I had been wanting to read the Madame Chic books by Jennifer L. Scott for over a year, but I never got around to buying them until they came out in a boxed set back in October. As soon as I saw the set, I knew I had to get it!
I love reading anything about Paris & the French. They seem to have an effortless way of life, that je ne sais quoi. I am always getting drawn into their culture. Jeanne Damas, Caroline De Maigret, Vanessa Paradis & Catherine Deneuve are just a few of the beautiful French women that I have come to adore & draw inspiration from. Some of my favorite books are How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are, The French Beauty Solution, & Love, Style, Life, all written by incredibly talented, fashionable French women & are wonderful books in their own right. (Is anyone interested in reading a review about any of the books mentioned above? Let me know in the comments!)
One of the (many) things that makes the Madame Chic collection different from the others that I previously mentioned, is that it is written by an American (Jennifer L. Scott) & documents how she had to adapt to living in Paris while she was in college.
The first book in the collection is Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I learned While Living in Paris. In this book, Jennifer talks about the tips she acquired while living in Paris. She talks about le no makeup look, the ten item wardrobe, diet & exercise, keeping an air of mystery & so much more! I loved reading all of the little stories she had to share about her time living with Famille Chic & how differently the French live their lives from Americans.
The second book in the collection is At Home with Madame Chic: Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life. This book is all about, you guessed it, running a home! Jennifer shares her tips on how to keep your home organized, clean & clutter free. Have you ever found yourself bored with your home? Overwhelmed with the amount of cleaning you have to do? This book gives some direction in how to fall in love with your home all over again & how to keep up on daily cleaning in a non-overwhelming way. She also has tips for entertaining, various recipes & even how to fold towels.
The third book in the collection is Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic: Lessons in Everyday Elegance. We learn in this book what poise is & how we can achieve it. Jennifer talks about the five characteristics of poise; confidence, composure, compassion, presentation & present. She explains how we should be our "best, poised selves at all times" & gives tips on how we should dress for certain occasions, grooming, deportment, communicating, hosting guests & much more -- all very important things for demonstrating poise!
All three of these books deal with etiquette, which I feel is a lost art for many of us. It was refreshing to read about etiquette in a fun way & made me look closer at how I conduct myself.
Learning about etiquette was wonderful--it was what I expected to gain from these books. What I didn't expect was the lasting impact they had on me. This series posed many questions that got me thinking about how I currently live my life & how I want to live my life. To find the simple pleasures in life, to use the best things that I have, to live within my means & to rid my life of clutter are just a few of the things that these books touch on & that resonate with me.
If you're anything like me, someone who loves reading & learning about other cultures while trying to incorporate their practices into your own life, I would highly recommend this series! The content of these books can be a bit redundant & some of the tips may not be practical for everyday use, but overall it was a series that I enjoyed reading & it held useful information. I am constantly finding myself refer back to these books in my daily life & I hope that someday I can possess the poise that Jennifer & Madame Chic hold. :)
Does the Madame Chic collection sound like something you would be interested in reading? Would you like to read more book reviews? Let me know! XOXO