Vincent Cassel - actor
The true Parisian is temperamental! There, I said it, but I think there is no way around it. He can be the most charming and irresistible person you have ever met and he can be arrogant and plain difficult. But maybe therein lies his charm ...
He wants to please and be pleased. He adores the women he meets, but loves it when they adore him too.
Flirting and charming is second nature to him, his compliments are as flattering as they are quickly forgotten.
These pictures are of Bernard Henri Levy, France's best known philospher,
and for me the archetype of the elegant parisien. Seen here with his actress wife.
He dresses well, likes to look dashing, loves good shoes. He can carry off that wonderful air of elegance and ease, smart without looking uncomfortable. He wears a warm scarf tied around his neck in winter, and sunglasses in the summer. He'll wear polo t-shirts but never short sleeved shirts.
He is a gentleman, he holds doors open, and waits for the ladies to be seated before taking his own place. He is happy to joke, but happier still to argue ... about anything; the state of the world; the best way to cook his favourite dish, the merits of the latest film - he is a great conversationalist. Happy to spend time with friends, delighted to enjoy a romantic dinner with the woman in his life.
Vincent Cassel and his wife Belucci
He loves his children, he doesn't feel ridiculous buying flowers, he wears perfume, he enjoys the opera and good restaurants, he knows about wine. He can talk about books, politics, women, food and sport. He is an accomplisher.
If you want to please a Parisian, be sure to have something interesting to say, and to have made an effort with your appearance. Then just enjoy!
Voila! A light-hearted look at le parisien, probably too stereotyped,
but hey ... this is just a blog!
Posts
Love the part "hey..this is just a blog".
ReplyDeleteI always think of Nancy Mitford's beloved Colonel, fictionalised as the Duc de Sauveterre, as being the epitome of a Parisien. Your description fits exactly!
ReplyDeleteOoh lala!! Love this post - you are a treasure. Do you know if Vincent did his own stunts in the Oceans 13 movie? It is definitely my favorite part - watching his cat-like moves!
ReplyDeleteWhat a romantic distilled image of a Parisian man dahhling... just FAB!
ReplyDeleteSo moody, so eloquent, so sexy - a French man is like no other. But hey, it's just a blog - fabulous line.
ReplyDeleteI love European men in general, they know how to flirt. All of that has gone out the window in the US with all the political correctness and fear of sexual harassment, etc. Female friends who visit, either from Europe, or South America, always tell me they feel invisible here.
ReplyDeleteAs a man I envy Parisian man. However he will not last very long in my beloved USA. With a dozen sexual harassment cases on his back he will run towards Paris as fast he can.
ReplyDeleteAnd they know how to make a woman feel beautiful and smart at the same time.
ReplyDeleteCharming but just plain difficult - you just described my Parisian boyfriend from a decade ago perfectly! It made me laugh out loud. Wonderful description, Sharon!
ReplyDeleteOh, to me the best example of a Frenchman is Thierry Lhermitte. Just fell in love with him after I saw him in Until September when I was a teenager. Still love him! Sigh...
ReplyDeleteMariangie
His name is Vincent Cassel with "C" and not "K", son of Jean-Pierre Cassel, also an actor, who died in 2007.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a true parisian man, but, not a DSK... By chance, very few Parisian men practice sexual harassment, you know :o)
AHHHH....the French.....sublime BEAUTY!!
ReplyDeleteJo
It may be just a blog but you've done a great job describing my darling French husband of 20 years - although some of his more difficult traits have been tempered by living in the US where instead of blowing up like a volcano when upset (and forgetting about it 2 seconds later) we "talk things out"!
ReplyDeleteBernard Henri does it for me. Any chance you could swing an introduction there, Sharon? :))
ReplyDeleteI gues I must be french...hehehe ;-)
ReplyDeleteMarkus
Oh my my my! French men are... what's the right word? I can't think of a superlative that covers their mystique! Vincent Cassel is extraordinarily handsome.. and... and...!!
ReplyDeleteTwo great posts, so nice to read, and so true ( I think ...)...
ReplyDeleteC'est Paris. Oh, lalala, c'est magnifique! Love Vincent Cassel!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm... lovely.
ReplyDeleteThat was awesome and funny. and so what about stereotypes...! sounds like a fascinating, sexy and maddening man... what's not to love...
ReplyDeleteCindy
Dearest Sharon,
ReplyDeleteNice cliché... mais oui c'est juste une blog!
Love to you,
Mariette
It all sounds like an appealing set of personality traits to me !
ReplyDeleteNow I dare you to do a post on the true Aussie man! Good luck with that one mate.
ReplyDeleteMillie xx
Hmm, should check on the background of mine; up to now I thought he's Austrian! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOnly his figure isn't 'Paris-style' - never mind with sooo many other good points. :-)
@ Paisley Curtain
I know, what you mean - Australia is pretty similar in 'this case'. Sometimes it's best to wear sunglasses since even 'the look at whatever' can be interpreted as s.h.
Irony of the story: Mostly quite some of those 'over sensitive' woman LOVE to go on holidays into countries like France or Italy YET blame the men of their own countries of 'can't flirt at aaall'
(recognised/documented as such even by well known magazines in earlier times!)
When I was in Italy once for the duration of 2 months in a row I was amused by the fact, that the sort of 'echo' coming back towards one is equally matching to ones own outfit. For example: casual means somebody with a similar outfit whistles after you.
Dressed up very elegant ... you'd bet, the whistler is dressed similar. Seems to mean: chose ?! ;-) :-D
Greets,
Linda
The man of my dreams is most of the above, with a little help & coercion from the women in his life, (wife and daughters) - but he definitely fails on the temperamental criterion - he is always easy going and jolly!
ReplyDeleteMy first crush was Jean-Claude Killy, and then Alain Delon. Was thinking more about the post yesterday, and realized this. Still adore them both.
ReplyDeleteGreat posts! Takes me back to the days when I use to enjoy working a customer that was french. He fit this description to a T.
ReplyDeleteWow you have described the ultimate man, a modern day Renaissance man. Thankfully my dear hubby has some of these qualities having lived and gone to school in Europe for many years:)
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful post and just another sliver of the delicious pie that is what the fabulous life of being French is all about.
Ooh lala, so romantic! American men should take note here and soften up around the edges. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you said this! My mother is French and father Dutch...whether we like to admit it or not, there are certain qualities that infuse us all, bubbling up from our country of origin...This post made me smile big:) Thanks! B
ReplyDeleteWhat a delicious post - thank you - more please! Francesca
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