. A myth. Not saying everybody is faithful but it's like everywhere -- statistically you are going to get some people do and some who don't.

We/they have bad hair/clothes days, too. LOL. However, whenever I see my mom doing the scarf thing, I have to laugh. You can take the girl out of Paris...

I do like the way they celebrate their female icons regardless of age. I mean, Catherine Deneuve is compelling and stunning because of her age and experience and not despite it. She was gorgeous when she was younger, of course (Les parapluies de Cherbourg, Belle de Jour) but people recognize that this was a different era, a different Catherine. Her film roles today reflect that evolution. She still impresses and astounds me when I see her in movies now.

It would be really cool if FrenchFan came in here and gave us his/her view on this subject.

[EricMontreal22]

Deneuve I still think I love her best with her sister (RIP ) in Jeune Filles du Rochefort.

Sylph, why are you surprised? It's funny when I went to school there, after going to school in Vancouver--a lot of the people would *dress nicely* for university LOL (of course Vancouver and all of BC is notoriously casual/west coast hippy)

[Sylph]

I always kind of found it faux-European and kind of centauresque, a sort of weird mixture between European, French traditions and North American ones.

So you didn't dress nicely? And they converted you?

[Sylph]

I love the scarf thing! Just love it!

Deneuve has gorgeous hair. Remember how you said Kate Walsh / Dr. Addison Montgomery is a red-haired Deneuve? Well, that was spot on.

It would!!!

[Cat]

Oh yes! Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (maybe the title was different in Canada)! Her sister was Françoise Dorléac who was slightly quirkier-looking than her but still stunning, of course. She died in a tragic auto accident (where she was decapitated) in the mid or late 60s. Deneuve always said that she was quite shy and so she would always want to go out with her sister because the outgoing and funny Françoise took her out of her shell.

Gosh, I should really stop reading French magazines like Paris Match and Point de Vue, because this is where I learn all this trivia-worthy stuff.

BTW, she is not technically French but she was considered an honorary French -- Romy Schneider. I always found her compelling-looking.

I wish I could take the credit for that insightful comment. But I can't. It was a passing comment in an old Grey's Anatomy episode (back when I watched it, for Addison, of course). A patient told her she looked like a red-haired Catherine Deneuve. It gave her a huge boost of self-esteem because it followed Dr. NotDreamy "choosing" Meredith. So thank Shonda Rhimes.

And yes, Deneuve is blessed with beautiful, thick hair and always has been, I think. She needs to get with L'Oréal or one of the other cosmetic companies and come up with a signature hair products line.

[EricMontreal22]

Growing up, we had a subscription to Paris Match (and no, you got the film name right--I was looking at my English DVD cover and just doing a half assed literal translation back to French lol)

[EricMontreal22]

HA, I don't find it a weird mixture at all--I lived there after spending nearly a year in Europe (which I would have stayed with if I could afford it) so, especially considering how cheap it is to live in Montreal, for me it was the best of all worlds. But it is a bit strange to find the mix of cosmopolitan European sophistication with basic Canadian stuff, I guess (have you been?)

Let's just say on the West Coast I tended to dress a bit too formal, relatively speaking--in Montreal it was a bit too casual

[Sylph]

So then you've obviously a fan of Sissi? Romy... Cat, you have divine taste. As if we didn't know already!

I wish I could remember the exact moment and scene, but it does sound familiar now that you mention it...

Well, she was chosen as their new face somewhere around 2000, but I can't recall whether she was in a hair product commercial. Because if she wasn't, she must be! And kind of OT, but I always loved Andy McDowell L'Oréal commercials.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

It's funny, I was talking to a Québécois friend of mine the other day and he mentioned the utter disgust a lot of French people have towards French-Canadians, considering them to be of some lesser status and not as equivalent in a sophisticated manner.

He also wants Québec to be a nation onto itself, so that should tell you something...

Not to mention that a lot of French people who visit Montréal don't understand the language. I'm fluent in French and one of my many French professors in university constantly talked about the dated version of French most Québécois people speak and how she was totally lost when she visited Montréal, as they speak a dialect closely related to 18th century French, when French rule ended in North America, of course.

[Cat]

LOL, I usually have trashy taste. But you can't deny the class that is La Romy. I loved Sissi. I also loved her later movies like The Swimming Pool, Les Choses de la Vie and César and Rosalie (the latter is particularly good).

[Sylph]

I forgot to add that I love the 8 femmes movie precisely because it showcases so many wonderful French actresses: apart from Deneuve — Huppert, Béart, Darrieux, Ardant...

[Cat]

That's a shame because these kinds of regional differences should be celebrated. I love the fact that a lot of Normans and Bretons emigrated to Quebec in the 18th century and that is what colors the language and customs today. These people left a temperate climate to build a new life for themselves in unknown territory and extreme climate conditions (like the English, Scottish and Irish settlers in the rest of Canada) and that takes some balls!

I also met a friend from Louisiana -- her ancestors were French-speaking Acadians who were expelled from Canada and went down south. So its cool how langauge and customs migrate and form their own unique imprint.