Living Forever Chic: Frenchwomen's Timeless Secrets for Everyday Elegance, Gracious Entertaining, and Enduring Allure

How can you go wrong with a book that starts with this: “With each passing birthday, I realize that one of the most important goals in my life is serenity”? The author delivers on this promising opening, offering potentially live-changing attitude resets for us women of a certain age side by side with fun and inexpensive tips for living a good life.The overall theme is a Life Well-Lived (a la Francaise.) Jett’s prescriptions are to appreciate the simple. Be kind and make everyone feel comfortable. Quality in everything. Mix high and low. Avoid the artificiality of chi-chi in favor of being relaxed. Choose modesty over ostentation. Pay attention to the details. And always maintain your sense of wonder.And then she applies these principles to the facets of a woman’s life, from entertaining to homemaking to beauty to how to be elegant. Every suggestion the author makes is expounded on by a French expert in the field. Some are great surprises: she goes to Christine Lagarde, long time director of the International Monetary Fund, to help define l’art de vivre al la Francaise. (I’ll leave it to you to discover Lagarde’s definition, it’s delightful!Lett sprinkles the book with historical notes, tips, sometimes in list form, sometimes a single offering — how many people guests make the perfect dinner party? Jett and her husband have different opinions, you choose — and recipes for everything from French entrees to skin rejuvenators to sachets. My favorite parts were snippets about her husband and her daughter Andrea, how Tish brought her to France thirty years ago, how Andrea applies these principles to her life in Chicago.Great fun and, if the stickies I have attached to every other page are any indication, a really useful book too!

This book will put living the (really) good life in perspective! I believe it is true that French women do work hard to maintain a classy, yet luxurious, lifestyle. As an editor for the French version of an American magazine, Tish Jett had lived among the French, learning about and cultivating secrets to staying young, vibrant and healthy, happy! The tips and advice she shares with us through her books are Fantastic. I bought all copies of her books! Through Ms. Jett's other books, one can learn how to buy French home products and maintain an orderly and healthy home in a fun and enjoyable way! Ms. Jett concentrates ages young to senior citizen, and it's refreshing to know that youth is the only way out for a woman to be considered attractive and alluring!s

This book is like reading advice from a snobby grandmother. There were a few insightful ideas and it was a quick read.

I liked learning different perspectives on French women and how they make their choices. Their culture is very social and I absolutely enjoyed that aspect. It was as my title says, "a fun read," nothing heavy or complicated; I would not buy it having a high expectation of it being very deep in why they do what they do, the reader is shown it is how they are raised. It seems from there, no one really questions why they do what they do.

I love this book. Beautifully written. Full of wonderful details and ideas that I am always trying to bring into my life. What a treat to have such a inside perspective on a culture and way of life that I have always felt a fascination with. The author made it feel like I was sitting with a girlfriend sharing all of the good info i've always wanted to know. This book would make a wonderful gift.

This book calls to my attention how much joy and pleasure I can bring to the little things I do every day. It's a choice to see these day-to-day tasks as chores, or to see them through joyful eyes. I also appreciate the surprising amount of history she brought to her writing. It's very interesting to learn about how our current practices came to be. Tish Jett's modesty and conversational tone leave me with the feeling that I'm enjoying a chat (over champagne, of course) with a generous, kind, elegant, and fun friend.

Tish Jett does it again, with a chatty book that feels like talking to a good friend. We should all aspire to joie de vivre, and Tish shares many insights from France to enhance the art of living. (She's inspired me to host more dinner parties for friends, for one.) A fun read, especially on a dark winter day.

There are many books about Frenchwomen and joie de vivre available today (and I probably own all of them), but Tish Jett’s books are the absolute best. She interviews women of renowned for their exquisite taste, then relays her findings with such warmth and charm. To read her book feels like you’re catching up with a dear friend over a coupe of Champagne. No one else writes the way Tish does. She’s a gem, and so is this wonderful book.

This book is very well written. An enjoyable read with some great hints, suggested skin products and thoughtful reflections on clothes and fashion.

Great read elegantly written and inspiring

Not what I expected

........but I live in Paris and try to embrace all aspects of La Vie Francaise ! Forgive the "crowing". Tish has a way of writing that draws one into her little and many secrets of making the most of everything you have or your surroundings including your personal self. are both interesting and helpful.Thank you Tish,Swan

I enjoyed the first book but I absolutely loved this book as I found it more relatable. Tish is the glamorous big sister I always wished for offering wonderful advice in all subjects chic.