I have always been into what makes me, “me”. I always thought it was important to pay attention to my packaging in order to put myself out into the world in a way that will make a difference. Fashion, color, and glitter – yes, glitter and all things that sparkle – were always high on my list of what made me, me. Hairstyle and fragrance were always carefully crafted to reflect me. My combination of these things made up a person that was (and still is) uniquely me.
Maybe you are like me and constantly revamp your clothes, really care where every strand of hair falls, and are very careful to choose your scent with much care and research into yourself. If so, you have gone out of your way to discover your own Ooh La La!, the title of the newest book by my friend, Jamie Cat Callan.
And maybe you are not like me. Maybe clothes and hair and make-up are of little interest to you. Maybe you are happy with what you see in the mirror before you leave the house, without giving much thought to crafting a style that reflects the very “you” of you. And that’s great – for you, too, have discovered your own place of Ooh la la.
Women who can thrust their hair up into a pony tail and be happy in jeans and a tee shirt get major kudos from me. Their happiness in their own skin, without a whole lot of fine tuning, is a style all itself, telling me they are fearless and not bound by the insecurities that bind me. My ponytail (when I had hair long enough to make one) was always curled and honed and colored and sprayed until it gave off it’s own glittery glow. My tee-shirt would have to be of a certain style – never the kind you by at a concert – you know, the ones that really are in the shape of a “T”? And my jeans? We won’t even go there. The amount of time and the process it takes for me to find and buy the perfect pair of jeans could be a whole separate post. So those of you who can non-chalantly throw your hair up into that pony tail, don your jeans and tee-shirt and show up confident and ready to rock, have my deepest admiration.
Now, what about those of you who are not happy with what you see in the mirror? My friend Jamie Cat Callan has written the perfect guide for American women who see “Oh my God!” instead of “Ooh la la!” when they look in the mirror. The title of the first chapter is “You Had Me at Bonjour”. Under that was a quote by Coco Chanel (whom I have always held in the highest of esteem when it came to finding inner beauty) :
How many cares one loses when one decides not to become something, but to be someone.
Cat Callan definitely had me at bonjour. I didn’t need to read any further to know that this was a book I was going to covet. I am a believer in taking who you are out into the world and live the adventure of who you become. In order to do that, you have to have a vision of who you are. Cat Callan believes French women are born with knack of crafting that vision and we American women can take a lesson or two from them – in fact, each chapter ends with a recap – French Lessons. She spent time interviewing interesting women all over France seeking to find out where they get their Ooh la la from. What is it that sparks that quality that they move about the cafes with, that mesmerizes everyone they meet?
Do you know what it is? It’s so simple it’s laughable that we didn’t know this. In America beauty is thin and twenty. If you don’t have thin and twenty, you don’t have beauty. Yes, sadly, we are a shallow country. Cat Callan shows through the interviews with French women that that is definitely not the case in France. Paying attention to what makes you smile and what moves you goes a long way in establishing a beauty the news media in this country is not familiar with. Read Ooh La La! by Jamie Cat Callan and you too, my friend will find yourself kicking up one heel, doing a little twirl, and uttering an Ooh la la or two when you take that last mirror check before leaving the house (without being required to be thin and twenty).
The prose is light and quick to read, but the meaning cuts deep – deep below some surfaces few of us are willing delve into without a little encouragement. My author friend and blogger, Christine Merser, also read and reviewed Jamie’s book at Christine Merser.com. I urge you to take a look at her review (because she is a professional book and movie reviewer, whereas I am not), and, after listening to both of us, download your copy today and change that “Oh my God!” into “Ooh La La!”.
And so, as another day goes by, you will be surprised to find your Ooh la la is so close at hand, being thin and twenty has nothing to do with it, and…I have written.
Merci beaucoup for this wonderfully thoughtful and beautiful review, Linda! And yes, I can see–you are a sparkly kind of girl–and you make the world a very sparkly place and fun place to be! xo Jamie